Plastic pollution in the Dominican Republic.
Photographer: Mario De Moya F/Getty Images
Can the World Unite to End the Plastic Pollution Crisis?
As the last negotiations for a global plastic treaty begin in South Korea, countries are divided over whether to cap production of the ubiquitous material.
The final round of United Nations-brokered talks aimed at tackling plastic pollution opened in South Korea with deep divisions over the need to stem the rising flood of the material, a rift that threatens to scupper a two-year long quest for a deal.
The tension at the heart of negotiations, which began Monday in Busan and were on full display during the opening plenary, is whether to agree to binding limits on certain classes of chemicals and on plastic production, or to settle on a package of funding aimed at improving trash collection and recycling.