Let’s be part of the solution, not the pollution

‘We had a serious problem with trash, there was waste everywhere in our community – trash on the football fields, trash around the school and children's playgrounds,’ Pastor Vásquez says.

‘A lot of the rubbish was being burnt; items included plastics, clothes and nappies. Before, there was never any garbage collection, therefore our community was very dirty. As a church, we have worked on cleaning up the community and have run awareness campaigns about the use of plastics and the burning of garbage in the community.

‘It’s vital that a strong UN plastics treaty is agreed so it can help communities like ours where there was previously no waste collection.’

Alongside Tearfund, Wilfredo has also worked with community leaders and the local government to help organise the garbage truck going through the town once a week collecting waste.

‘This is the first time in 90 years that El Rincón is receiving any kind of waste collection,’ Pastor Wilfredo added. A youth group from the church also collects and recycles plastic, while the other recyclable waste is collected at segregation points across the community.

UN plastics treaty negotiations

Approximately 3,600 miles north of El Rincón, government leaders from around the world will gather this week for the fourth stage of the UN plastics treaty negotiations.

Seen as the most important international environmental agreement since the Paris Climate Agreement, the talks, now in the fourth stage of five, could lead to the first legally-binding global treaty on plastic pollution and improve the lives of billions of people around the world. If negotiations are successful, the treaty could come into force in 2025.

‘While the waste collection and bins being installed in El Rincón will make a big difference to this community, there are hundreds of thousands more communities like this. We need far more action from governments and companies, which is why an ambitious treaty is essential,’ says Miriam Moreno, Tearfund's Environmental and Economic Sustainability regional manager for Latin America and the Caribbean, who works alongside the church and is attending the UN talks.

‘The treaty is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to bring about an end to the worldwide problem of plastic pollution. This means driving down plastic production and making sure the rest is safely collected and recycled. The rubbish problem has been solved in El Rincón for now, that’s what a legally binding plastics treaty could do.’

What we need from INC4

Tearfund will be at the UN talks (also called INC4) in Ottawa, Canada from 23 to 29 April 2024, calling on governments to push for a treaty that fully addresses the impacts of waste on people living in poverty by ensuring four things are mandatory in the final agreement:

• Reduction: legally binding targets to reduce plastic production and scale up reuse solutions
• Recycling: universal access to waste collection and recycling
• Respect: support for waste pickers, including a just transition
• Response: mechanisms to ensure businesses and governments take action

For more information on Tearfund’s campaign on the UN plastics treaty visit www.tearfund.org/rubbish