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Beach trash from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch washed up on a beach in Hawaii. Justin Dolske / CC BY-SA 2.0
When sailor and environmentalist Emily Penn tested her own body for some of the toxic chemicals that are found when plastics break down in the oceans, she got a surprise.
<p style="">"I then found them inside me as well," she told <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-44579420" target="_blank">BBC News</a>, according to a story published Tuesday.</p><p style="">The chemicals, which mimic the sex hormone oestradiol, can impact fertility in animals and humans that ingest the tiny pieces of plastic that contain them. Plastics also absorb toxins from the ocean that make their way up the marine food web and into human stomachs as they accumulate in the tissue of predators.</p><p style="">"During pregnancy, it's critical that you don't have these hormone disruptors inside you; we can pass them on to our children through childbirth and breastfeeding," Penn said. </p><p style="">The test results led her to realize that plastic pollution is a women's health issue. </p><p style="">"It was that journey for me, that got me on the women's track because I realised it was a very women-focused issue because of the toxic nature of what we were facing," she said.</p><p style="">In response, Penn is putting together an all-women team to investigate ocean plastics. Together, she and her crew will sail to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the gyre of plastic in the Northern Pacific Ocean <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/great-pacific-garbage-patch-texas-2551330463.html" target="_self">twice the size of Texas</a>, and test the air, water and sediments they encounter, sharing the data with universities. </p><p style="">"We'll be looking at sediments for the plastics that have sunk to the bottom and we'll be looking at the air and the microfibres that are present in the air that we are breathing—we are taking the science to the next level," she said. </p><p style="">Penn is currently in Hawaii, where she will begin her journey in a 72 foot research vessel called the Sea Dragon. The ship will make a two-legged journey, first from Hawaii to Vancouver and then from Vancouver to Seattle. Ten women from around the world will sail with Penn for each leg of the journey. </p><p style="">The team will use a manta trawl to gather plastics and will also observe <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife" target="_blank">wildlife</a>. </p><p style="">"We'll be looking at the chemicals on the surface of the plastics, and particularly in areas where turtles are living," Penn said.</p><p style="">This isn't the first action Penn has taken to protect the environment. She organized the largest grassroots cleanup of the island of Tonga and sailed around the world on a boat run on biodiesel. </p><p style="">Penn also hoped her journey would spread awareness about the scope of the plastic pollution problem.</p>"When you put a fine mesh net into the water and pull up 1,000 almost invisible <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/microplastics" target="_self">microplastic</a> pieces, and then you realise we have 5 trillion fragments on the surface of our oceans and we can't go out there and clean it up, because it's the same size as the algae and the zooplankton," Penn said.
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Trump Isolates U.S. on Climate, Ocean Plastics and Trade Following Contentious G7 Summit
11 June 2018
Politics
Negotiations between Trump and the rest of the G7 leaders. Dan Scavino Jr. / Wikimedia Commons
After declining to attend the Group of Seven (G7) meeting on climate change, clean energy and oceans Saturday, President Donald Trump pulled out of the summit's official communique, which saw the other countries renew their commitments to the Paris agreement, Inside Climate News reported Sunday.
<p>The communique, which summarized the meeting of major world democracies in Charlevoix, Quebec June 8 and 9, had already included separate statements from the U.S. and the rest of the participants. Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, the United Kingdom and the European Union all recommitted to the Paris agreement. Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the UK and the EU all also endorsed the <a href="https://g7.gc.ca/en/official-documents/charlevoix-blueprint-healthy-oceans-seas-resilient-coastal-communities/#a1" target="_blank">G7 Ocean Plastics Charter</a>, which sets goals towards reducing the use of unnecessary <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/plastics" target="_self">plastics</a> and improving recycling. The U.S., meanwhile, wrote a statement focusing on the importance of "affordable and reliable energy resources." </p><p>But despite already diverging from the rest of the group on environmental issues, Trump announced via Tweet on Saturday that he had instructed U.S. representatives not to endorse the communique at all after he was angered by remarks made by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at a press conference.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
<iframe width="100%" height="150" scrolling="no" class="rm-shortcode twitter-embed-1005586152076689408" id="twitter-embed-1005586152076689408" type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="/res/community/twitter_embed/?iframe_id=twitter-embed-1005586152076689408&created_ts=1528585396.0&screen_name=realDonaldTrump&text=Based+on+Justin%E2%80%99s+false+statements+at+his+news+conference%2C+and+the+fact+that+Canada+is+charging+massive+Tariffs+to%E2%80%A6+https%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2F8GTCnRTTEG&id=1005586152076689408&name=Donald+J.+Trump" frameborder="0" data-rm-shortcode-id="QS1I6Z1576663405"></iframe>
</p><p>Trump's most vocal disagreement with Trudeau and other world leaders focused on trade, not climate. The week before the summit, Trump had placed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada, the EU and Mexico and at the summit said he would end trade with countries whose policies with the U.S. he deemed unfair, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jun/10/g7-in-disarray-after-trump-rejects-communique-and-attacks-weak-trudeau" target="_blank">The Guardian reported</a>.<br></p><p>In the press conference that prompted Trump's tweet, Trudeau had said he would not approve a change to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) sought by Trump that would allow a member country to leave the agreement after five years, according to The Guardian.</p><p>The other G7 nations stood by the communique. </p><p>"Let's be serious and worthy of our people," the French presidency said in a statement quoted by AFP. and reported by Inside Climate News. "International co-operation cannot be dictated by fits of anger and throwaway remarks."</p><p>"President Trump's wrecking ball approach to international diplomacy left him utterly isolated at the G7 summit. Leaders from the other six countries didn't even try to paper over their strong disagreements with Trump on trade, climate change and other important issues. On climate change, they made clear their determination to meet their national commitments under the Paris Agreement, and to continue efforts to decarbonize the global economy," <a href="https://www.ucsusa.org" target="_blank">Union of Concerned Scientists</a> director of strategy and policy Alden Meyer said in a <a href="https://www.ucsusa.org/press/2018/us-goes-rogue-allies-climate-change-other-issues-g7-summit#.Wx45K-jwbre" target="_blank">statement</a> about the summit reported by Inside Climate News.</p><p>"As communities across the U.S. confront the costly and harmful impacts of climate change, it's these leaders—not President Trump—who are acting in the true economic, environmental and national security interests of the American people," Meyer concluded. </p><p>These other leaders promised, in a more comprehensive climate statement than 2017's, to reduce water pollution, <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/air-pollution" target="_blank">air pollution</a> and greenhouse gas emissions to achieve a carbon-neutral economy in the second half of the 21st century. They also pledged to work with local governments, indigenous communities, impacted coastal or island nations and the private sector to meet their climate goals. </p><p>The summit coincided with <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/world-oceans-day-2575990121.html" target="_self">World Oceans Day</a> and Saturday's <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/march-for-the-ocean-2562957165.html">March for the Ocean</a>, so it was fitting that G7 leaders also endorsed the <a href="https://g7.gc.ca/en/official-documents/charlevoix-blueprint-healthy-oceans-seas-resilient-coastal-communities/" target="_blank">Charlevoix Blueprint for Healthy Oceans, Seas and Resilient Coastal Communities</a>, which calls for promoting oceans research, improving the sustainability of fisheries, helping coastal communities be resilient to climate change and reducing marine litter. </p><p>Every G7 nation besides the U.S. and Japan endorsed the G7 Ocean Plastics Charter, which sets specific goals of working with industry towards 100 percent reusable or recoverable plastics by 2030 and recycling 55 percent of plastic packaging by 2030 and 100 percent by 2040, among others. </p>
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Greenpeace Finds Microplastics and Hazardous Chemicals in Remote Antarctic Waters
07 June 2018
Popular
Christian Åslund / Greenpeace
Another day, another sign of the reach of the global ocean plastics crisis. A Greenpeace expedition to Antarctica turned up microplastics in more than half of ocean water samples taken in the world's southernmost waters. It also found chemicals dangerous to wildlife in a majority of snow samples, Greenpeace reported Wednesday.
<p style="">"We may think of the Antarctic as a remote and pristine wilderness," Frida Bengtsson of Greenpeace's Protect the Antarctic campaign said in the press release, "but from pollution and <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-change" target="_self">climate change</a> to industrial krill fishing, humanity's footprint is clear. These results show that even the most remote habitats of the Antarctic are contaminated with microplastic waste and persistent hazardous chemicals."</p>
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<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Microplastic sampling in Antarctic waters from aboard the Arctic Sunrise. Sandra Schoettner, marine biologist and oceans campaigner with Greenpeace Germany and crew deploying the so-called manta trawl – a net specifically designed for skimming small particles from the sea surface.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">Christian Åslund / Greenpeace</small></p>
<p>Greenpeace took the samples on a landmark expedition during the first three months of 2018 that helped fill in the limited global data on microplastic pollution in the Antarctic. In seven of eight samples of surface water tested, they found at least one microplastic per litre (approximately 1.06 quarts) of water. Out of nine samples taken with manta trawl nets, they found two that contained microplastics.<br></p><p style="">Greenpeace also tested for chemicals known as per- and polyfluorinated alkylated substances (PFASs). These are chemicals used in industrial processes and commercial products, notably for water or dirt repellent in outdoor gear. They break down very slowly once they enter the environment and have been known to impact wildlife reproduction and development. Greenpeace found PFASs in seven of nine snow samples. The results were reported in depth in the document <em><a href="https://storage.googleapis.com/p4-production-content/international/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/4f99ea57-microplastic-antarctic-report-final.pdf" target="_blank">Microplastics and Persistent Fluorinated Chemicals in the Antarctic</a></em>.</p>
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<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xNzk3MzA3MS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MTY2MjIyMH0.VLodovH7_kLfYNk_YpHagL2UNSeVsNI7cPWvFUMw3y8/img.jpg?width=980" id="d7a71" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="dc9f565368f4543c9ce2233283e3d22d" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Campaigner Thilo Maack takes snow samples, for testing of environmental pollutants, on Greenwich Island in the Antarctic.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">Paul Hilton / Greenpeace</small></p>
<p>Greenpeace's research was part of a campaign to create the largest protected area on Earth in the Antarctic. The Antarctic Ocean Sanctuary, proposed by the EU, would be 1.8 million square kilometers (approximately 1.12 million square miles) and will be decided on at the Antarctic Ocean Commission Meeting in October 2018.<br></p><p style=""> Bengtsson said the expedition results reinforced the need for such a sanctuary. </p><p style="">"Plastic has now been found in all corners of our oceans, from the Antarctic to the Arctic and at the deepest point of the ocean, the Mariana Trench. We need urgent action to reduce the flow of plastic into our seas and we need large scale marine reserves—like a huge Antarctic Ocean Sanctuary which over 1.6 million people are calling for—to protect marine life and our oceans for future generations," she said. </p><p style="">In addition to the smaller pollutants and plastics, Bengtsson also noticed refuse from the fishing industry on the journey.</p><p style="">"Buoys, nets and tarpaulins drifted in between icebergs, which was really sad to see. We took them out of the water, but it really made clear to me how we need to put vast parts of this area off-limits to human activity if we're going to protect the Antarctic's incredible wildlife," she said. </p>
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A fishing boat in Kollam, India, where fisherman have begun recycling plastics. Thangaraj Kumaravel / Flickr / CC BY 2.0
A fishing town on the southwest tip of India is showing what a community can achieve when it decides to face an environmental problem and turn it into a solution, using ocean plastics to empower women and literally build roads to a better future.
<p>In an inspiring profile on the town of Kollam in the southernmost Indian state of Kerala, <a href="https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/05/fishermen-kerala-india-recycle-plastic-pollution-culture/" target="_blank">National Geographic</a> spoke with fisherman Xavier Peter. Peter has harvested fish and shrimp for three decades, but recently the uptick in plastic pollution has made his job much harder. Peter said he and his crew often pull up more plastic than fish and can spend hours separating it from their catch and nets. </p><p>"Pulling the nets out of the water is extra effort, with all this plastic tangled in them," he said. "It's a bit like trying to draw water from a well—your bucket is somehow being weighed back down."</p><p>The region had no recycling facility or waste collection, so, for a long time, the fisherman thought all they could do was complain and throw the plastic back into the water. Then Peter Mathias, a leader of a union for fishing boat owners in the region, decided he had heard enough complaints from fellow fisherman and decided to do something about it. </p><p>"It is affecting our work," Mathias told National Geographic. "So in this way it's our responsibility, and necessary for our survival as fishermen to keep the sea clean."</p><p>In summer of 2017, he asked state minister of fisheries J. Mercykutty Amma if she could set up a way to recycle the plastic that fisherman hauled in. She, in turn, reached out to five other government departments. </p><p>The department of civil engineers agreed to build a recycling plant and the department for women's empowerment found female workers to make the plant run, offering the women a chance to earn money in an economic landscape where most jobs, like fishing, are seen as male.</p><p>Now, Peter and 5,000 other fisherman collect all the plastic caught in their nets and, instead of tossing it back, bring it to shore to be recycled. Since August 2017, they have collected 65 metric tons (approximately 71 U.S. tons). Thirty women then work to clean and sort the plastic. Since much of it is too degraded to be traditionally recycled, it is shredded and sold to road crews to strengthen their asphalt. </p><p>The program has already had a positive impact. The fisherman said they have noticed a decline in the amount of plastic in their nets. And the program is spreading around the region. The organizers have helped other fishing communities raise funds to build their own recycling plants, including a clam diving community who had tried to collect plastic previously only to give up when they had no way to dispose of it.</p><p>"]Fisherman] through all of Kerala, all of India, and all of the world will join us," Mathias told National Geographic. </p>
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Parley Continues Its Innovative Campaign to Save Our Oceans With Sports and Fashion Partners
01 June 2018
Business
Parley for the Oceans and adidas are teaming up for the second annual Run for the Oceans starting June 8. Adidas
As World Oceans Day approaches June 8, the innovative non-profit Parley for the Oceans is teaming up with partners in the sports and fashion industries to raise awareness about the threats facing our oceans and take action to save them.
<p>On Thursday, <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/run-for-the-oceans-grows-in-2018--adidas-x-parley-announce-expanded-global-campaign-to-harness-the-power-of-sport-and-continue-fight-against-the-threat-of-marine-plastic-pollution-300657555.html" target="_blank">Adidas announced</a> that it would once again work with Parley for the second annual Run For The Oceans. Starting World Oceans Day and lasting for one month, Adidas will donate $1 for every kilometer run by participants to the <a href="http://www.parley.tv/ocean-plastic-program/" target="_blank">Parley Ocean Plastic Program</a>, which targets marine <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/plastics" target="_self">plastic</a> pollution specifically. To <a href="https://www.adidas.co.uk/parley" target="_blank">participate</a>, runners can download the Runtastic App. </p><p>In the world of fashion, Porter Magazine teamed up with Parley to dedicate its summer issue, launching June 1, to plastic pollution, <a href="https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/news-bites/porter-magazine-partners-with-parley-for-the-oceans" target="_blank">Business of Fashion reported</a>. The cover features model, activist and Parley ambassador Anja Rubik.</p><p>"What we are trying to do by working with Porter is to highlight the beauty and fragility of our oceans, and to invite the fashion industry, especially luxury brands, to collaborate," Rubik told <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/fashion/netaporter-are-going-plasticfree-a3850306.html" target="_blank">The Evening Standard</a>. "We have passed the point of raising awareness and symbolic actions; now it's time for solutions that can be scaled quickly."</p><iframe width="100%" height="150" scrolling="no" class="rm-shortcode twitter-embed-1001924991154380810" id="twitter-embed-1001924991154380810" type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="/res/community/twitter_embed/?iframe_id=twitter-embed-1001924991154380810&created_ts=1527712507.0&screen_name=parleyforoceans&text=We+joined+forces+with+%40PORTERmagazine%2C+%40anjarubikblog+%26amp%3B+Mario+Sorrenti+to+merge+content%2C+commerce+and+cause.+For+th%E2%80%A6+https%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2FRRKAjuirB1&id=1001924991154380810&name=Parley" frameborder="0" data-rm-shortcode-id="KM2C1Y1576661781"></iframe><p>In a not-so-symbolic action, Porter is also taking the <a href="https://air.parley.tv/" target="_blank">Parley A.I.R. Pledge</a> to "Avoid plastic wherever possible, Intercept plastic waste, [and] Redesign your life." The publication will aim to be plastic-free by 2019, Business of Fashion reported. </p><p>The summer issue will feature an ocean-themed interview by Parley founder Cyrill Gutsch with oceanographer Sylvia Earle, who is spearheading the upcoming <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/march-for-the-ocean-2562957165.html" target="_self">March for the Ocean</a> June 9. Customers will also be able to purchase upcycled items made with <a href="http://www.parley.tv/updates/2016/11/3/adidas-x-parley-the-first-performance-products-from-parley-ocean-plastic?rq=threat%20to%20" target="_blank">Parley Ocean Plastic</a> on the <a href="https://www.net-a-porter.com/gb/en/?&cm_mmc=GoogleUK--c-_-NAP_EN_UK_London-_-Brand+Other--Brand_Misspells_Exact-_-net%20aporter_e_kwd-5306063612_INTL&gclid=CjwKCAjw3cPYBRB7EiwAsrc-uQneBUoxkvMqGCJFVnB43sF0Roc_Js1d6O7KUPHXGRq_oT3v0BPWOBoC55oQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds" target="_blank">Net-a-Porter</a> site like Clean Waves sunglasses and Adidas X Parley sneakers, Business of Fashion reported. </p><p>The sneakers are a testament to Adidas and Parley's long-running partnership, as this year's Run For The Oceans is another. On Earth Day, the two also <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/adidas-recycled-plastic-soccer-jerseys-2561473205.html" target="_self">partnered</a> with Major League Soccer to promote Parley Ocean Plastic. </p><p>"At Adidas, we believe that sport has the power to change lives and the Run For The Oceans movement truly reflects this. We have created a unique global platform that gives everyone the opportunity to impact their lives by joining a collective running movement that fights marine plastic pollution. Seeing the adidas family unite for a shared purpose is what makes the campaign so powerful," Andre Maestrini, the general manager of Adidas Sports Business Units, said. </p><p>Adidas will donate up to $1 million if participants run a million kilometers, specifically to the <a href="http://www.parley.tv/updates/2016/1/6/parley-ocean-school-the-maldives" target="_blank">Parley Ocean School</a> initiative, which gives children the chance to experience the ocean first-hand and value its protection. </p><p>To bring athletes and activists together, Adidas will host a series of physical runs in cities around the world, kicking off with a run in Los Angeles' Temescal Park June 8. </p>
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Dangerous Chemicals From E-Waste Found in Black Plastics From Toys to Drink Stirrers
30 May 2018
Popular
Marco Verch / CC BY 2.0
Recycling is often touted as a universal environmental good, but a new study from the University of Plymouth found that improper recycling of electronic waste means that dangerous chemicals are finding their way into black plastics used in consumer goods, with potentially negative consequences for human health and marine life.
<p style="">The study, published in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412018302125?via%3Dihub" target="_blank">Environment International</a>, found bromine and <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/lead" target="_self">lead</a> in some of 600 consumer black plastic products tested, ranging from cocktail stirrers to children's toys. </p><p style="">"There are environmental and health impacts arising from the production and use of plastics in general, but black plastics pose greater risks and hazards," study author Dr. Andrew Turner said in a <a href="https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/news/recycled-electrical-products-lead-to-hazardous-chemicals-appearing-in-everyday-items" target="_blank">University of Plymouth press release</a>. </p><p style="">Those risks come because, while black plastics make up 15 percent of domestic plastic waste, they are difficult to recycle effectively. Because of this, plastic casings from recycled electronics are used to manufacture new black plastic products. The chemicals used as flame retardants or pigments for the electronic goods then make their way into consumer goods that use black plastic. </p><p style="">"Black plastic may be aesthetically pleasing, but this study confirms that the recycling of plastic from electronic waste is introducing harmful chemicals into consumer products. That is something the public would obviously not expect, or wish, to see and there has previously been very little research exploring this," Turner said.</p><p style="">Since the majority of black plastic is used as food packaging or trays, the study has frightening implications for human health. It also raises concerns about what happens when the contaminated black plastics make their way into the oceans as whole pieces of plastic pollution or broken-down <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/microplastics" target="_self">microplastics</a>. </p><p style="">According to the study's abstract, the chemicals found in black plastic litter on beaches in southwest England were similar to the ones found in black plastic consumer goods and recycled electronic waste. </p><p style="">One of the chemicals turned up by the study, bromine, is often used in electronic plastics as a flame retardant. A 2014 study published in <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24529398" target="_blank">Chemosphere</a> found that bromine flame retardant exposure in children could be linked with cancer, diabetes, developmental disorders, reproductive issues and changes in thyroid function, but that more research needed to be done to confirm human health impacts. Turner found bromine in plastic jewelry, garden hoses, Christmas decorations, drink stirrers, coat hangers and tool handles at levels potentially illegal even in electronic goods. </p><p style="">Lead, which poses well-documented health risks, is also often found in electronic goods, and Turner recorded it at illegal levels in toys, office supplies and storage containers. </p><p style="">As a result of his findings, Turner called for further research and the development of new recycling techniques. </p><p style="">"[T]here is also a need for increased innovation within the recycling industry to ensure harmful substances are eliminated from recycled waste and to increase the recycling of black plastic consumer products," he said.</p>
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Alaska Airlines
As part of its worldwide push "For a Strawless Ocean," Alaska Airlines announced Monday that its 44 million yearly passengers will fly in "strawless skies."
Starting July 16, the leading U.S. airline on the 2017 Dow Jones Sustainability Index will stop distributing single-use plastic stirring straws and citrus picks in its lounges and on its domestic and international flights. It is the the first U.S. airline to do so. The non-recyclable items, which the airline distributed 22 million of last year, will be replaced with Forest Stewardship Council certified birch stirring sticks and bamboo citrus pickers.
<p style="">To carry out this initiative, Alaska Airlines is partnering with Lonely Whale, a Seattle non-profit that focuses on market-based solutions to protect the ocean. The group launched a public resource on combating plastic pollution last year called "For a Strawless Ocean."</p><p>"The banning of single-use plastic beverage straws sets a new standard for the travel industry, and we couldn't be happier that Alaska Airlines is the first. U.S. airline to lead the charge," Lonely Whale Executive Director Dune Ives said in a press release.<br></p><p style="">Alaska Airlines said the move was part of a larger push to reduce landfill-bound inflight waste per passenger by 70 percent by 2020. </p><p style="">"Without a doubt, we fly to some of the most beautiful places on earth, including many communities that depend on healthy <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/oceans" target="_self">oceans</a>. We're thrilled to partner with Lonely Whale to take this next step in our sustainability journey, and help keep the places we live and fly beautiful for years to come," Alaska Airlines' vice president of external relations Diana Birkett Rakow said. </p><p style=""> In addition to phasing out plastic straws and picks, the airline has replaced glass beer bottles with aluminum cans, which are easier to recycle, and began refilling plastic cups during drink service instead of providing new ones. Since 2010, the airline has reduced its landfill waste per passenger by 54 percent.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xNzcyMjc0My9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwOTQ2MTYyMX0.g1dqwFupxaBcmt4708eUu-kh6eeEpfQLIYOgxpApk-U/img.jpg?width=980" id="7687d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9da0b3ed252a4b6b62b38e8bcfba8dde" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">Alaska Airlines</small></p><p>The airline's most recent sustainability move comes after 16-year-old Girl Scout Shelby O'Neil contacted the company about the negative environmental impacts of plastic straws, <a href="http://fortune.com/2018/05/21/alaska-airlines-bans-plastic-straws/" target="_blank">Fortune</a> reported. The airline said it had already been considering the move when they received O'Neil's request.<br></p><p style="">"I am so proud of Alaska Airlines for joining me, Lonely Whale and many others in the fight to protect our oceans," O'Neil told Fortune. "My hope is that we can continue to rally together and inspire future generations to take a stand and eliminate plastic pollution to help save our oceans."</p>Outside the U.S., other airlines have taken action on plastic pollution. Fiji and Thai Airways have promised to reduce single-use <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/plastics" target="_self">plastics</a> and Ryanair intends to be "plastic-free" by 2023, <a href="https://www.cntraveler.com/story/alaska-airlines-ditches-plastic-straws-on-all-flights" target="_blank">Condé Nast Traveler reported</a>.<p><br></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-html5_video">
<video controls="" id="e7b83" width="100%" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="62b18fffbba038bddfa1e236b3cefcc1" expand="1" feedbacks="true" mime_type="video/mp4" shortcode_id="1527005383547" url="https://roar-assets-auto.rbl.ms/runner%2F2434-AlaskaAirlines_LW_Strawles_Video.mp4" videocontrols="true"> <source src="https://roar-assets-auto.rbl.ms/runner%2F2434-AlaskaAirlines_LW_Strawles_Video.mp4" type="video/mp4"></source> Your browser does not support the video tag. </video>
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In a historic move, more than 40 UK companies have signed up to fight plastic pollution as part of the UK Plastics Pact, The Independent reported Wednesday.
The pact, which officially launches today, is a groundbreaking alliance of companies, non-governmental organizations and governments working to transform packaging in the UK by 2025.
<p>
"We need to move away from a linear plastics economy, where we take, make and dispose of plastic, and towards a circular system where we keep plastic in the economy and out of the natural environment," the pact website reads.
</p><p>
Specifically, the pact sets out four targets to meet by that date:
</p><ol class="ee-ol">
<li>Ensure that 100 percent of packaging is reusable, recyclable or compostable.</li>
<li>Eliminate "unnecessary or problematic" single-use plastic packaging.</li>
<li>Make sure that 70 percent of packaging is actually recycled or composted.</li>
<li>Source 30 percent of packaging from recycled plastic.</li>
</ol><p>
The pact stands to make a difference, since major brands responsible for 80 percent of the UK's supermarket packaging—among them Coca-Cola, <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/nestle" target="_blank">Nestlé</a> and major UK grocery store Sainsbury's—have all signed on.
</p><p>
The pact is an initiative of <a href="http://www.wrap.org.uk/" target="_blank">WRAP</a>, which seeks to work with businesses, governments and communities to use resources more sustainably.
</p><p>
It comes a week after the UK government overall has stepped up to fight plastic pollution in major ways. On April 18, the government <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/uk-plastics-ban-2561478381.html" target="_self">announced plans</a> to ban plastic straws, drink stirrers and cotton-swabs containing plastic. On April 15, Prime Minister Theresa May <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/uk-plastic-waste-oceans-2560593488.html" target="_self">pledged £61.4 million</a> towards a Commonwealth Clean Oceans Alliance that seeks to rid the oceans of plastic pollution.
</p><p>
Individual UK companies have also taken a stand. For example, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/coffee-cup-recycling-uk-costa-2561145593.html" target="_self">Costa</a>, the country's largest coffee chain, pledged April 18 to recycle as many plastic-lined coffee cups as it sells.
</p><p>
But this new pact marks the first time businesses have united around such a goal.
</p><p>
"That is what makes the UK Plastics pact unique. It unites everybody, business and organization with a will to act on plastic pollution. We will never have a better time to act, and together we can," Wrap CEO Marcus Gover told The Independent.
</p><p>
Chile is expected to follow the pact's example later this year, The Independent reported.
</p><p>
However, environmental groups warned that, while the pact is encouraging, it won't be enough if government plans don't provide sufficient mechanisms to ensure companies honor their pledges.
</p><p>Environmentalists have <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/brexit-environment-risk-2559682645.html" target="_blank">criticized</a> May's 25-year environment plan, which seeks to eliminate plastic waste by 2042, among other goals, for not outlining any new laws to ensure its benchmarks are attained.
</p><p>
"The Plastic Pact is certainly a move in the right direction, however government measures are also needed to ensure everyone plays their part, and that these targets are actually met," Greenpeace UK senior oceans campaigner Louise Edge told The Independent.</p>
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