Pollution is a major issue in just about every corner of the earth. Unfortunately, it’s difficult for every country to come together and find viable options to address the world’s pollution issues, but researchers and organizations are trying everything they can.

According to Project Syndicate, certain governments are turning to a better plastics program to rid the world (at least partially) of severe plastic pollution. There are plenty of anti-plastic policies that have been tried, but those typically impact plastic manufacturers. This new approach is taking a look at improving the product itself in order to heal the world’s oceans.

Bio-plastics have been used in some plastic plants around the globe. This material is derived from biomasses like cornstarch, but it can be difficult for bio-plastics to be fully separated from real plastic. Also, this strategy is difficult to implement en masse because bio-plastics are quite expensive and require a lot of energy to produce.

Another negative impact if too strict regulations strike the plastics industry would be the effect on the lower class. Despite plastic’s harm when improperly discarded into the environment, it’s still an inexpensive, convenient, and often necessary material in homes and businesses across the world. American citizens even use 2.5 million plastic bottles every single hour.

In the U.K., nearly 15 million plastic bottles are thrown away rather than recycled every day. The plastic bottle industry is looking toward improving its product but is facing difficulties of their own.

Eco Watch reports that at a roundtable meeting in October, there was a worry that customers generally associate softer bottles with inferior quality, despite the fact that environmentally-aware consumers admit to wanting better products.

Since bio-plastics don’t seem like a viable option, it’s important that research continues and officials throughout the plastics industry remain vigilant in finding a better solution to address the plastic pollution impacting the world.