Talks aimed at striking a landmark treaty on tackling the scourge of plastic pollution ended on Friday with no consensus on a last-ditch proposal aimed at breaking the deadlock.

Negotiators from 185 countries went through the night in a bid to try and find common ground between nations wanting bold action such as curbing plastic production, and oil-producing states that wanted any treaty to focus more narrowly on waste management.

Meanwhile the talks at the United Nations in Geneva, which began on August 5, ended without a deal, despite running past Thursday's deadline.

After a talk session held behind closed doors broke up, countries gathered in the UN Palais des Nations' main assembly hall to reflect on the impasse and consider where they go from here.

Norway's negotiator revealed that as country representatives took the floor following talks that went through the night, there was no final decision on a treaty to end plastic pollution.

Similarly, Palau, speaking for 39 small island developing states, voiced frustration at repeatedly investing resources and personnel in such talks and repeatedly returning home with insufficient progress to show citizens of represented countries.

The High Ambition Coalition, which includes the European Union, Britain and Canada, and many African and Latin American countries, wanted to see language on reducing plastic production and the phasing out of toxic chemicals used in plastics.

Recall that a cluster of mostly oil-producing states calling themselves the Like-Minded Group, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Russia, Iran, and Malaysia want the treaty to have a much narrower remit.