French Solid Waste Partnership

UN Biodiversity Conference - COP17

Pauline — 2025-12-15T15:07:18Z

From 19 to 30 October, in Yerevan, Armenia, COP17 will continue to drive commitments and actions towards protecting biodiversity.

The COP on Biodiversity takes place every 2 years. In 2022, it resulted in an agreement on the Global Framework for Biodiversity, which sets targets for signatory countries to protect biodiversity by 2030 and 2050. In 2026, during COP17, signatories of the 2022 Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework will be providing a first report on the relevance of their national strategies to implementing the agreement. Given the important biodiversity financing gap, the topic of funding will be central to ensure that commitments for 2030 will be met.

Waste management is essential for public health, improving living conditions and protecting biodiversity. Environmentally Sound Management (ESM) of waste helps to limit the impact of this sector on ecosystems and living organisms, in particular through:

Improved collection to prevent waste, particularly plastics and microplastics, from leaking into the environment, both on land and at sea;
The availability and improvement of final disposal facilities everywhere and for everyone, in order to reduce soil, air and water pollution, for example by closing uncontrolled, uncovered landfills without leachate treatment in favour of engineered landfill that comply with the Basel Convention's ESM of waste;
Prevention, the first lever in the waste treatment hierarchy, which reduces waste generation and the use of natural resources, thereby helping to reduce human pressure on ecosystems, fauna and flora.
Implementation of the hierarchy of actions of the circular economy, as trans-sectoral actions that will result in re-establishing a balance with natural resources, through changes in production, consumption and usage patterns.

FSWP participation

Through its participation in COP17 (remotely or in person), the FSWP will continue to highlight and emphasise the intrinsic links between waste and resource management and biodiversity conservation. It will carry the Global Push initiative, which aims to break down silos and work towards waste and resource management with a circularity approach that is truly holistic and systemic. Indeed, it is only through coordinated, cross-sectoral work that we can hope for a decontaminated, defossilised future, where economic growth is decoupled from resource extraction and the well-being of living organisms.
More information on the FSWP's participation to come.

ISWA Congress 2026

Pauline — 2025-12-15T15:06:07Z

From 9 to 11 November 2026, London, United Kingdom. The ISWA World Congress 2026 will be dedicated to knowledge sharing and to showcasing global best practices in resource and waste management.

The International Solid Waste Association (ISWA) World Congress is the foremost event in the field of solid waste management. Since its beginning in 1972, it takes place in a different location each year, this time in London. It serves as a global assembly, featuring elevated plenary sessions, technical site visits, and a rich cultural and social itinerary. Here, waste management professionals, government officials, industry leaders, policymakers, scientists, and emerging professionals convene, engaging in constructive dialogues to encourage scientific and technical advancements in sustainable solid waste management.

The Congress is always preceded by the ISWA General Assembly, next to the ISWA Board and Scientific and Technical Committee meetings.

UN Water Conference

Pauline — 2025-12-15T14:39:19Z

From 2 to 4 December 2026, Abou Dabi, United Arab Emirates. The 2026 UN Water Conference, co-hosted by the United Arab Emirates and Senegal, aims to accelerate the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.

Since the UN 2023 Water Conference, which was the first such event in nearly half a century, the inaugural UN System-wide Strategy for Water and Sanitation has been launched and the first UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy on Water has been appointed.

FSWP POSITION

Pollution travels from land to sea: 80% of plastic pollution in oceans originates on land.
Environmentally Sound Management (ESM) of waste as defined by the Basel Convention is one of the most effective and sustainable solutions to reduce river and marine pollution. It protects water quality in hydrographic basins, as a core component of the “source to sea” approach.
The implementation of such management systems is complex, requiring the control of waste collection, treatment, and disposal in ways that protects both human health and the environment. The local waste systems are preventing macro-waste from entering water streams or blocking urban drainage systems, as well as controlling leachate to prevent groundwater pollution.

We demand

... That waste management be recognized as a key element:

to protect water quality and resources, rivers, seas and oceans. We call for it to be recognized in the final statement concluding the UN Water Conference2026.
to drive the negotiations for the upcoming Global Treaty to eliminate plastic pollution, and those under the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions.

Discover the FSWP's statement ahead of the UN Water Conferen below :

FSWP statement

UN Climate Change Conference - COP31

Pauline — 2025-12-15T14:39:08Z

From 9 to 20 November 2026, Antalya, Turkey. It brings together the signatory countries of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

A key task for the COP is to review the national communications and emission inventories submitted by Parties. Based on this information, the COP assess the effects of the measures taken by Parties and the progress made in achieving the ultimate objective of the Convention. The Parties also discuss the measures and means that need to be committed to ensure progress towards the reduction ambition, which is then reported into a joint declaration.

More information about FSWP's participation to come

World Cleanup Day

Pauline — 2025-12-15T14:34:52Z

20 September was proclaimed “World Cleanup Day” in 2023 by the United Nations General Assembly, in its seventy-eighth session, unanimously adopted under resolution 78/122.

The world produces over 2 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste every year, and almost half of this is not properly managed. Waste that is not collected and treated in controlled facilities not only compromises human safety, but also exacerbates the climate crisis, biodiversity loss and pollution.

Waste production could reach 3.8 billion tonnes by 2050.

Waste prevention and management play a key role in building a sustainable future. The aim of World Clean-up Day is to raise the profile of this issue and encourage awareness and collective action to reduce the impact of waste-related pollution on the environment and, consequently, on our health.

High Level Political Forum

Pauline — 2025-12-15T14:34:23Z

From 7 to 15 july 2026, New-York, United-States. Established in 2012 at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, the High Level Political Forum (HLPF) is the forum for monitoring and reviewing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda.

As consultations begin on establishing a new post-2030 systemic framework, this forum continues to review progress on the SDGs, with a focus this year on SDGs 6 (water), 7 (energy), 9 (industry), 11 (sustainable cities) and 17 (partnerships) in detail. The presence of the French Solid Waste Partnership (FSWP) at this event is essential to highlight the systemic link between the SDG framework and waste and resource management. Indeed, waste and resource management has a key role to play in achieving these SDGs, and sustainable waste and resource management depends on the progress of these SDGs.

FSWP participation

During this event, the FSWP will continue to promote the Global Push initiative, which consists of three main areas:

Strengthening the unique systemic framework of the SDGs,
Updating indicators and targets for better waste and resource management around the world, and
The need for a commitment to resources and waste, for sustainable development that respects the environment, guarantees flourishing and rational economic activity, and is the cornerstone of well-being and social justice.

More information on the FSWP's participation to come.

The offical programme for this event can be found here.

BRS Open-ended Working Group - 15

Pauline — 2025-12-15T14:32:34Z

The fifteenth meeting of the Open-ended Working Group (OEWP-15) of the Basel Rotterdam and Stockholm Convention (BRS) will take place from Tuesday, 23 June to Friday, 26 June 2026. The FSWP plans to attend as an observer.

The 15th Open-ended Working Group (OEWG) of the Basel Convention is an interim step between BRS COPs, which takes place every two years. This working group helps to develop and monitor the implementation of the Convention's work plan, specific operational policies and decisions taken by the Conference of the Parties.

The Basel Convention started in 1989 is recognised as the one on hazardous waste, although the key concept of environmentally sound management (ESM) of all waste for the protection of health and the environment is defined therein (Art. 2(8)) and made mandatory for the Parties (Art. 4(2)).

FSWP participation

Through its participation in the working group, the FSWP seeks to identify the most effective levers for action, contribute to discussions and the development of comprehensive roadmaps, and identify topics of interest to Member States. This year, the OEWP will focus in particular on defining textile and plastic waste more precisely in order to better regulate the export of these flows.

During this working group, the FSWP plans to continue its work to mobilise support for the Global Push initiative. The ultimate goal is to enable collaboration between all stakeholders involved in waste and resource management. It appears necessary to create a space for cross-cutting and cross-sectoral discussion on the sustainable management of waste and resources to support the holistic transition to circularity needed to achieve the ultimate goal of decontamination, defossilisation, decoupling economic growth from resource extraction, and the well-being of living beings, .

International day of Zero Waste

Pauline — 2025-01-31T14:48:08Z

30 March 2025. The United Nations' International Day of Zero Waste will be observed every year on March 30.

The second annual International Day of Zero Waste highlights both the critical need to bolster waste management globally and the importance of sustainable production and consumption practices. It celebrates zero-waste initiatives at all levels, which contribute to the advancement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Take part in the Zero Waste Day webinar “Transitioning to zero waste - Perspectives from along the plastics value chain”

1er april 2025. This webinar hosted by the BRS secretariat will be introduced by Rolph Payet, General Secretary of the BRS Conventions and by UNEP, followed by a roundtable discussion on the roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders along the plastics value chain in the transition to Zero waste.
By “Zero Waste” we mean, reducing volumes as much as possible, safely valorising what could not be avoided, and ensuring an environmentally sound disposal or “final sink” of what could not be avoided nor safely valorized.
The Round table moderated by Corinne Trommsdorff executive director of the FSWP, will feature Decathlon as a retailer and manufacturer, ICLEI representing cities and local government in charge of waste management, theInternational Alliance of Waste Pickers who will share on the role of informal recycling, and ISWA on the importance of knowledge exchange within the international community to best address these global issues, but also find inspiration through what others do.

I register

FSWP Position

It is urgent to rethink the production-consumption couple to undertake, in line with SDG12, a “Do more and better with less” approach based on the 10Rs principle. The associated transformation of the production-consumption system , would not only address the climate crisis, but the triple planetary crisis:

Refuse: avoid producing and buying unnecessary products;
Rethink: questioning the potential environmental impact of a product throughout its life cycle before producing or consuming;
Reduce: minimising resource use and developing more efficient consumption patterns;
Reuse: reusing products for a second purpose - moving away from an industry based on resource extraction, and from an economy based on planned obsolescence;
Repair: working against the culture of throwing away, both for consumers, and for producers, especially by designing the products that can easily be repaired;
Refurbish: restoring and modernising an old object to make it as new as possible again, by changing some parts and pieces;
Remanufacture: completely rebuilding an object for refurbishing;
Repurpose: redefine a new destination for the object - creatively finding new uses for items that might otherwise be discarded, thus turning potential waste into a resource.

These first 8Rs are meant to generate less waste upstream, via decreased consumption, extended product lifecycle, and by giving a new use or life to old products. The private sector is key in making this transition happen to reduce waste volumes that need to be managed and to reduce emissions associated with the production of goods. The last 2Rs, “Recycle” and “Recover” energy, are part of the waste management system and further emphasise the importance of valorising all existing products to decrease the amount of resource extraction.

During International Day of Zero Waste, Member States, organizations of the United Nations system, civil society, the private sector, academia, youth and other stakeholders are invited to engage in activities aimed at raising awareness of national, subnational, regional and local zero-waste initiatives and their contribution to achieving sustainable development. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) jointly facilitate the observance of International Day of Zero Waste.

More informations on the UN website.

ISWA Congress 2025

Pauline — 2024-12-04T14:06:07Z

From 27 to 29 October 2025, Buenos Aires, Argentina. The International Solid Waste Association (ISWA) held its annual congress in partnership with its argentinian National Member. The topic of reducing waste generation and recovering resources was central through the Congress #ISWA2025 theme “towards a wasteless future or a wasteful planet”.

The ISWA World Congress is the foremost event in the field of solid waste management. It serves as a global assembly, featuring elevated plenary sessions, technical site visits, and a rich cultural and social itinerary. Here, waste management professionals, government officials, industry leaders, policymakers, scientists, and emerging professionals convene, engaging in constructive dialogues to encourage scientific and technical advancements in sustainable solid waste management.

Since its beginning in 1972, the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA) World Congress has been considered the industry's leading solid waste management event in a different location each year.

The Congress is always preceded by the ISWA General Assembly, next to the ISWA Board and Scientific and Technical Committee meetings.

FSWP PARTICIPATION

– October 25 – Science and technical committee
as Vice-chair of the Working group on Governance and Legal Issues

– October 26 – ISWA Board meeting
as representative of the 50 national members of ISWA

– October 26 – General Assembly
as representative of the National member France. FSWP share its membership with ASTEE, but ASTEE could not be present, and relied on FSWP to represent them.

– October 28 from 15h to 16h – Session moderated by FSWP
Transitioning from linear waste solutions based on landfills to circular economy: the support of the regulatory and governance framework.
We reflected on the key role of the regulatory and governance framework to build basic waste management service while planning the transition to circularity. Speakers reflected on past experiences and today's challenges to support this double transition. The primary mission of public waste management services is to control waste streams in order to minimize the pollution they cause and hence protect health and the environment. Collection of all waste and their disposal in ESM-compliant engineered landfills achieve this goal (building the basics). However, the ambition is to transition to circularity. It's about reducing waste volumes and enhancing recycling and energy recovery. The actions supporting this transition rely on functional waste management systems that provide knowledge on existing waste streams. Planning, clear responsibilities, enforcement, financing or EPR schemes are strengthened by regulatory and governance frameworks supporting this transition.

– October 28 from 16h40 to 19h – Session supported by FSWP
EPR in Action: Case Study and Stakeholder Mapping for Practical Implementation.
The workshop aimed to provide participants with a practical, hands-on understanding of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) implementation under the framework of the Global Plastics Treaty. By using case studies and an interactive panel discussion, participants explored key steps, challenges, and structures necessary to operationalize EPR in real-world contexts. It included case study presentations from South East Europe, Latin America and Africa and emphasize inclusive EPR practices (e.g., engaging the informal recycling sector). Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a central mechanism for achieving sustainable plastic management. The ISWA Technical Note, “EPR in the Plastic Treaty – A Practical Roadmap for Policy and Commitment”, provides a comprehensive framework for EPR implementation. This workshop translated the ISWA Technical Note into actionable strategies through interactive exercises. Participants delved into the dynamics of EPR, focusing on stakeholder interactions, information flows, and the pivotal role of Producer Responsibility Organizations (PROs) in fostering a circular economy. The workshop also addressed themes of just transition for waste pickers and the inclusion of informal waste collectors in EPR systems.

UN Biodiversity Conference - COP16

Pauline — 2024-05-30T15:51:24Z

COP16 on biodiversity will be held in Cali, Colombia. It will have a crucial role in formalizing an international policy framework for the protection of biodiversity, in the context of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

The COP on Biodiversity takes place every 2 years. In 2022, it resulted in an agreement on the Global Framework for Biodiversity, which sets targets for signatory countries to protect biodiversity by 2030 and 2050. The aim of COP 2024 will be to establish an operational framework for the monitoring of member states' progress towards these targets. This will include a regular reassessment of the targets and progress, and the setting of a timetable for future meetings. The challenge will also be to mobilise resources, particularly financial and technical resources, to ensure that the Kunming-Montreal agreement targets are met.

Agreement on the Global Framework for Biodiversity

More information on the event to follow.