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. “We need to […]
A research team discovered that the caterpillars of the greater wax moth—considered a pest in Europe because it eats the beeswax from honeycombs—also has the ability to biodegrade polyethylene, the same material used in whale-choking, landfill-clogging plastic shopping bags. Incredibly, this discovery was all down to chance. Scientist and amateur beekeeper Federica Bertocchini of Spain’s […]
Norwegian zoologists have discovered some 30 plastic bags and other marine debris inside the stomach of a malnourished 20-foot Cuvier’s beaked whale. The whale was an adult male that weighed about 2 tons. Local authorities were forced to euthanize the distressed animal on Jan. 28 after repeatedly stranding itself off the shallow waters of Sotra, […]
Did you know that nearly a month, India’s National Capital Region—a massive swath of land that includes the nation’s capital territory, Delhi—outlawed disposable plastic? On Jan. 1, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) enacted a ban on one-time use items such as plastic grocery bags and cups for the region’s 54 million inhabitants, the world’s second […]
Another state has officially banned plastic bag bans—yes, you read that correctly. It is now illegal for local governments in Michigan to enact ordinances that ban or place fees on plastic bags or disposable containers used by stores and restaurants. One-time usage, plastic bags are a major cause of plastic pollution. Flickr The bill was […]
Boyan Slat, the 22-year-old Dutch inventor and CEO behind The Ocean Cleanup, announced today preliminary results of the organization’s latest major research mission, the Aerial Expedition, the first-ever aerial survey of an ocean garbage patch. Boyan Slat next to Ocean Force One, which will help accurately quantify the ocean’s biggest and most harmful debris—discarded fishing […]
England has cut its plastic bag use by 85 percent ever since a 5 pence (7 cent) charge was introduced last October, according to government figures. England’s plastic bag usage has dropped significantly ever since a 5p levy was introduced last year. Flickr The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) announced that 6 […]
A plastic bag ban went into effect this month in Morocco, the second-largest plastic bag consumer after the U.S. But, officials say, its going to take some time for shops and retailers to get used to the new law. Morocco bans the use of plastic bags https://t.co/S9512Yf1lU pic.twitter.com/RWjTu61oLo — The Ocean Project (@theoceanproject) July 16, […]
Starbucks goes through 4 billion to-go cups annually but most of them end up in the landfill. Why? Even though these cups are mostly made of paper, these single-use items are almost never recycled or composted because they are lined with plastic. Ninety-nine percent of paper cups in the UK do not get recycled. Flickr […]