The General Assembly,
Acknowledging the large volume of waste produced in member nations partly as a result of rapid economic growth;
Recognising that large amounts of this non-compostable waste could cause serious damage to the health of animals and ecosystems;
Convinced that promoting and mandating recycling could reduce waste and prevent it from contaminating ecosystems;
Believing it is the duty of the World Assembly to promote such practices in order to protect the health of all beings and the ecosystems they inhabit; Hereby:
1. Defines, for the purposes of this resolution:
- "recyclable waste" as waste that can be safely reprocessed into a material or product that can be reused for a practical purpose such as in manufacturing,
- "recycled materials" as recyclable waste that has undergone the recycling process and has become a reusable material;
2. Compels member nations to ensure the availability of easily accessible, safe, and usable recycling systems for use by their businesses and inhabitants;
3. Mandates that member nations regularly upgrade and update any structures or buildings involved in the recycling process, pre-existing or otherwise, with the best possible improvements given the finances that might reasonably be allocated;
4. Authorises the use of the World Assembly General Fund, by member states, in order to ensure effective and reasonably-affordable compliance with clauses 2 and 3, for those that states that are reasonably unable to achieve these mandates otherwise;
5. Requires member nations to create initiatives, through penalisation or incentives, to:
- raise awareness of recycling as a method to reuse waste;
- encourage inhabitants and businesses to use recycling centres to recycle recyclable waste;
- promote the usage or purchase of items made from recycled materials;
6. Mandates that member nations implement these initiatives to practical benefit;
7. Obligates member nations to create further accessible collection systems for recyclable waste, such as door side recycling or properly marked recycling bins;
8. Permits member states to incinerate or create and use landfills for certain types of waste when the technology or infrastructure does not exist, in that nation, to process the waste efficiently in a more environmentally-friendly way;
9. Mandates that member nations employ recycled materials wherever reasonably feasible;
10. Recommends member states to collate and conduct research to create or delegate the creation of more efficient or safer waste reduction or recycling methods, and to share this knowledge between each other;
11. Despite the above, requires member nations to pursue the least environmentally damaging viable alternative regarding waste reduction and recycling in cases where following any of the above mandates would result in a worse net outcome for the environment than not following them.
Co-authored by
Kenmoria.
