Merkley Statement on Conclusion of Global Plastics Treaty Talks

Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley-a long-time leader and fierce advocate for tackling the plastic pollution crisis across its entire life cycle-released the following statement after the conclusion of the second part of the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5.2) in Geneva, Switzerland:

"For plastics, many of us have been taught the three Rs-reduce, reuse, and recycle. But, too often, the reality is the three Bs-plastics get buried, burned, or borne out to sea. Now, due to a small number of plastic-producing countries successfully holding the world back from reaching a strong agreement to tackle the full scale of the plastic pollution crisis, we can add a fourth B: betrayal.

"The failure to reach an agreement is a devastating blow for public health, as well as our children and the planet's future. Make no mistake, though, the blame lies squarely with a small handful of petrostates that were determined to ensure that meaningful action would not occur. Under President Trump, America has actively sided with these petrostates, ensuring the world fails to meet this moment. No agreement is better than a weak agreement!

"This cannot be the end of the global effort to combat plastic pollution. Now that the United Nations process has failed, the nations that want to meet the moment should come together to reach an agreement that meets the scale of the world's plastic crisis. I will continue to do all I can to champion bold action-in the U.S. and abroad-and I hope that eventually the U.S. will join the majority of the world that is serious about tackling plastic pollution."

Ahead of INC-5.2, Merkley teamed up with House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Jared Huffman (CA-02) and Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee Ranking Member Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) to urge the Trump Administration not to impede a strong global agreement to tackle plastic pollution. In 2024, he attended INC-5 in Busan, South Korea and led a congressional delegation to INC-4 in Ottawa, Canada to advocate for meaningful standards and commitments to combat the plastic pollution crisis.

As former Chair of the EPW Subcommittee on Chemical Safety, Waste Management, Environmental Justice, and Regulatory Oversight, Merkley held a first-of-its-kind series of hearings investigating plastic production and pollution. His hearings examined: environmental and climate damage from plastics, impacts of plastics on environmental justice communities, reuse and refill systems, beverage container waste, and consumer challenges to recycling.

Merkley also leads the Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act-the most comprehensive plan ever introduced in Congress to address the harms of plastic pollution on our air, water, and soil-and two bipartisan plastics-related pieces of legislation: the Microplastics Safety Act and REUSE Act.

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