First online consultation of the working group of the Basel Convention Plastic Waste Partnership

13 November 2019

The first online consultation of the members of the working group of the Basel Convention Plastic Waste Partnership (PWP) was held on 13 November 2019. The consultation served as an opportunity to:

  • brief the participants on the outcomes of the fourteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention and the launch of the PWP;
  • initiate discussions on the working modalities of the working group; and
  • discuss preparations for the first face-to-face meeting of the PWP.

The consultations focused around a proposal of the co-chairs of the working group, Ross Bartley (Bureau of International Recycling) and Ole Thomas Thommesen (Norway), addressing the establishment of project groups, tasks to be undertaken by the project groups and activities to be undertaken prior to the first face-to-face meeting of the working group. The summary of the consultations can be downloaded here.

Following the consultation and in preparation for the first face-to-face meeting of the PWP, members were invited to:

  • provide feedback on the proposed project groups as outlined in the co-chairs’ proposal and whether additional project groups should be established;
  • submit views on the activities (including possible pilot projects) that could be undertaken by each project group as a priority during the biennium 2002-2021;
  • provide information relevant for building a baseline on plastics and plastic waste as well as a stocktaking of plastic waste initiatives;
  • send nominations for co-chairs of the project groups;
  • indicate in which project groups the members would be interested to participate.

The information submitted by the members can be accessed here.

The co-chairs’ proposal proposed among others to request the Secretariat to compile the information submitted and other such information that may be available and provide an analysis thereof for consideration by the PWP working group at its first meeting. Moreover, it was proposed to request the Secretariat to prepare, on the basis of the information submitted and other available information, including other mapping studies undertaken by other entities, a document on initiatives addressing the problem of plastic waste pollution, outlining their objectives, membership and activities, for consideration by the PWP working group at its first meeting.