FILE PHOTO: A boy searches for fish in the polluted sea backwaters near marina beach in the southern Indian city of Chennai July 3, 2013.
If current pollution rates continue, there will be more plastic in the sea than fish by 2050, said the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) which organized the meeting.
Eight million tonnes of plastic - bottles, packaging and other waste - are dumped into the ocean every year, killing marine life and entering the human food chain, UNEP added.
Norway, which initiated the resolution, has seen the evidence of the damage the pollution causes first hand, he said.
China is the biggest producer of plastic waste but has started making efforts to cut down, UNEP head Erik Solheim said.
Under the resolution, countries agreed to start monitoring the amount of plastic they put into the ocean.
“Chile, Oman, Sri Lanka and South Africa today ... announced measures including plastic bag bans, new marine reserves and drives to increase recycling. »
