Geneva UN Conference on Plastic Waste

August 19, 2025

Failure of the plastics agreement underlines importance of recycling

Negotiations on a UN plastics agreement have failed again. This threatens an unchecked increase in global plastics production, with corresponding consequences for people and the environment. For enespa, this underscores the growing importance of waste management and chemical recycling.

Even in their third attempt, the approximately 180 participating countries in the Geneva negotiations on a plastics agreement were unable to agree on a joint declaration to combat global plastic and microplastic pollution. As at the previous conferences in Paris and Busan, South Korea, the conference failed due to stubborn resistance from oil-exporting countries such as Saudi Arabia, Russia, and the USA. These countries remain unwilling to accept caps on plastic production; instead, they are pushing for greater recycling of the raw material. What will happen next is unclear – the negotiator adjourned the meeting with the express promise to continue it at a later date. Experts had previously described the Geneva negotiations as the "last chance" in the fight against global plastic pollution.

Plastic has become an indispensable part of today’s world

A world without plastic is difficult to imagine today. On the contrary, the problem of plastic waste, particularly in the oceans and thus also in the global food chain, has become even more severe in recent years. Accordingly, the two-week negotiations focused on reducing single-use plastics, developing biodegradable plastics, and advancing recycling processes. The UN estimates that without a binding cap, global plastic production could triple by 2060. More than 460 million tons of plastic are already produced annually – around half of which is for single-use – while the recycling rate remains at just under 10 percent. The remaining plastic waste is, at best, incinerated, releasing a lot of CO2 into the atmosphere, and, at worst, finds its way into the oceans with household waste. As a result, increasing numbers of plastic nanoparticles are entering living organisms and, via various routes, also entering the human body, which can cause health problems.

+460 million tons of plastic every year

ndwr-cover-technical-handout-greentech-opt

Waste management and recycling solutions in focus

The plastics industry currently operates a system that uses almost exclusively fossil oil and retains very little of it in the system. This has many negative consequences. We believe that, in addition to plastic avoidance, waste management and recycling of plastics through improved collection and sorting, as well as the development of economical and innovative technologies for the reuse of complex plastics, will play a key role in the future. enespa has therefore set itself the goal of closing the plastics cycle through the chemical recycling of mixed plastics, old vehicle tires, and the refining of used oil. enespa's core competencies are plant construction and the provision of associated industrial services. The company also operates its own research and development laboratory. enespa ag is headquartered in Appenzell, Switzerland, and maintains locations in Germany and the USA.