Opinion & Commentary: beyond bans – embrace tech and policy for real change

The collapse of the UN Global Plastics Treaty talks in Geneva this week should not be seen as a failure – but as a wake-up call.

The breakdown reflects the deep divide between political rhetoric and practical solutions.

We should stop talking about bans versus business-as-usual – instead we need to focus on technologies and policies that actually solve the problem.

The traditional policies of reduce, re-use, recycle, are clearly not adequate, and you cannot fit into a circular economy the plastic which has escaped into the environment as litter. The only way to deal with this is to use technology such as Symphony’s d2w to manufacture the plastic so that it will quickly biodegrade if it gets into the open environment without leaving microplastics behind. This can be done at little or no extra cost, and without changing suppliers – yes it really does work!

The world cannot ban its way out of the plastics challenge. We need innovation, infrastructure, and global cooperation to manage plastic waste responsibly while preserving the benefits that plastics bring to modern life.”

The Geneva talks fell apart because they were trying to legislate against a material instead of a problem – mismanaged plastic waste.

If negotiators return to the table at all, they should focus on solutions that combine environmental protection with economic practicality, so we can make real progress.”

Plastics have become the environmental villain in the soundbites — but the real enemy is pollution. The answer isn’t to erase plastics from the planet, it’s to make them smarter, safer, and better managed.

About Symphony Environmental

Symphony also supplies a range of plastic technologies under its d2p (designed to protect) brand to protect against insects, viruses, bacteria, fungi, rodents, odours, and fire.  It has also introduced a new product under its NbR brand to reduce the amount of fossil-derived material in plastic products.