Call for global treaty to end production of ‘virgin’ plastic by 2040

Scientists say agreement must cover extraction of raw materials and pollution that blights seas and land

A binding global treaty is needed to phase out the production of virgin" or new plastic by 2040, scientists have said.

The solution to the blight of plastic pollution in the oceans and on land would be a worldwide agreement on limits and controls, they say in a special report in the journal Science.