GENEVA: Countries remained at loggerheads Monday over how to tackle plastic pollution, with only four days left to craft a landmark global treaty on reining in the ever-growing scourge. While plastic has transformed modern life, plastic pollution poses an increasing threat to the environment and the human body — and every day the garbage accumulates on land and in the oceans. The 184 countries meeting at the United Nations to sculpt a first international accord setting out the way forward return to the negotiating table after a day off Sunday to reflect on their differences.

Negotiations opened in Geneva on Tuesday to strike a legally-binding instrument that would tackle the growing problem of plastic pollution.

A coalition of oil-producing states remains at odds with an ‘ambitious’ group that wants radical action written into a treaty.