Polymer material flows are truly global, both upstream manufacture, and throughout their whole life cycle including transportation worldwide for conversion to product; then as import/exports for the use phase then downstream to end of life. Where there is insufficient infrastructure often, unfortunately, fugitive material may end up uncontrolled in the environment. This is why International activities are important to UKCPN and the wider plastics sustainability community.

Our International Activity

Plastic supply chains are global and to ensure the UK and global systems are more sustainable we work with stakeholders internationally.

The UKCPN team work with Innovate UK Business Connect‘s Global Alliance Africa project funded by the UK’s Official Development Assistance (ODA). There are a number of specific plastic related ‘Innovation Challenges’ in Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa – please contact us to be connected and find out more.

At UKCPN we will keep our members informed of how activity on the Global Plastics Treaty is progressing and, where innovation is concerned, inform the relevant bodies about potential solutions to the issue. The most recent documentation is available here.

We have also developed a Commonwealth Marine Plastics Research & Innovation Framework Report which provides provides an overview of the context, national strategies, policies and Research and Innovation (R&I) activities in each of the four pilot countries identified: India, South Africa, Canada and the UK.

Global Plastics Treaty

Following an historic resolution in March 2022, the UN has been working for two years to develop a global legally binding treaty to end unnecessary plastic pollution by the end of 2024. However, the during the final round of negotiations held in Busan in the Republic of Korea between the 25th November and 1st December, UN member states were not able to reach an agreement and the session was suspended.

Even though no agreement was reached, however, the UN has reported that the negotiating committee has made significant progress towards a deal by agreeing on a text that should serve as a basis for negotiations at further meetings in 2025. In parallel to this, many countries have pledged to keep working on national action to fight plastic pollution.

The role of remote sensing in tackling marine plastic litter

Plastic pollution is a global issue, and data gathered through remote sensing has an increasingly important role to play in identifying and monitoring fugitive plastics in terrestrial and marine environments. Funded by UKRI’s Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging Challenge and delivered by Innovate UK, the Plastic Litter & Remote Sensing Discovery Programme, has carried out a scoping study. The research has identified what measures are needed to ensure that these technologies can offer scalable solutions for efficiently monitoring plastic litter and help inform and support evidence-based policy making.

Resources

Commonwealth Marine Plastics Research and Innovation Framework

The UKCPN team has developed a commonwealth framework report to help find and implement solutions to stop plastic waste entering the ocean by sharing best practices, leveraging funding and championing global action in marine plastic pollution. The coordination between countries is a priority for successful future collaborations to assess and help policymakers better understand the issues and actions that will be effective to address the impact of marine plastics on a global scale.

Insights to our international activity at GRIPS

Find out more from our sessions at Global Research & Innovation in Plastics Sustainability. These learnings could provide a blueprint for national action plans in the forthcoming Global Plastics Treaty.

Related News

Commonwealth Marine Plastics Research & Innovation Framework Report

Posted on May 23, 2023

This framework report aims to help find and implement solutions to stop plastic waste entering the ocean by sharing best practices, leveraging funding and championing global action in marine plastic pollution.

‘Addressing the Plastics Challenge’ Reception at House of Lords

Posted on July 3, 2019

Lord Haskel, Deputy Speaker at House of Lords, hosted KTN’s ‘Addressing the Plastics Challenge’ on 25th June.

UK Plastics Pact: 1 Year On

Posted on July 5, 2019

An update on the UK Plastics Pact having celebrated their first anniversary on 21st May 2019.

Meet the team

Our team includes expertise in plastics, elastomers, textiles, marine, aquaculture, environmental pollution, medical polymers, composites and citizen engagement and education. We are passionate about making the plastics value chain more sustainable.

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Sally

Beken

UKCPN Founder and Lead

Sally has founded and currently heads up the UK Circular Plastics Network and leads on the Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging activity at Innovate UK Business Connect.

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the UK’s Circular Plastics Network

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Other focus areas

International Activity