Articles | press_release

Confronting the World’s Plastic Problem: Kenyan Civil Society Coalition Calls for Strong African Unity and an Ambitious Plastics Treaty Ahead of INC-5.

Every year, the world produces approximately 300 million tonnes of plastic waste, yet only about 9% of it is recycled. The rest ends up in landfills, natural environments, and oceans, where it breaks down into microplastics ,tiny particles that infiltrate our food chains, freshwater systems, and marine environments, posing serious threats to human health and ecosystems.

Every year, the world produces approximately 300 million tonnes of plastic waste, yet only about 9% of it is recycled. The rest ends up in landfills, natural environments, and oceans, where it breaks down into microplastics ,tiny particles that infiltrate our food chains, freshwater systems, and marine environments, posing serious threats to human health and ecosystems.

In preparation to the fifth resumed session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5.2) on the Global Plastics Treaty, the Kenyan Civil Society Coalition to End Plastic Pollution convened a media breakfast in Nairobi, calling on African governments to unite behind a strong, legally binding Global Plastics Treaty ahead of the resumed fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5.2), set to take place in Geneva from August 5th to 14th, 2025.

Organized by the Centre for Environmental Justice and Development (CEJAD) in partnership with the Heinrich Böll Foundation (HBF), the event highlighted the urgent need for African voices to influence treaty negotiations that could shape the future of plastic production and pollution management across the globe.

“This is an opportunity for Africa to assert its position, protect its people, and shape an ambitious, legally binding treaty that delivers real, systemic change. Let this treaty reflect the lived realities of our people, not the boardroom interests of petrochemical companies as witnessed over the past negotiations,”  Griffins Ochieng, Executive Director of CEJAD

The coalition’s message was clear: recycling alone is not enough. A treaty that tackles plastic production at the source, eliminates toxic chemicals, and ensures a just transition for waste pickers and vulnerable communities is critical.  

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Under this program, CEJAD aims to eliminate the risk posed by exposure to lead in paints to women and children, and improve the regulatory frameworks to phase out lead in paint at national, regional and international level.

Our work under this program aims to promote the phase out of Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs) from use, especially in agriculture to protect human health and the environment. The use of HHPs is threatening the lives of vulnerable populations, food systems, biodiversity and the environment at large.

Our work under the Mercury Program aims to protect human health and the environment from anthropogenic emissions and releases of mercury and mercury compounds in line with the Minamata Convention on Mercury, a legally binding global treaty adopted in 2013. Kenya is a party to the Minamata Convention.

The Montreal Protocol, adopted in 1987, protects the ozone layer by regulating ozone-depleting substances (ODS), such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs). It mandates the phase-out of CFC and HCFC production and consumption with specific timeframes for different Parties, based on their status as a developed or developing country.

Our work under this program aims to reduce the health and environmental impacts associated with waste and plastics throughout their life cycle. Over the years, plastic and plastic products have emerged as problematic and hazardous to human health and the environment.