Streamlined Comparison of the Third Non-Paper and Compilation Draft Text of the Future Plastics Treaty

This briefing by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and Break Free from Plastics (BFFP) provides a streamlined comparison between the Chair's third Non-Paper and the Compilation draft text for the future international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution. The document synthesizes these two sources to facilitate discussions at the fifth intergovernmental negotiating committee (INC-5), highlighting critical omissions in the Non-Paper and presenting various textual options for the treaty's articles, including those on product design, chemicals of concern, and financial mechanisms.

• The Chair's third non-paper is identified as missing several critical elements and obligations required to meet the mandate of UNEA Resolution 5/14. Specifically, it omits stand-alone provisions on scope, chemicals and polymers of concern, micro- and nanoplastics, dedicated programmes of work, non-plastic substitutes, extended producer responsibility, trade in listed chemicals, polymers and products, and in plastic waste, transparency, tracking, monitoring and labelling, technology transfer, international cooperation, partner and stakeholder engagement, and subsidiary bodies.
• The suggested text for ARTICLE 14 NATIONAL PLANS in the Chair's non-paper is described as being voluntary, with the exception of the obligation for the Secretariat to make these plans publicly available.
• The third non-paper omits a stand-alone provision on chemicals and polymers of concern, which is present in the compilation draft, and also omits chemicals of concern as used in plastic products, which appeared in the first and second iterations of the non-paper.

APA

Rhee, C. S., & del Castillo, A. (2024). Streamlined Comparison of the Third Non-Paper and Compilation Draft Text of the Future Plastics Treaty. Center for International Environmental Law. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Streamlined-Comparison-of-the-Third-Non-Paper-and-Compilation-Draft-Text-of-the-Future-Plastics-Treaty.pdf

Chicago

Rhee, C. Semee, and Andrés del Castillo. Streamlined Comparison of the Third Non-Paper and Compilation Draft Text of the Future Plastics Treaty. Center for International Environmental Law, 2024. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Streamlined-Comparison-of-the-Third-Non-Paper-and-Compilation-Draft-Text-of-the-Future-Plastics-Treaty.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Rhee |first1=C. Semee |last2=del Castillo |first2=Andrés |title=Streamlined Comparison of the Third Non-Paper and Compilation Draft Text of the Future Plastics Treaty |publisher=Center for International Environmental Law |date=November 2024 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Streamlined-Comparison-of-the-Third-Non-Paper-and-Compilation-Draft-Text-of-the-Future-Plastics-Treaty.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rhee2024streamlined, author = {Rhee, C. Semee and del Castillo, Andrés}, title = {{Streamlined Comparison of the Third Non-Paper and Compilation Draft Text of the Future Plastics Treaty}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2024}, month = nov, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Streamlined-Comparison-of-the-Third-Non-Paper-and-Compilation-Draft-Text-of-the-Future-Plastics-Treaty.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }