The uniform adoption of just four waste management policies around the world could eliminate more than 90 percent of the planet’s plastic waste and nearly a third of associated carbon emissions by 2050, a new study has found.

If countries choose to proceed with the status quo, on the other hand, the amount of plastic waste worldwide could double by that deadline, University of California researchers revealed in the study, published on Wednesday in Science.

But they stressed that all is not lost — and that global nations have room to rectify this crisis by taking action to curb the mishandling of their waste.

The four policies would involve requiring that new products be made with 40 percent postconsumer recycled plastic, capping new plastic production at 2020 levels, implementing a small fee on plastic packaging and investing heavily in plastic waste management, such as landfills and waste collections services.

Adopting such a policy package would also deliver........

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