In environmental news, nearly all the countries in the world have agreed to curb plastic waste—except the United States. In a landmark agreement, 187 governments agreed to add plastic to the Basel Convention, a treaty that regulates the movement of hazardous materials between countries. The U.S. was not involved in the negotiations because it is one of just two countries that has not signed the treaty. The amended treaty will make it more difficult for rich countries to send their plastic waste to poorer nations. The U.N. estimates there are 100 million tons of plastic waste in the world’s oceans. This is the U.N.’s Rolph Payet.

Rolph Payet: “Plastic is everywhere. And we need a force to solve it. It cannot be the responsibility of only one country; it has to be all the countries of the world. All consumers, all organizations have to come together, including the private sector, the plastic producers, you know, have to come together for us to find a solution.”