The European Union is ready to do a deal to land a groundbreaking treaty on plastic pollution, but not at any cost, the EU's environment commissioner insisted Tuesday.

With little over two days left to strike a global accord in talks at the UN in Geneva, Jessika Roswall said it was "time" to clinch a deal between oil-producing countries and more ambitious nations, including EU states.

Five previous rounds of talks over the past two and a half years have failed to seal an agreement, including a supposedly final round in South Korea late last year.

The current talks in Geneva opened a week ago but are due to close on Thursday.

"The EU is ready to do a deal but not at any cost," Roswall told reporters.

"We do like plastic... and we will continue to need it. However, we don't like plastic

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