NEGOTIATIONS on a treaty to end plastic pollution came to an end today (SUN) as nations failed to agree on whether limiting plastic production should be included.

Global representatives met in South Korea to try to reach a solution to the world’s plastic problem, but failed and plan to meet again in a year.

The world produces more than 400 million tons of new plastic annually and plastic production could climb about 70 per cent by 2040 without policy changes.

Ahead of the final push to include plastic production in the treaty, delegates from some countries criticised the draft version as too weak.

Ghana’s lead negotiator Sam Adu-Kumi said it was full of voluntary measures that would not end plastic pollution, adding that the world needed a treaty that imposed obligations on all parties.

Communities, bodies of water, drains and farmlands are choked with plastics and dumping sites full of plastics are always on fire, he added.

At a news conference earlier in the day, Panama and Fiji said that if other nations would not join them in “standing up for the ambition this treaty requires,” they should “get out” of their way.

They were joined by Mexico, France, Rwanda and the European Union, who said they would do everything possible in the final hours to push a treaty forward.

Fijian Environment and Climate Change Secretary Sivendra Michael said: “We are already doing waste management efforts back home.

“This treaty has to be bigger than all of us. It’s about saving this planet. It’s about saving humanity.”

A growing number of countries told the meeting that they wanted to address the total amount of plastic produced.

But plastic-producing and oil and gas countries such as Saudi Arabia have dug their heels in, calling instead for a treaty focusing on better plastic waste management and recycling.

Currently, every nation must agree for any proposal to make it into the treaty.