Plastic pollution is a growing problem. Here are some ideas on how to solve it.

If you think humanity’s addiction to fossil fuels is hard to shake, it’s nothing compared to the strength of our plastics habit.

In rich countries, per-capita carbon emissions and crude oil consumption have both fallen by about 15% since the turn of the millennium. That might seem slow, but at least it’s progress: When it comes to polymers, our usage has risen by 29% over the same period.

That imbues a certain fatalism into the negotiations due to wrap up in Ottawa Monday. Representatives there are attempting to hammer out the skeleton of a global treaty on plastics pollution that will join similar United Nations pacts on climate change, ozone-depleting chemicals and biodiversity.