An international consortium of researchers is working to create a “gelatinous solution to microplastic waste” by forming a filter made of jellyfish mucus which could filter microplastics from sea and ocean water.

Single-use plastics include items such as plastic bags, straws, water bottles, and many forms of food packaging and the European Commission’s Vice-President of the Executive Cabinet, Frans Timmerman, hinted that the EU may soon be banning them.

During a UN's environment ministers meeting in Nairobi, Kenya last month, Norway proposed a zero tolerance of plastic pollution and suggested an international treaty banning plastic waste from entering the sea.

More than 150 companies are asking that governments ban oxo-degradable plastic packaging due to the negative effects it can have on the environment and marine wildlife in a statement organized by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy Initiative.

The Canadian government has proposed a regulation which would ban the use of microbeads in toiletries by July, 2018 and natural health products and non-prescription drugs by July, 2019.