Ecowatch: Managing the monster that's plastics pollution

Pollution nightmare: A worker attempting to clear plastic waste from a river in Panama. — AFP

SIX rounds, zero results. Global talks in Geneva in August 2025 once again failed to deliver a plastics treaty, leaving the world without a binding plan to rein in soaring production, waste, and pollution. The setback means mounting dangers for people, wildlife, and ecosystems across the planet – especially with recycling not making enough of a dent in the mounting piles of plastic to make a difference.

Could science and technology come to the rescue? Here are some of the methods being tried, along with an idea of how long some things containing plastic take to break down in the environment, underlining why it's vital we do something to solve this runaway problem.