Global plastic pollution treaty talks hit critical stage in Canada

By JENNIFER McDERMOTT
Associated Press

Thousands of negotiators and observers representing most of the world’s nations are gathering in the Canadian city of Ottawa this week to craft a treaty to end the rapidly escalating problem of plastic pollution. Each day, the equivalent of 2,000 garbage trucks full of plastic are dumped into the world’s oceans, rivers and lakes. People are increasingly breathing, eating and drinking tiny particles of plastic. Some at the talks thinks there should be less plastic produced. Oil and gas companies and some countries rich in these resources disagree. Most plastic is made from fossil fuels. Inger Andersen, at the UN, says it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fix something everyone knows must be fixed.