Is it time for a global plastics treaty?

Abstract

A freighter loaded with bales of used plastic casts off somewhere in the industrialized world, gaining steam as it sails toward a developing country. After the ship arrives in port and the cargo is unloaded, it’s anyone’s guess how much—if any—of this plastic will be recycled. Some or all could get stacked in landfills, burned in the open, or blown away as litter that eventually ends up in the ocean, the final resting place in our environment for plastic debris. Images of sea turtles choking on translucent bags and dead seabirds with bellies full of colorful plastic debris have snagged the attention of the public and policy makers worldwide. The same is true for mountains of plastic waste building up in developing countries that lack infrastructure to recycle or dispose of it. At United Nations meetings for the last several years, governments have discussed how they might address plastic waste.