Ocean plastic tide 'violates international law'

The global tide of ocean plastic pollution is a clear violation of international law, campaigners say.

They have been urging for a new global treaty to tackle the problem.

But a new report - to be presented to a Royal Geographical Society conference on Tuesday - says littering the sea with plastics is already prohibited under existing agreements, BBC News reports.

The report urges those governments that are trying to tackle the issue to put legal pressure on those that are not.

The paper has been written by the veteran environment journalist Oliver Tickell.

His conclusions are backed by ClientEarth, the legal group that successfully sued the UK over failures to meet air pollution laws.

Tickell says legal action against big polluters such as China, India and Indonesia can be taken only by a nation state.

So he calls for governments and green groups to support small island nations suffering most from plastic pollution.

Tickell maintains that marine plastic litter can already be controlled through the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS); the London Convention; the MARPOL Convention; the Basel Convention; Customary Law, and many other regional agreements.