plastic bags

By Daiane Scaraboto, Alison M Joubert and Claudia Gonzalez-Arcos In eight years, US environmentalist and social media star Lauren Singer had never sent an item of rubbish to landfill. But last month, in an impassioned post to her 383,000 Instagram followers, she admitted the reality of COVID-19 has changed that. I sacrificed my values and […]

By Nikolia Apostolou Over a month into the lockdown and the usually bustling streets of Kalamata, a Greek city southwest of Athens traditionally known for its olives, are largely empty. As in the rest of Greece, residents of the coastal city are allowed out only in strict circumstances, including for short exercise and grocery shopping. […]

A number of states and cities that implemented bans on plastic bags are putting them on hold over concerns about the cleanliness of reusable bags amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Last week, the Massachusetts Food Administration asked Governor Charlie Baker to rescind bans on plastic bags in several towns over concerns that handling the reusable bags […]

Nearly one year after New York became the second state in the nation to pass a ban on grocery store plastic bags — the law is going into effect on Sunday. In accordance with the budge bill passed last year, New York State retailers will be banned from doling out single-use plastic bags, starting on […]

Thailand rang in 2020 with an effort to tackle the plastic crisis filling the country’s waste sites and choking its waterways. The country’s ban on plastic bags at major retailers began as soon as the clock struck midnight in Bangkok. A complete ban of bags that includes smaller shops will go into effect in 2021, […]

The ocean isn’t the only ecosystem threatened by microplastics. A first-of-its-kind study published Wednesday in Environmental Science and Technology found that particles from the kind of plastic commonly used in bags and bottles stunt the growth of earthworms, a finding with major implications for soil health, The Independent reported. Check out our latest paper on […]

The government of India is set to impose a nationwide ban on plastic bags, cups and straws on October 2, officials announced, in its most sweeping measure yet to eradicate single-use plastics from cities and villages that have ranked among the world’s most polluted. The ban will be comprehensive and will cover manufacturing, usage, and […]

German Environment Minister Svenja Schulze has said she plans to introduce a law to ban the use of plastic bags. “My ministry will get a plastic bag ban on its way,” the Social Democrat said in Berlin on Sunday, without providing a timeline. She said the goal was to “get out of the throwaway society […]