INF/TE/IDP/RD/24* 
23 March 2022  
(22-2480) Page: 1/4 
 Original: English/anglais/inglés  
 
  
UNOFFICIAL ROOM DOCUMENT1 
STATEMENT  BY THE CENTRE FOR INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW  (CIEL ) 
IDP Workstream s Meeting – 18 March 2022  
 
 
DOCUMENT DE S ÉANCE NON OFFICIEL1 
STATEMENT BY THE CENTRE FOR INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW (CIEL)  
IDP Workstreams Meeting – 18 March 2022  
 
 
DOCUMENTO DE SALA NO OF ICIAL1 
STATEMENT BY THE CENTRE FOR INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW (CIEL)  
IDP Workstreams Meeting – 18 March 2022  
 
_______________  
  
 
* In Original language only/En langue originale seulement/En el idioma original solamente.  
1 Documents issued in the RD series are not official WTO documents. They usually appear in their 
language of submission and will not be translated systematically into the working languages of the WTO. They 
are intended for use in WTO meeting rooms and are a ttributed an unofficial symbol for archiving purposes only.  
Les documents de la série RD ne sont pas des documents officiels de l 'OMC. Ils ne paraissent 
généralement que dans la langue dans laquelle ils ont été communiqués et ne seront pas systématiquement 
traduits dans les langues de travail de l'OMC. Ils sont destinés aux salles de réunion de l'OMC et une cote non 
officielle leur est attribuée à des fins d'archivage.  
Los documentos de la serie RD no son documentos oficiales de la OMC. Por lo general se distribuyen en 
el idioma en que han sido presentados y no se traduce n sistemáticamente a los idiomas de trabajo de la 
Organización. Se distribuyen para su uso en las salas de reunión de la OMC y se les asigna una signatura no 
oficial a efecto s de archivo únicamente.  INF/TE/IDP/RD/24  
 
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WTO INFORMAL DIALOGUE ON PLAS TICS  
CIEL'S WRITTEN STATEMENT  
18 March 2022  
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Your excellencies,  
Distinguished members of the WTO,  
Ladies and gentlemen,  
 
Thank you for the invitation to this meeting of the Informal Dialogue on Plastics Pollution and 
Environmentally Sustainable Plastics Trade.  
 
We would like to congratulate the IDP for its work. The IDP has made good progress in the last 
weeks, and we have now a series of challenging and important workstreams, including one on 
Circular Economy and Plastics.  
 
In this r egard, on behalf of the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), I would like to 
make the following remarks regarding 'circular economy '. 
 
As you know, many ongoing discussions tout a circular economy approach as a key approach to 
address the pla stic crisis. However, for a circular economy approach to be an effective way forward 
towards solutions, it is (i) essential to clarify the term, (ii) and it is important to understand if and 
how such an approach can truly deliver on policymakers ' hopes and  intentions.  
 
I. Is there an agreed definition of circular economy? Why is it important?  
 
There is currently no standard international definition of the concept of circular economy2, leading 
to ambiguity on proposals that incorporate it. In order to avoid false solutions, it is  important to go 
back to the origins of the concept, which centers around two pillars: (i) the  protection of natural 
capital (and thus the minimization of resource extraction); and (ii) the  elimination of negative 
externalities .3 
 
While imperfect (because the original concept, for example, did not properly emphasize the  waste 
management hierarchy prioritizing waste and pollution prevention at source), the concept  does point 
towards the critical need for the economy to function w ithin the planet 's boundaries  and without 
misplaced and undue harm.  
 
In simpler terms, circular economy approaches should focus on approaches where 
everything that is produced or consumed can return safely to nature or society . 
 
When going back to the core aspects of the definition, it is clear that this requires a system  change 
approach. However, while discussions, promises, and pledges toward circularity have  increased over 
the last decade, the discussion tends to stray away from the original pillars by adjusting the definition 
to enable business as usual rather than considering the needed system  change .4 
 
 
2 See H. Oliveira, Circular economy: From economic concept to legal means for sustainable 
development, e -Pública Vol. 7 No. 2, Setembro 2020 (073 -093), accessible at https://e -
publica.pt/volumes/v7n2/pdf/v7n2a5.pdf  
3 Based on the Ellen MacArthur Foundation 's original poster  conceived by Braumgartner and McDonnell 
found in their b ook Cradle to Cradle.  
4 Kirchherr et al (2017), accessible at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2017.09.005 , p. 227; See 
also, How can a circular plastics econ omy grow the oil industry?, p.  229. 
INF/TE/IDP/RD/24  
 
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  In that respect, recycling is the waste prevention approach most commonly found across circular  
economy definitions, which runs contradictory to th e evidence that simply recycling plastics is  neither 
truly circular nor sustainable.5 
 
Without cultivating a shared vocabulary and definitions around these ideas, policymakers risk  
intending one outcome while allowing for another, divergent one. Therefore , aligning behind a  
standard definition is both prudent and essential for policymaking at all levels of government . 
 
II. Circularity of plastics, is it possible?  
 
The very nature of plastics and their related challenges appear to be incompatible with  circularity. 
Plastics are almost universally made from non -renewable feedstocks of fossil fuels.  Harmful 
chemicals in plastics and other materials pose an enormous barrier to a true circular  economy.  
 
Many plastics are made from toxic building block chemicals, and they commonly contain toxic  
stabilizers, plasticizers, softeners, antioxidants, coatings, catalysts, flame retardants, and other  
modifiers and substances, which themselves have negative impacts on both the environment and  
human health6 (with clear links to hormone disruption, neurodevelopmental problems, decreased  
fertility, obesity, heart disease, and certain types of cancer).7 
 
All plastics, even those made from alternative feedstocks, contain a similar cocktail of toxic  chemicals 
and commonly shed or deteriorate over time into micro - and nano -plastics, releasing  toxic chemicals 
into surrounding products and environments.  
 
Toxic chemicals contained in plastic and the very physical nature of plastics are a major obstacle  to 
the possibl e circularity of plastics when considering their end of life: (i) too many plastics  simply 
cannot be recycled8; (ii) the degradation limits the number of cycles that any given plastic  object 
can undergo before it inevitably becomes unusable waste (implyin g linearity, rather than  circularity). 
(iii) Furthermore, the very few plastics that can be recycled still contain a heavy  presence of toxins 
which makes recycled plastic a toxic material in most cases.  
 
Other end of life management systems such as all combustion technologies (including the  
mis-labeled advanced or chemical recycling), are in effect purely linear and have serious toxic  and 
climate impacts.  
 
Therefore, efforts that over -emphasize recycling, or only limit themselves to end -of-pipe approache s 
as the key to circularity should be approached with a critical eye.  
 
III. The implementation of a truly circular economy must ensure that human rights are  
upheld for all impacted people.  
 
In 2021, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on toxics and human  rights issued a report  outlining 
the steps necessary to achieve a truly circular economy for plastics, making it clear that  anything 
short of these measures would undermine the world 's obligation to protect human  rights. In short, 
the report highlighted t he need to uphold: (i) the Right to information; (ii) the  Right to 
self-determination; (iii) access to accountability and remedy; (iv) the precautionary  approach; and 
(v) the polluter pays principle.9 
 
 
5 See GAIA recycling reports; See also: Reuters, The Recycling Myth: Big Oil 's Solution For Plastic Waste 
Littered With Failure, accessible at https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special -report/environment -plastic -
oil-recycling/ . 
6 International Pollutants Elimination Network, Plastics ' toxic additives and the circular economy, 
September 2020, https://ipen.org/sites/default/files/documents/plastics_and_additives_final -low-o-en.pdf . 
7 See SixClasses.org, accessible at https://www.sixclasses.org/ ; and the Public and Environmental 
Health Effects of Plastic Wastes Disposal: A Review, accessible at  
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332559340_Public_and_Environmental_Health_Effects_of_Plastic_W
astes_Disposal_A_Review . 
8 See, Circular Claims Fall Flat: Comprehensive U.S. Survey of Plastic s Recyclability, accessible at 
https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/wp -content/uploads/2020/02/Greenpeace -Report -Circular -Claims -Fall-
Flat.p df. 
9 See UNSR report, A/76/207, accessible at https://undocs.org/en/A/76/207 . INF/TE/IDP/RD/24  
 
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  IV. Conclusion and recommendations  
 
To conclude, when using the circularity concept, it is essential to avoid co -opting the definition  to 
support the continued growth of plastic production and rather focus on true circularity. If  
policymakers seek to introduce circular concepts into proposals, they must do so by returning to  the 
initial intent of 'circularity '. To do so, we offer the following recommendations:  
 
1. Policies should prioritize innovations that reduce the resource extraction inherent in the  
production and use of plastics, centering efforts on reuse, refill, and eliminating  unnecessary 
plastics before  considering waste management options.  
 
2. Toxic chemicals must be eliminated from the plastic production process ensuring that  any 
waste management initiatives do not re -circulate toxic substances and greenhouse  gasses into 
the biosphere, thus aggravating, rather than addressing, the triple planetary  crisis.  
 
3. Toxic, climate -damaging practices, including waste management practices (such as  
pyrolysis, gasification, and waste -to-energy) s hould be specifically excluded from any  definition 
of 'circularity.  
 
4. The implementation of a truly circular economy must ensure that human rights are upheld  
for all impacted people.  
 
The Center for International Environmental Law is in the making of a p aper, which we will  circulate 
to all IDP Members and stakeholders once it is finished, and which aims to (i) clarify  the concept of 
circular economy and (ii) provide guidance on how – and if – policymakers could  apply it to plastics.  
We look forward to wor king with you in the future,   
 
Please accept, Excellencies and colleagues, the assurances of our highest consideration.  
 
Helionor de Anzizu  
Staff Attorney,  
Center for International Environmental Law  
hdeanzizu@ciel.org  
 
1101 15th St NW, Suite 1100, Washington, DC 20005 USA  
Tel: 1 -202-785-8700 | Fax: 1 -202-785-8701 | info@ciel.org  
 
15 rue des Savoises, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland  
Tel: 41 -22-789-0500 | Fax 41 -22-789-0739 | geneva@ciel.org  
www.ciel.org  
 
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