It’s Time for a Global Treaty on Plastics
Author: Erica Cirino
Representatives of United Nations member states prepares to address plastic pollution in the seas is a top priority. Tiny toxic plastic particles now permeate not only the oceans, but indoor and outdoor air, freshwaters, soils, plants, outer space, and the bodies of humans and other animals. UN negotiators must take urgent steps to recognize plastic pollution as more than a matter of litter in the ocean, as it has historically - and misleadingly - been portrayed. It’s now time to develop a binding, enforceable agreement that would require the plastics industry and other entities that have suppod its rapid rise be held accountable for the damages caused to people and the planet, and lay out a pathway to a safe, equitable future without plastics.