Plastic consumption on course to nearly double by 2050 - research

FILE PHOTO: Workers sort out plastic waste for recycling at Minato Resource Recycle Center in Tokyo, Japan June 10, 2019. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Plastic use in G20 countries is on course to nearly double by the middle of the century unless a comprehensive and legally binding global treaty to curb consumption is drawn up, according to research published on Monday.

Existing programmes to boost recycling or cut single-use plastic consumption only "scratched the surface" and a more comprehensive global plan is required, according to Back to Blue, a research group run by the Economist Impact think-tank and the Nippon Foundation, a private philanthropic organisation.