How Did Plastic Become Such a Problem?

So far, 2024 has been a pivotal year for plastic negotiations as the global community bears the weight of the current plastic pollution crisis. From April 23–29, 2024, delegates from around the world gathered in Ottawa for the fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution–INC-4, otherwise known as the global plastic treaty negotiations (ecojustice 2024). From the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, to the slums of Mumbai, to the shores of Lake Ontario, plastic has become a major component of climatic and environmental strife over the last 80 years.