plastics

This Tiny Caterpillar Could Help Solve the World’s Plastic Crisis

This Tiny Caterpillar Could Help Solve the World’s Plastic Crisis

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 […]

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    Solar-Powered Water Wheels Prevented 1 Million Pounds of Trash From Entering Baltimore Harbor

    Solar-Powered Water Wheels Prevented 1 Million Pounds of Trash From Entering Baltimore Harbor

    Meet Mr. Trash Wheel and Professor Trash Wheel—a pair of floating, solar and hydro-powered trash interceptors keeping Baltimore’s waters clean. These frankly adorable trash wheels can collect as much as 38,000 pounds of debris in a single day. [facebook https://facebook.com/EcoWatch/videos/1462252590454340/ expand=1] Mr. Trash Wheel, located at the mouth of Jones Falls, has stopped more than […]

    Man Wears Trash for 30 Days

    Man Wears Trash for 30 Days

    Rob Greenfield, adventurer and activist, wore every piece of trash he created for 30 days. Watch the video to find out the challenges Greenfield faced during this epic experiment.

    New York Senate Votes to Stop NYC’s Plastic Bag Fee

    New York Senate Votes to Stop NYC’s Plastic Bag Fee

    New York’s Republican-controlled State Senate voted 42-18 Tuesday in favor of a measure that would kill New York City’s five-cent fee for carryout bags. “Many families have a hard time just getting by, paying for groceries, rent and heat,” Sen. Simcha Felder (D-Brooklyn), who introduced the bill, said before Tuesday’s vote. As the Gothamist noted, […]

    20 Most Read Posts of the Year

    20 Most Read Posts of the Year

    From Noam Chomsky’s epic post on his fears of the coming Trump Administration to Michael Moore’s damnation of the Flint water crisis to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s first-hand account of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline, 2016 was jam-packed with news once again showing our continued disregard for the health […]

    Michigan Bans Local Plastic Bag Bans

    Michigan Bans Local Plastic Bag Bans

    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 […]

    22 Million Pounds of Plastic Enters the Great Lakes Each Year

    22 Million Pounds of Plastic Enters the Great Lakes Each Year

    U.S. and Canada together discard 22 million pounds of plastic into the waters of the Great Lakes each year, according to a new Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) study. Most of it washes up along the shores, accounting for 80 percent of the litter found there. Researchers said that Chicago, Toronto, Cleveland and Detroit are […]

    5 Big Wins, 2 Big Losses on Key Eco-Ballot Initiatives

    5 Big Wins, 2 Big Losses on Key Eco-Ballot Initiatives

    Key environmentally-related ballot measures in six states received mixed results yesterday. On the plus side, Florida voters saw through utility industry efforts to thwart the state’s burgeoning solar energy business and California voters appeared to affirm the state’s ban on single-use plastic bags. Both Massachusetts and Oregon passed key animal protection laws. But, two historically […]