Not sure if this made US news. The US traditionally had a view of nature as an unlimited resource, so perhaps that is why it won't join in.
Pollution is one of the classic shortcomings of laisser faire capitalism. People will always pass pollution costs to others unless they pay a price for it.
But if a government says its people will pay a tax on plastics unless they use biodegradeable versions, in which the tax costs more than the difference in price, folks will switch. So why not agree to something like that, so no country thinks it gets an advantage by polluting? Soon the plastics problem will be close to zero.
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/plastic-waste-pollution-un-agreement-us-basel-convention-a8909186.html
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