Landmark UN plastic waste pact OK’d — but not by US

GENEVA (AP) — Nearly every country in the world has agreed upon a legally binding framework to reduce the pollution from plastic waste except for the United States, United Nations environmental officials say.

An agreement on tracking thousands of types of plastic waste emerged on Friday at the end of a two-week meeting of UN-backed conventions on plastic waste and toxic, hazardous chemicals.

Discarded plastic clutters pristine land, floats in huge masses in oceans and rivers and entangles wildlife, sometimes with deadly results.

Rolph Payet of the UN Environment Program said the “historic” agreement linked to the 186-country, UN-supported Basel Convention means that countries will have to monitor and track the movements of plastic waste outside their borders.

The deal affects products used in a broad array of industries, such as health care, technology, aerospace, fashion, food and beverages.

“It’s sending a very strong political signal to the rest of the world – to the private sector, to the consumer market – that we need to do something,” Payet said.

“Countries have decided to do something which will translate into real action on the ground,” he added.

Countries will have to figure out their own ways of adhering to the accord, according to Payet. Even the few countries that did not sign it, like the US, could be affected by the accord when they ship plastic waste to countries that are on board with the deal.

Payet credited Norway for leading the initiative, which first was presented in September. The time from that proposal to the approval of a deal set a blistering pace by traditional UN standards for such an accord.