The amount of plastic floating in the world’s oceans rose by an “unprecedented” degree over the last decade and a half to reach more than 170 trillion plastic particles in 2019. That’s the shocking finding of a new study from scientists at the 5 Gyres Institute, the University of California, Riverside, the Stockholm Resilience Center […]
In recent years, there has been growing awareness of the risk that single-use plastics pose to the environment and human health as well as greater efforts made to regulate them. Despite this, the number of single-use plastics produced in 2021 rose to record heights at 139 million metric tons. That’s six million metric tons more […]
Zero-waste refers to principles of minimizing waste production as much as possible. Béa Johnson of Zero Waste Home calls the framework for zero-waste the 5 Rs: refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, and rot.
Supermarkets Woolworths and Coles have been ordered by the New South Wales (NSW) Environment Protection Authority (EPA) to dispose of more than 5,732 tons of recycled soft plastics currently sitting in more than a dozen warehouses across NSW. The concern is that they’re being dangerously stored since the collapse of recycling organization REDcycle — a […]
Scientists from Osaka Metropolitan University have found a way to synthesize fumaric acid, a raw material using for producing the biodegradable plastic polybutylene succinate, using artificial photosynthesis. The plastic, typically made from petroleum, was synthesized from carbon dioxide, biomass-derived compounds, and solar energy. The study, published in the journal Sustainable Energy & Fuels, documents the […]
In England, the government has announced plans to ban single-use plastic dinnerware, including closed-cell extruded polystyrene foam trays (commonly referred to as the brand name Styrofoam), plastic utensils and plastic plates. The announcement follows similar bans in Scotland and Wales. Scotland’s ban on single-use plastics took effect in August 2022, and Wales recently passed a […]
Amazon produced enough plastic packaging in 2021 to wrap the Earth more than 800 times in air pillows.
In an attempt to deal with the growing plastic waste problem in the UK and the planet, the UK government is set to ban additional single-use plastic items like plates and cutlery in England, after banning straws, stirrers and cotton swabs there in 2020. From November of last year to February of 2022, a public […]
Could countries come together to find a solution to the plastic pollution crisis? International collaboration on environmental issues has a mixed track record. The Montreal Protocol successfully reduced the refrigerants and other chemicals burning a hole in the ozone layer, but the efforts of the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are still not […]
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