Countries have deadlocked on a United Nations treaty on plastic pollution, according to The Associated Press. The treaty, with an aim of tackling worldwide plastic pollution, faced a hurdle due to negotiators not being able to get past the question of whether it should bring down the planet’s overall plastic while also having mandatory

During the late-night meeting, countries supportive of legal obligations to cut plastic pollution refused to accept a treaty limited to voluntary measures. The treaty must take action at each stage of a plastic item’s life cycle, they asserted. That includes reducing how much plastic is made.