Negotiators working on a legally binding United Nations treaty to end plastic pollution will need to be as ambitious as possible with the final document. That’s the main takeaway from a new report from Back to Blue — a collaboration between Economist Impact and the Nippon Foundation — released Monday. The report modeled what would […]
Researchers at the University of Cambridge announced Monday that they had developed the first-ever solar-powered system that could convert two types of waste into two different chemicals at the same time, in this case, carbon dioxide and plastics.
If you are at a sports stadium, you might notice a new logo on recycling bins: that of PureCycle. PureCycle is a U.S.-based company seeking to turn plastic waste into an infinitely recyclable material. Over the last year, the company has partnered with stadiums in Orlando, Cincinnati and Jacksonville on a pilot project to capture […]
You may have heard them by many names: forever chemicals, PFAS, toxins … they all fall under the technical terms per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. Called PFAS for short, these chemicals have earned the nickname forever chemicals because they are long-lasting, taking incredibly long times to break down. In the environment, like in soil or water, PFAS may never fully break down.
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 […]
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 […]
One of the main dangers of plastics is the harm that their production and incineration can do to the health of the people who live nearby. Plastics plants are one of the main factors polluting the air of Louisiana’s Cancer Alley, for example. Now, a group of U.S. lawmakers are seeking to address this environmental […]
Two companies are collaborating to make wind turbines more sustainable. Stora Enso, a biomaterials and wood construction company, and Voodin Blade Technology GmbH, a startup in Germany developing rotor blades for wind turbines, have partnered to create wooden wind turbine blades. The wooden turbine blades are meant to replace heavier wind turbine blades made from […]