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The Environment Protection Agency Sierra Leone, in partnership with Effective Capacity for Global Plastic Treaty in Africa (AFRIPAC), has held a Pre-Intergovernmental Negotiation Committee (INC-5) National Stakeholders Consultation Workshop at the New Brookfields Hotel in Freetown.
Prior to the workshop, an inter-sessional meeting was attended by a team from the EPA which concentrated on various issues, including the establishment of a financial mechanism, a policy and legislative Assessment, the broader utility of the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) model, and the requirements for integrating it into the laws of countries.
For Sierra Leone, these steps would be taken alongside the design of a comprehensive strategy for implementing a future Plastic Treaty.
Plastic pollution is a critical issue in the country and a global crisis requires urgent and comprehensive action to mitigate its potential harm preserve human health and sustain ecosystems.
Sierra Leone, being a massive plastic consumer, needs to ascertain the socio-economic and political implications of a ban on single-use plastic, the adverse impacts on primary producers, as well as the capacity and technology requirements for providing alternatives and promoting circularity.
Participants proposed some practical measures for achieving these objectives during group discussions and the plenary.
Reflecting on the proposals made, the next INC (INC5) will benefit from country-specific efforts to assess stakeholder interest in and opportunities for a phased transition to less or even no plastic, to protect local environments including marine ecosystems effectively.
The workshop was attended by representatives from the security sector, recyclers and actors in the plastic industry, ministries, departments, and agencies of government, the media, and civil society organisations, which solicited their inputs as required by the INC process.
