US and UK yet to show support for global treaty to tackle plastic pollution

More than two-thirds of UN member states have declared they are open to a new agreement to stem the rising tide of plastic waste

Support is growing internationally for a new global treaty to tackle the plastic pollution crisis, it has emerged, though so far without the two biggest per capita waste producers - the US and the UK - which have yet to signal their participation.

A UN working group on marine litter and microplastics met at a virtual conference last week to discuss the issue. More than two-thirds of UN member states, including African, Baltic, Caribbean, Nordic and Pacific states, as well as the EU, have declared they are open to considering the option of a new agreement.