SPE will have a role in future plastics treaty talks

Atlanta — Many in the plastics industry might not like what's coming out of the ongoing United Nations plastic treaty negotiations, but they can influence its future.

Conor Carlin

Getting involved now and for the coming years will be important, says Conor Carlin, a consultant who has spent years in the industry in a variety of jobs.

Carlin, a past president of the Society of Plastics Engineers, runs Clefs Advisory LLC and is the editor of SPE Thermoforming Quarterly, a publication put out by the society's Thermoforming Division.

"The U.N. treaty is coming. It may not be pretty. And a lot of people probably didn't like it. To some extent, what happens in the next four or five years is a great opportunity for SPE," Carlin said at the division's recent conference in Atlanta.

"There's going to be a lot of opportunity for discussion where countries are going to seek out experts," he said.

SPE has been granted official status as a nongovernmental observation group to the treaty talks, which are next slated for Geneva, Switzerland. This grants SPE representative access to the negotiation sessions as they take place.

But where Carlin really sees the potential for action is after as countries work to adopt their own specific measures to comply with the treaty.

"SPE doesn't expect to impact the treaty negotiations, but will after," Carlin said. "There's going to be a lot of opportunity for discussion where countries in particular are going to seek out subject matter experts in polymer science. And SPE is very well positioned around the world to host and convene and engage with many different groups," he said.

SPE has 60,000 members around the world and has that technical expertise, he said. "We want to be the expert group in polymers."

"While we don't actually expect to influence too much at this point in time, where we see the importance of a group like SPE as there's a lot of global chapters around the world. What we can do is serve as the network for knowledge and networking, dissemination and discussion in an objective, scientific fashion around the world," Carlin said.

"That's really where we see where SPE will be able to play a role, not necessarily right now in terms of the treaty, but any implementation of the treaty or work that's going to be required," he said.

A goal is to help people in different parts of the world to come together in an objective fashion while using polymer science to make informed decisions, Carlin said. "The world is full of experts," he said. "We want to be the premier group of experts in polymer science."

Copyright Crain Communications Inc., used with permission. Original news can be accessed from here.