Videos circulating on social media have been sent to FRANCE 24, claiming "plastic rice" was being manufactured in Asia for consumption in Africa. These videos echo many others that surfaced online in 2017, causing misinformation and panic in African countries. What's true and what's fake? We take a look in this edition of Truth or Fake with Vedika Bahl.

Billions of tiny plastic beads, known as nurdles, have been washing up on beaches in the north of Spain and along France’s Atlantic coast. This is the result of industrial pollution on a massive scale. To understand how this form of pollution has gone undetected for so long, the Down to Earth team traveled to Tarragona, Spain, where massive nurdle spills have been reported.

With only 9% of annual plastic waste recycled, the myth that we can recycle our way out of a mounting plastic pollution crisis doesn't add up.

An engineering student says he can turn plastic into petrol in Ghana's Wa town. It's a plan he hopes can solve Ghana's plastic waste menace.

Earlier this year in Mexico, 29-year-old Magnolia Camacho lost her life after undergoing more than 30 surgeries in six months, following the placement of a gastric band. In 2021, a 26-year-old woman died after a cosmetic surgery operation.

Tiny enzymes could kickstart a new way of recycling plastic. But with no end to our plastic addiction in sight, is this a genuine solution?

As plastic production continues unabated, new findings say that with sufficient ambition, the world could cut plastic pollution by more than three-quarters.

As treaty talks over plastic pollution begin in Paris, we find out why recycling schemes, rather than reducing use, may not be that green of an idea. We take a look at different reactions to Recep Tayyip Erdogan's re-election. Reactions to Juliette Triet’s Palme D'or speech also continue to roll in, with the French media having widely different takes. Finally, we find out about a bear with a sneaky sweet tooth.

Like a Paris deal for plastics, countries want to end plastic pollution with a global treaty. But observers are already concerned that it is ignoring the most obvious solution, while others are dragging their feet.

The UNEP's recommendations for achieving an 80 percent reduction globally in plastic pollution by 2040 included: Promoting more options for re-using plastic, including refillable bottles, bulk dispensers, deposit-return schemes and packaging take-back programs.

It's hard to overstate just how pervasive and permanent plastic pollution has become, with microplastics now found in almost every corner of the world - from the bottom of the oceans, to the peaks of the Himalayas, to our own stomachs. Talks have been taking place in Paris aimed at limiting global plastic pollution - the second phase of ambitious UN negotiations with the goal of reaching a legally-binding international treaty by the end of 2024.

In 2022, UN Member States agreed to start negotiating a new global treaty to end plastic pollution. This is a historic step towards protecting wildlife, the environment, and humans from the harmful effects of plastic pollution.