Appendix 3: Existing criteria and proposals for criteria for PUA products

1. A country-led informal technical dialogue, co-chaired by the United Kingdom and Brazil, developed a briefing report to inform INC-3 on possible criteria for control measures, including for problematic plastic products (UK and Brazil, 2023). The following criteria for problematic plastics gained highest level of agreement among experts nominated to take part in the process:
   • The product has a high propensity for being littered or ending up in the environment with low probability of degradation to safe chemicals.
   • The product has a high propensity for being littered or ending up in the environment.
   • The product contains microplastics that were generated and/or added during production (to obtain new product characteristics).
   • The product is made of oxo-degradable plastics that easily break down into microplastics.
   • The product has a high potential for being avoided (or replaced by a reuse model) while maintaining utility.
   • The product is not reusable, recyclable or compostable in practice and at scale.
   • The product has a propensity to create entanglement (esp. marine animals).
   • The product hinders or disrupts the recyclability or composability of other items.
   • The product has a propensity to be ingested by animals and microorganisms (aquatic and terrestrial).
   • The product contains polymers and chemicals of concern (subject to criteria being determined).
     

2. WWF’s report by Eunomia identifies 17 core product groups for regulation, categorized into those needing elimination or reduction, and those requiring safe circulation and management (WWF, 2023). The report does not outline specific criteria, but uses a risk-based approach for prioritization that factors in:
   • Probability of the plastic ending up in the environment, and
   • The impacts on the environment and human health when this occurs.
     
3. European Commission proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a framework for setting ecodesign requirements for sustainable products and repealing Directive 2009/125/EC states that the following Annex I Product Parameters may be used as a basis for improving the product aspects referred to in Article 5(1) (European Commission, 2022b):
   • Durability and reliability of the product or its components.
   • Ease of repair and maintenance.
   • Ease of upgrading, re-use, remanufacturing and refurbishment.
   • Ease and quality of recycling.
   • Avoidance of technical solutions detrimental to re-use, upgrading, repair, maintenance, refurbishment, remanufacturing and recycling of products and components.
   • Use of substances, on their own, as constituents of substances or in mixtures, during the production process of products, or leading to their presence in products, including once these products become waste.
   • Consumption of energy, water and other resources in one or more life cycle stages of the product.
   • Use or content of recycled materials.
   • Weight and volume of the product and its packaging, and the product-to-packaging ratio.
   • Incorporation of used components.
   • Quantity, characteristics and availability of consumables needed for proper use and maintenance.
   • The environmental footprint of the product.
   • The carbon footprint of the product.
   • Microplastic release.
   • Emissions to air, water or soil released in one or more life cycle stages of the product.
   • Amounts of waste generated, including plastic waste and packaging waste and their ease of re-use, and amounts of hazardous waste generated.
   • Conditions for use.
     

4. The New Plastics Economy Global Commitment promotes the use of voluntary criteria for problematic and unnecessary plastic packaging or plastic packaging components among global commitment signatories in several countries (EMF, 2023). It includes the following list of criteria:
   • It is not reusable, recyclable, or compostable in practice and at scale.
   • It contains, or its manufacturing requires, hazardous chemicals that pose a significant risk to human health or the environment (applying the precautionary principle).
   • It can be avoided (or replaced by a reuse model) while maintaining utility.
   • It hinders or disrupts the recyclability or compostability of other items.
   • It has a high likelihood of becoming litter or ending up in the natural environment.
     
5. The report published by the Secretariat of the BRS conventions on global governance of plastics and associated chemicals conceptualizes a potential scope for plastic pollution (BRS, 2023). It includes a proposal to develop selection criteria for two following two groups of plastics products:
   1. Problematic plastic products may include plastics of any size that ultimately place unnecessary pressure on natural resources due to characteristics such as:
      • Made using, manufactured with, containing, or has contained chemicals or polymers of concern.
      • Difficult to reuse, recycle or compost.
      • A material that hinders, disrupts or obstructs opportunities to recover other materials or resources.
      • A proven contribution to the plastic litter problem
   2. Unnecessary and avoidable plastic may include those that:
      • Contain amounts of plastics that can be reduced, e.g., through development of alternate social and technical solutions to avoid the need for plastic.
      • Can be substituted with non-plastic fit-for-purpose alternatives,
      • Can be eliminated entirely without compromising the consumer’s access to the intended functionality provided by the original product.
        
6. A concept note from Plastics Europe proposes the use of a decision-tree assessment (instead of a negative list) consisting of a hierarchical flow of questions to help identify and address either problematic and/or avoidable plastic applications (Plastics Europe, 2023). The following (non-exhaustive) criteria may be considered as part of this methodology:
   • An application’s likelihood of contributing to plastic pollution during production, use or after use.
   • Risks for human or animal health.
   • The capacity to extend shelf life and ensure food and water safety while meeting sector-specific safety requirements.
   • Environmental and climate benefits of the application.
   • Socio-economic benefits of the application
   • Compliance with minimum chemical safety requirements and good manufacturing practices (as laid out in the internationally recognised regulations such as REACH, GHS, CSA, TSCA, ISO and others)
   • The capacity to optimize plastic content.
   • Availability of recycling and waste management infrastructure and/ or feasibility to set up such within a reasonable timeframe.
   • Potential for behavioural changes (at local/regional/national level)
     • Potential for redesigning the application in line with a life-cycle assessment including evaluation of the material usage to facilitate sorting of waste and the value of materials at their end of life.
     • Safe, responsible, and environmentally sound end-of-life treatment.
       
7. The Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) acknowledges that although certain products are currently classified as problematic plastics, advancements in technology may eventually lead to their reclassification out of this category. According to APCO (2020), problematic plastic packaging refers to packaging that, at present, is:
   • Difficult to collect/recover for reuse, recycling or composting purposes; or
   • A material that hinders, disrupts or obstructs opportunities to recover other materials or resources; or
   • A significant contribution to the plastic litter problem; or
   • Manufactured with, contains or has contained hazardous chemicals or materials (e.g., PFAS, BPA) that pose a significant risk to human health or the environment.
     
8. The Canadian Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations (SOR/2022-138) provide technical guidelines that include performance criteria that differentiate between single-use and reusable items for four of the six product categories regulated, namely checkout bags, cutlery, foodservice ware, and straws (Government of Canada, 2023). Para A.5.1 states: Please note that the Government is aware of the issue of plastic straws and cutlery that may meet the reusability criteria of the Regulations but are essentially single-use in practice. Analysis is underway to determine how to address this issue, so that only items that will actually be reused are allowed.
   1. Single-use plastic checkout bags (para B.1.1)
      1. whose plastic is not a fabric

         Fabric means any material woven, knitted, crocheted, knotted, braided, felted, bonded, laminated or otherwise produced from, or in combination with, a textile fibre.

          as defined in section 2 of the Textile Labelling Act; or
      2. whose plastic is a fabric as defined in section 2 of the Textile Labelling Act that will break or tear if the bag is
         1. used to carry 10 kg over a distance of 53 m 100 times; or
         2. washed in accordance with the washing procedures specified for a single domestic wash in the International Organization for Standardiza­tion standard ISO 6330 entitled​ Textiles—Domestic washing and drying procedures for textile testing
   2. Single-use plastic cutlery (para B.2.1)
      1. contains polystyrene or polyethylene, or
      2. changes its physical properties after being run through an electrically operated household dishwasher 100 times.
   3. Single-use plastic foodservice ware (para B.3.1)
      1. is formed in the shape of a clamshell container, lidded container, box, cup, plate or bowl
      2. is designed for serving or transporting food or beverage that is ready to be consumed, and
      3. contains expanded polystyrene foam, extruded polystyrene foam, polyvinyl chloride, a plastic that contains a black pigment produced through the partial or incomplete combustion of hydrocarbons or an oxo-degradable plastic.
         SUP foodservice ware prohibited by the Regulations includes any plastic manufactured item that meets all 3 of the criteria above (a, b and c).
   4. Single-use plastic straws (para B.6.1)
      1. contains polystyrene or polyethylene or
      2. changes its physical properties after being run through an electrically operated household dishwasher 100 times.
         Plastic straws made from a resin other than polystyrene or polyethylene and that can be washed in an electrically operated household dishwasher 100 times without causing changes to their physical properties are considered reusable.