A plastic cup for a shake, a beverage cup for soft drinks and disposable plastic crockery from McDonald's lie in a garbage can in Berlin, Germany on June 28. Gerald Matzka / picture alliance via Getty Images
McDonald's ditched plastic straws in the United Kingdom and Ireland last fall and replaced them with paper ones made from recyclable materials. It turns out though the new straws can't be recycled. The plastic ones could, according to CNN.
A large pile of plastic bottles and cans collected on a street corner in downtown Manhattan, New York. Epics / Hulton Archive / Getty Images
When it comes to creating waste, no one tops the U.S. And when it comes to recycling waste, well, the U.S. is one of the worst, according to a new analysis by the English risk management firm Verisk Maplecroft.
The numbers for the outsized contribution to the global waste crisis by the U.S. are staggering. The U.S. makes up only four percent of the world's population, but produces 12 percent of the world's global waste. By contrast, China and India make up more than 36 percent of the world's population and produce 27 percent of global municipal solid waste, as The Guardian reported.
My family's defining motto is "Siempre usa como lo que tienes." ("Always use what you have.") Mom and grandma have used the expression so many times, I hear their voices every time I want to get a $15 poke bowl after class but have leftovers in the fridge at home. I hear them when I have the urge to buy new clothes that I don't need or get a nice notebook when I already have too many. This impulse becomes even stronger when I cook, because for my family, food is love and not to be wasted.
Bound bales of crushed plastic bottles and containers sit stacked ready to be recycled at a recycling center in the Netherlands. Jasper Juinen / Bloomberg / Getty Images
By Margaret Sobkowicz
Why has the world continued to increase consumption of plastic materials when at the same time, environmental and human health concerns over their use have grown?
With safety razors, only the blades need replacing. Your Best Digs / Flickr
By Meredith Rosenberg
Disposable items have become so ingrained in our daily habits that we may not realize all of the small, everyday actions that are adding to the amount of disposable waste that ends up in oceans and landfills. Here are five lifestyle changes you can make today to ditch the disposables and reduce your environmental impact.
In early October, the United Nations released a climate changereport forewarning of global catastrophes (severe flooding, wildfires, droughts) that could begin by 2040 unless drastic changes are made to reduce greenhouse gases. It might seem like a daunting task, but here are five lifestyle changes you can make right now to start reducing your carbon footprint. If you really want to help the planet, follow the next-level suggestions to make the biggest impact.
Departing festival goers pass garbage left behind at the Glastonbury Festival on June 26, 2016 near Glastonbury, England. Matt Cardy / Getty Images
By Mary Mazzoni
Global consumers now use a million plastic bottles every minute, 91 percent of which are not recycled. Our growing consumption of single-use plastic is evident in the form of ever-expanding landfills, as well as pollution on our sidewalks, along roadways and in natural ecosystems. Plastic that is littered or blown out of waste bins makes its way into storm drains, streams and rivers. Ultimately, up to 8 million metric tons of it enter the world's oceans every year.
Fashion can be
incredibly wasteful. But two eco-minded companies have joined forces to help tackle the growing issue of textile and plastic waste.
Sustainable basics brand
Arvin Goods today announced a limited-issue collaboration with Bureo, which famously makes skateboards and sunglasses from discarded fishing nets.
Glass bottles used to have value. For instance, Coca-Cola famously operated a returnable glass bottle program for 80 years until its last refillable bottling plant in Minnesota
closed its doors in 2012. These days, glass bottles are recycled or—more often than not—tossed in the trash.
A worker inspects recycled plastic in a plastics factory. Getty Images
By Kate O'Neill
A global plastic waste crisis is building, with major implications for health and the environment. Under its so-called "National Sword" policy, China has sharply reduced imports of foreign scrap materials. As a result, piles of plastic waste are building up in ports and recycling facilities across the U.S.
In 1960, 97 percent of the fibers used in clothing came from natural materials. Today that number has fallen to 35 percent. But sustainable fashion veteran Isaac Nichelson wants to reverse that trend.
