Over the summer, you may have read about the breakdown in talks that were intended to produce a global treaty on how to minimize plastics waste. The unbridgeable gap was formed between opponents of plastic, who wanted to ban the most toxic chemicals that cause human harm, and supporters of plastic, who wanted to focus on better waste collection and recycling. Doing both does not appear to have been an option considered by the participants, despite the urgency, as reported in the article in the url below:
"The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development estimates that, without global action to curb plastic pollution, plastic production will grow by 70 percent between 2020 and 2040, totaling 736 million tons a year by the end of that period. Overall as of 2020, less than 10 percent of global plastic waste was estimated to have been recycled, with the rest disposed of in landfills, incinerated or released into the environment."
The article covers many of the details; it also contains a photo that I found particularly striking (and depressing). See if you can spot where the edges of the boats end and the 'water' begins (with 'water' really being just a sea of floating plastic):
I wonder if that is our future, coming to a waterway near you. The tagline accompanying the image in the article is revealing:
"Boaters collect recyclable plastic from the polluted Citarum River in West Java, Indonesia, last year. The United States has turned against production caps on plastic."
Take care
David
David Chandler
© Sage Publications, 2023
Plastic Talks Collapse As Oil States Oppose Broad Pollution Treaty
By Hiroko Tabuchi
August 16, 2025
The New York Times
Late Edition – Final
A8
