UN plastic treaty to tackle production, packaging design

NAIROBI: United Nations negotiators have agreed a roadmap for a global plastic treaty that would address plastic production and design, according to a draft resolution seen by Reuters, in what delegates said was a key step to agreeing an ambitious deal.

U.N. member states are meeting this week in Nairobi to agree plans for the first global agreement to tackle plastic pollution, a soaring environmental crisis that is destroying marine habitats and contaminating the food chain. They hope to agree a full treaty within the next two years. Going into the summit, the main sticking points were whether any agreement would be legally binding or voluntary, and if it would address plastic production and single-use packaging design or be confined to improving waste management and recycling.