Cheap virgin plastic limits recycling potential

This week, government negotiators are meeting in Switzerland to try and agree the final details of a global treaty to end plastic pollution, closely watched by lobbyists from across industry and environmental groups.

So far, negotiations have been slowed by a staunch minority coalition of countries whose economies rely heavily on plastics and petrochemicals. They are pushing for the treaty to focus primarily on improving collection and recycling of plastic waste – to prevent it ending up in the environment – without including commitments to reduce production of virgin plastic materials, or to restrict use of certain chemicals within plastic production that increase the hazard posed by plastic during and after its use.