WTO Members Discuss Practical Steps on Plastics Pollution and Trade

· On 1 October 2026, members of the WTO Dialogue on Plastics Pollution and Environmentally Sustainable Plastics Trade held their first substantive discussions across four work areas.

· The discussions aim to make the Dialogue’s work more practical and implementation-focused ahead of the WTO’s 15th Ministerial Conference.

· The four areas covered were:

o Circular solutions, including product design, reuse, refill systems, standards, finance and traceability.

o Waste-management systems, technologies and services, with attention to infrastructure, financing, skills and regulation.

o Policies addressing single-use plastics, especially food-service products, and differences in definitions, exemptions and implementation.

o Trade-related measures, including producer-responsibility schemes, deposit-return systems and fiscal policies.

· Members highlighted challenges for small businesses and developing economies, including affordability, access to investment and technical expertise, and the need for solutions suited to local circumstances.

· Participants discussed how information-sharing, transparency and more comparable definitions and measurement methods could help address trade and implementation challenges.

· Technical contributions came from organizations including the OECD, UNIDO, UNCTAD and the Basel Convention Secretariat.

· A second round of substantive discussions is envisaged for 2027; possible future outcomes remain open.

· The next technical meeting is scheduled for 26–27 November 2026 and will include a workshop on non-plastic substitutes and alternatives.

· The Dialogue, launched in 2020, has 83 co-sponsors representing nearly 90% of global plastics trade.

[ABS News Service/06.10.2026]

At a meeting on 1 October 2026, WTO members participating in the Dialogue on Plastics Pollution and Environmentally Sustainable Plastics Trade (DPP) held the first substantive round of discussions across four areas of work: circular solutions to plastics pollution; waste-management technologies; single-use plastics; and trade-related plastics measures. Building on the DPP's outcomes from the 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) in March 2026 and earlier technical work, the discussions were aimed at moving towards more focused and practical work in the lead-up to MC15.

The meeting was chaired by the DPP coordinators - Australia, Barbados, China, Ecuador, Fiji and Morocco. Recalling the consultations held since MC14, including the questionnaire on DPP work for 2026-27, the coordinators referred to their proposal at the June co-sponsors meeting to maintain the existing workstreams while streamlining the work and organisation of meetings. They also emphasized the need for more practical, implementation-oriented discussions with a clear trade dimension, in line with members' suggestions.

The 1 October meeting marked the first of two substantive rounds of discussions across the four workstreams, with a second round envisaged for 2027. The sessions combined technical presentations with targeted member "fire-starter" interventions aimed at showcasing concrete national experiences and practical examples, while stimulating broader discussion among co-sponsors.

Possible directions for future outcomes remain open and will continue to be shaped through further discussions with co-sponsors.

The first session examined upstream, midstream and circular solutions to plastics pollution, focusing on product and packaging design, reuse and refill models, access to technologies and services, standards and certification, finance, market demand and traceability. The discussion also highlighted the importance of looking beyond individual technologies to the wider conditions needed for deployment and scaling, particularly for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and developing economies as well as the potential role of greater international and regional cooperation.

Technical contributions from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD) complemented members' experiences, examining circular-economy policy trends, circular product design and the role of services in enabling upstream solutions.

The second session focused on plastics waste-management systems, technologies and services. Building on the DPP's previous work on environmentally sound waste management and clean-up activities, discussions emphasized that effective waste management depends not only on access to equipment and technologies, but also on associated services, financing, infrastructure, operational capacity and appropriate regulatory frameworks.

Experiences shared by members highlighted challenges related to affordability, scale, classification of goods and services, access to investment and technical expertise as well as the need for solutions tailored to national circumstances, including those of least-developed countries (LDCs) and small island developing states (SIDS). UNCTAD and the Basel Convention Secretariat contributed technical perspectives on environmental services and implementation experience from plastic-waste projects.

The third session examined approaches to addressing single-use plastics, with a particular focus on food-service products. Discussions revealed considerable commonality in the types of single-use products being targeted, while also highlighting differences in product definitions, scope, exemptions, implementation timelines, and testing and certification requirements.

A regional perspective was provided by the East African Legislative Assembly, which presented ongoing efforts to develop a common regional framework for single-use plastics. Members also discussed areas where greater transparency, information-sharing and interoperability could help address implementation and trade-related challenges, while preserving flexibility to reflect domestic circumstances and policy priorities.

The fourth session focused on trade-related plastics measures and practical experiences gained from their design and implementation. Member experiences with extended producer responsibility (EPR) and product-stewardship schemes, deposit-return systems and fiscal measures highlighted the importance of industry engagement, transition periods, clear treatment of imports, monitoring and verification, adequate recycling infrastructure and coordination across government agencies. Discussions also underscored that such measures often need to evolve in light of implementation experience and form part of a broader policy mix.

Members identified opportunities to share practical lessons and improve comparability in areas such as definitions, reporting and measurement methodologies.

The next DPP technical meeting is scheduled for 26-27 November 2026. It will feature a workshop led by the OECD and UNCTAD on non-plastic substitutes and alternatives, followed by a DPP discussion on how insights from the workshop could inform further work. Co-sponsors will also continue discussions on two remaining transparency-related topics, namely statistical approaches and customs classification.

More information

Launched in November 2020 by a group of WTO members, the Dialogue on Plastics Pollution currently consists of 83 co-sponsors, representing almost 90 per cent of global trade in plastics.