Editorial: The new anti-trash mantra should be reduce, recycle — and repair
1 year, 7 months ago

Editorial: The new anti-trash mantra should be reduce, recycle — and repair

LA Times  

One of the most pernicious sources of plastic waste will never be welcome in our blue recycling bins because, well, they are supposed to last. Right-to-repair laws, which have popped up around the country in recent years, require product manufacturers to provide consumers and independent repair shops reasonable access to repair manuals, parts and software so they have more options when products break. The U.S. Public Interest Research Group, one of the main consumer groups behind right-to-repair laws, estimates that consumers could save as much as $40 billion every year if they were able to extend the useful lives of electronics and appliances by 50%. Perhaps Portantino was influenced by the tech and manufacturing industries that argue giving consumers more repair options threatens product safety and intellectual property rights, and risks customer data privacy. FTC attorney Dan Salsburg testified in support of SB 244 before the state Senate Judiciary Committee last month, noting that the agency looked into the industry’s claims and found no evidence that independent fix-it businesses are more likely to misuse customer data than authorized shops.

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History of this topic

How to tackle plastic pollution and reduce plastic waste
1 week, 1 day ago

How to tackle plastic pollution and reduce plastic waste

India Today  

Plastic pollution is one of the most significant environmental problems our world is facing today. By making small efforts in our daily lives, everyone can contribute significantly to reducing plastic waste. SMALL ACTIONS TO TACKLE PLASTIC POLLUTION Reduce the use of straws, plastic cutlery, and bottled water. This small habit encourages responsible waste management and when consistently followed, this habit …

Coca-Cola is dramatically scaling back its plastic promises
2 weeks, 6 days ago

Coca-Cola is dramatically scaling back its plastic promises

CNN  

New York CNN — Coca-Cola is scaling back its packaging sustainability goals, igniting outrage from environmental activists. The beverage company, which has long been criticized for being one of the world’s top producer of plastic pollutants, changed its “voluntary environmental goals” this week. “These challenges are complex and require us to drive more effective and efficient resource allocation and work …

UN Treaty to Curb Plastic Pollution Fails as Oil-Producing Nations Reject Production Caps
2 weeks, 6 days ago

UN Treaty to Curb Plastic Pollution Fails as Oil-Producing Nations Reject Production Caps

The Hindu  

Published : Dec 03, 2024 19:48 IST - 4 MINS READ Governments failed to reach an agreement on December 2 for a global UN treaty to curb plastic pollution in Busan, South Korea, after proposals to cap its production were rejected by a handful of oil-producing nations. More than 100 countries supported a proposal to reduce plastic production, the most …

‘Once in a lifetime’ chance to end plastic pollution as nations assemble in Busan
3 weeks, 5 days ago

‘Once in a lifetime’ chance to end plastic pollution as nations assemble in Busan

The Independent  

Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Get our free Climate email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. open image in gallery Environment activists stage a rally calling for a strong global plastics treaty ahead of the …

THE DUCHESS OF YORK: I'm on a mission to rid nappies of plastic
1 month, 1 week ago

THE DUCHESS OF YORK: I'm on a mission to rid nappies of plastic

Daily Mail  

In a few months I’m going to become a grandmother for the fifth time. Every minute, more than 380,000 nappies are thrown away around the world, and the World Economic Forum says that it is producing nearly 40 million tons of waste each year. The Duchess of York pictured with daughter Princess Beatrice and granddaughter Sienna Princess Beatrice of York, …

Startup Mantra: Transforming waste to save environment
4 months, 2 weeks ago

Startup Mantra: Transforming waste to save environment

Hindustan Times  

While almost everyone will berate the use of plastic and how it damages the environment, not many will get down to doing something about it. But for Medha Tadpatrikar and Shirish Phadtare, founders of Rudra Blue Planet Environmental Solutions India Limited, who while on a safari holiday, found a deer that died because it had ingested plastic bags, the problem …

The Cure for Disposable Plastic Crap Is Here—and It’s Loony
4 months, 3 weeks ago

The Cure for Disposable Plastic Crap Is Here—and It’s Loony

Wired  

A plastic bag might be the most overengineered object in history. Some years back, I stopped by a French deli to buy some big chunks of cheese and carried them home in a plastic bag. There’s plastic in grocery bags, obviously, but also in yoga pants and car tires and building materials and toys and medical products. A significant chunk …

Plastic mess: On India’s waste problem
4 months, 3 weeks ago

Plastic mess: On India’s waste problem

The Hindu  

India, like other large economies, faces a significant plastic waste problem. According to a 2020-21 report by the Central Pollution Control Board, four million tonnes of plastic waste are generated annually. Recyclers, who have networks to collect plastic waste, recycle the waste and receive validated certificates for each tonne recycled. Addressing the root causes of plastic waste and enhancing the …

An ocean of plastics
5 months, 1 week ago

An ocean of plastics

The Hindu  

There is a real-felt need to go beyond mere tokenism of staging earth-hours now and then to stoke dormant concerns on the world’s increasingly fragile ecology. Increased infusion of plastics, much of it non-biodegradable and unrecycled, in IT and other industrial sectors and in day-to-day life poses another existential threat. These incidents portend the looming unmanaged plastic and e-waste threat, …

The plastics industry says chemical recycling could help banish pollution. It’s ‘an illusion,’ critics say
6 months, 3 weeks ago

The plastics industry says chemical recycling could help banish pollution. It’s ‘an illusion,’ critics say

CNN  

CNN — A squat, light-colored building in Tigard, Oregon, was supposed to be part of a game-changing new solution for the global plastics industry. “Chemical recycling transforms used plastic and gives it value,” said a spokesperson for the American Chemistry Council, a trade association for US chemical and plastics companies, adding “we must eliminate plastic pollution without eliminating the benefits …

Editorial: Whatever happened to L.A.’s plan to end its reliance on landfills?
6 months, 4 weeks ago

Editorial: Whatever happened to L.A.’s plan to end its reliance on landfills?

LA Times  

The smoldering, stinking mess at the Chiquita Canyon Landfill in Castaic is a glaring example of the environmental and public health hazards created by burying our trash — and how state and local leaders have allowed this problem to pile up. Nearly two decades ago, the city of Los Angeles adopted a visionary plan to divert 90% of the city’s …

Chemical recycling to reduce plastic waste
8 months ago

Chemical recycling to reduce plastic waste

China Daily  

A recent report called for intensified efforts to tap chemical recycling as a key solution to addressing plastic pollution, considering its potential to dispose of low-value plastic waste that is difficult to recycle. Citing statistics from the Plastic Recycling Association, an affiliate of the China National Resources Recycling Association, a news release from the academy said about 62 million metric …

Chemicals in plastics far more numerous than previous estimates, report says
9 months, 1 week ago

Chemicals in plastics far more numerous than previous estimates, report says

The Hindu  

At least 3,000 more chemicals are in plastics — from food packaging to toys to medical devices — than previously estimated by environmental agencies, a report published on Thursday found, raising questions over pollution and consumer safety. While the United Nations Environment Programme had previously identified around 13,000 plastic chemicals, the report by a team of European scientists found more …

Plastic experts say recycling is a scam. Should we even do it anymore?
10 months ago

Plastic experts say recycling is a scam. Should we even do it anymore?

Salon  

When the Center for Climate Integrity released its report about plastic recycling, one might have expected the environmentalist non-profit to encourage the practice. Yet the title of Center for Climate Integrity's report — "The Fraud of Plastic Recycling" — reveals a very different point-of-view. "Even if plastic recycling rates were higher, recycling alone could never come close to solving the …

How can we kick our plastic habit? Readers weigh in
10 months ago

How can we kick our plastic habit? Readers weigh in

LA Times  

It’s Tuesday, Feb. 20. I use powdered clothes detergent that comes in a cardboard box to avoid bulky plastic liquid detergent containers.” — Kevin G., Long Beach “I keep cloth bags in my car and one in my purse. Sometimes my children laugh at my reused Ziploc bags, but I just remind them I’m trying to leave the world in …

California is forging ahead with food waste recycling. But is it too much, too fast?
10 months ago

California is forging ahead with food waste recycling. But is it too much, too fast?

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ …

California’s war on plastic bag use seems to have backfired. Lawmakers are trying again
10 months, 1 week ago

California’s war on plastic bag use seems to have backfired. Lawmakers are trying again

LA Times  

It was a decade ago when California became the first state in the nation to ban single-use plastic bags, ushering in a wave of anti-plastic legislation from coast to coast. “Basically what happened is that plastic bag companies invented these thicker plastic bags that technically meet that definition of reusable but are clearly not being reused and don’t look like …

‘Plogman on India’ Ripu Daman Bevli and residents clean up streets of Coimbatore
1 year, 1 month ago

‘Plogman on India’ Ripu Daman Bevli and residents clean up streets of Coimbatore

The Hindu  

Ripudaman Bevli, began plogging seven years ago. Last year, we cleaned up beaches across Chennai and worked with the Tamil Nadu government for the International Coastal Clean-Up Day.” He says he would now like Indians to participate in #PlasticUpvaas, a social media challenge. “Disposables and single-use items completely overwhelm our lives, so we give people a mantra of #PlasticUpvaas to …

A reporter kept a diary of her plastic use. It was soul-crushing
1 year, 4 months ago

A reporter kept a diary of her plastic use. It was soul-crushing

LA Times  

It’s in our bodies: our lung tissue, our blood and in the dark, tarry first defecation of newborns. Here’s an excerpt: “Clippy for my hair; airpods case; plastic on tea kettle; windows are glass, but casings are vinyl; bird decals on windows ; computer casing; monitor; CO2 monitor ; cordless phone charger; all the USB cords on my desk; mouse; …

New plastic waste guide aims for 100% circular packaging by 2050
1 year, 9 months ago

New plastic waste guide aims for 100% circular packaging by 2050

NL Times  

The Waste Fund Packaging foundation presented a new Plastic Guide that aims to help municipalities, importers, producers, and recyclers work towards a packaging system that is 100% fossil free with 0% damage to people and the environment in 2050. It requires “different thinking and handling of the production and use of plastic packaging.” The Plastic Guide sets goals for a …

How much plastic is too much for our planet?
1 year, 11 months ago

How much plastic is too much for our planet?

Al Jazeera  

On Wednesday, January 11 at 19:30 GMT: Microplastics – tiny particles that result from the breakdown of plastics – are everywhere, from the air we breathe to the water we drink. And while the harms caused by microplastics are still being studied, researchers and environmental advocates say more action needs to be taken to rein in plastic pollution. Global plastic …

Editorial: California is leading the nation on cutting plastic trash. But it still needs to do more
1 year, 11 months ago

Editorial: California is leading the nation on cutting plastic trash. But it still needs to do more

LA Times  

Last year was a good one for trash. But in 2022, they went big and broad, enacting Senate Bill 54, a revolutionary law that will start phasing out all varieties of single-use plastic in 2025 — basically everything on the shelves of grocery and other retail stores — through escalating composting and recycling requirements on consumer products packaging. But even …

Why Most Plastic Ends Up As Trash In A Landfill : Short Wave : NPR
2 years ago

Why Most Plastic Ends Up As Trash In A Landfill : Short Wave : NPR

NPR  

The Myth of Plastic Recycling Enlarge this image toggle caption Laura Sullivan/NPR Laura Sullivan/NPR For many, recycling feels like a tangible way to personally combat climate change and to positively affect the environment. That's partially because of decades of public environmental campaigns, But the reality is that only a small fraction of plastic is ultimately recycled. A recent Greenpeace report …

Australian government pledges to recycle all plastics by 2040
2 years, 1 month ago

Australian government pledges to recycle all plastics by 2040

ABC  

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek says despite the collapse of a major soft plastics recycling scheme, the federal government has set a target to recycle or reuse 100 per cent of plastic waste by 2040 and end plastic pollution. Key points: The nation currently recycles about 16 per cent of plastics The environment minister says Australia is a "large producer of …

Just 5% Of Plastics Were Recycled In The U.S. Last Year, And Things Are Only Getting Worse
2 years, 1 month ago

Just 5% Of Plastics Were Recycled In The U.S. Last Year, And Things Are Only Getting Worse

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING Just 5% of plastic products are recycled in America and many common items just aren’t able to be recycled at all, according to a damning new study released Monday by Greenpeace USA. The government estimated at the time just 9% of all plastics had been recycled that year, with the remaining 91% winding up in landfills.. Shockingly, …

Recycling plastic is practically impossible — and the problem is getting worse
2 years, 2 months ago

Recycling plastic is practically impossible — and the problem is getting worse

NPR  

Recycling plastic is practically impossible — and the problem is getting worse Enlarge this image toggle caption Laura Sullivan/NPR Laura Sullivan/NPR The vast majority of plastic that people use, and in many cases put into blue recycling bins, is headed to landfills, or worse, according to a report from Greenpeace on the state of plastic recycling in the U.S. Greenpeace …

Advanced recycling: Plastic crisis solution or distraction?
2 years, 2 months ago

Advanced recycling: Plastic crisis solution or distraction?

Associated Press  

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The plastics industry says there is a way to help solve the crisis of plastic waste plaguing the planet’s oceans, beaches and lands— recycle it, chemically. The process doesn’t involve oxygen so there’s no combustion or incineration of plastics, DeBenedictis said, and their product is trucked as a synthetic oil to petrochemical companies, essentially the “building blocks …

Industry: Advanced recycling is a solution to plastic crisis
2 years, 2 months ago

Industry: Advanced recycling is a solution to plastic crisis

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “What we are trying to do is really create …

The need for plastic de-addiction
2 years, 2 months ago

The need for plastic de-addiction

Hindustan Times  

“It cannot be right to manufacture billions of objects that are used for a matter of minutes, and then are with us for centuries.”--Roz Savage The catla fish swimming serenely could not have foreseen the plastic band wrapping around its body and entrapping it. The sea turtle feasting on what seemed like a new delicacy could not have imagined that …

Quitting single-use plastic in Japan
2 years, 4 months ago

Quitting single-use plastic in Japan

BBC  

Quitting single-use plastic in Japan Charly Triballeau / Getty Images Single-use plastics which cannot be recycled are difficult to avoid in Tokyo Japan is one of the world's biggest plastic waste producers, thanks to its love of packaging - but a week of going plastic-free in Tokyo reveals surprising solutions. 63% of plastic waste was processed as "thermal recycling," which …

Explained | Enforcing the single-use plastic ban
2 years, 5 months ago

Explained | Enforcing the single-use plastic ban

The Hindu  

The story so far: A ban on the use of single-use plastics that was notified by the Union Environment Ministry on August 2021 came into effect on July 1 this year. The notification said national and State-level control rooms would be set up to check illegal manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of banned single use plastic items. The …

Green Revolution 2.0: Starting Today, Bid Adieu to Plastic Straws & Cutlery as India Readies for Cleaner Future
2 years, 5 months ago

Green Revolution 2.0: Starting Today, Bid Adieu to Plastic Straws & Cutlery as India Readies for Cleaner Future

News 18  

It is clogging our cities, killing marine life, turning into an eyesore and getting increasingly cumbersome to get recycled. The Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2021, prohibit the manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of a notified list of single-use plastic items, including straws, plastic cutlery and candy sticks, packaging on sweet boxes, cigarettes packets, invitation cards, polystyrene and expanded …

California sets the toughest plastics reduction rules in the United States
2 years, 5 months ago

California sets the toughest plastics reduction rules in the United States

Firstpost  

Major legislation passed and signed by Governor Gavin Newsom, aims to significantly reduce single-use plastic packaging in the state and drastically boost recycling rates for what remains Sacramento, Calif.: Companies selling shampoo, food and other products wrapped in plastic have a decade to cut down on their use of the polluting material if they want their wares on California store …

Editorial: California has a chance to lead the nation on cutting plastic trash. If we don’t blow it
2 years, 5 months ago

Editorial: California has a chance to lead the nation on cutting plastic trash. If we don’t blow it

LA Times  

Plastic trash lies on the beach after heavy rains near the Santa Ana River in 2018. The last few years have seen one distressing news story after another about the scourge of plastic waste: Single-use plastic packaging dumped in the ocean is killing sea animals who mistake it for food. The bill requires that 65% of all single-use plastic must …

Canada to ban single-use plastics by the end of the year in a ‘historic’ move
2 years, 6 months ago

Canada to ban single-use plastics by the end of the year in a ‘historic’ move

The Independent  

Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Get our free Climate email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The ambitious plan comes after years of announcements made by Justin Trudeau’s government to ban single-use plastic in order …

How we can overcome the growing plastic crisis
2 years, 6 months ago

How we can overcome the growing plastic crisis

The Hindu  

Published : Jun 04, 2022 15:38 IST Plastic has long had the planet in its grip. “It’s clear that ‘business as usual’ in the way we use, produce and manage plastic is not possible anymore,” Peter Börkey, OECD environmental policy expert and report co-author, told DW. “The most effective way to reduce plastic in the environment is, first and foremost, …

Global plastic waste is projected to triple by 2060: OECD
2 years, 6 months ago

Global plastic waste is projected to triple by 2060: OECD

Al Jazeera  

Even with aggressive action to cut demand, plastic production would almost double in less than 40 years. According to the OECD even with aggressive action to cut demand and improve efficiencies, plastic production would almost double in less than 40 years. “Plastic pollution is one of the great environmental challenges of the 21st century, causing wide-ranging damage to ecosystems and …

Recycler’s checkered past is weaponized in plastics fight
2 years, 7 months ago

Recycler’s checkered past is weaponized in plastics fight

Politico  

But it’s the bribery scandal that ballot initiative foes are focusing on — and that could hurt chances of passing rules to curb the proliferation of single-use plastics even though Recology and environmentalists are aligned with the majority of California voters. “It is remarkable that a company that was found guilty of fraud, of bribery, of corruption, is the front …

Trash or Recycling? Why Plastic Keeps Us Guessing.
2 years, 8 months ago

Trash or Recycling? Why Plastic Keeps Us Guessing.

New York Times  

Why Plastic Keeps Us Guessing. Trash Drag each item where you think it belongs Milk jug Peanut butter jar Water bottle Shampoo bottle Snack bag Diaper Plastic bag Bubble mailer Foam cup Single-use utensil Yogurt cup Takeout container Berry box Recycling The universal symbol for recycling, known as the “chasing arrows” logo, is stamped on so many things. “We don’t …

Big fight brewing over California ballot measure to reduce single-use plastics
2 years, 8 months ago

Big fight brewing over California ballot measure to reduce single-use plastics

LA Times  

Gulls flock to a trash boom littered with plastics and other waste near the mouth of the Los Angeles River after a 2015 storm. “And while we’ve achieved incremental reforms in labeling and process in respect to plastics, we really haven’t tackled the reality that we are drowning in plastics.” The initiative — known as the California Recycling and Plastic …

Australia's plastic recycling industry changes are fast taking effect
2 years, 8 months ago

Australia's plastic recycling industry changes are fast taking effect

ABC  

If Australians haven't noticed the changes being made to how, when, and where they recycle plastic, they will in the coming months. Key points: More changes to Australia's plastic export industry will come into effect from July 1 Australia will increase its domestic capacity for plastic reprocessing from 227,000 tonnes in 2020–21 to at least 420,000 tonnes by 2025 There …

Govt notifies extended producer responsibility norms for plastic packaging waste
2 years, 10 months ago

Govt notifies extended producer responsibility norms for plastic packaging waste

Live Mint  

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has notified the Guidelines on Extended Producers Responsibility on plastic packaging under Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016. The guidelines on extended producer responsibility coupled with prohibition of identified single use plastic items, which have low utility and high littering potential, with effect from 1st July 2022, are important steps for reducing pollution …

California goes to war with food waste. Composting is its next climate crusade
3 years ago

California goes to war with food waste. Composting is its next climate crusade

LA Times  

Sometimes it’s not even trash. Senate Bill 1383 mandates that Californians toss unused food, coffee grounds, egg shells, banana peels and other leftovers into bins they use for other “green” waste, such as garden trimmings, lawn clippings and leaves. “We are pleading with the public, ‘We need recycled food, to help with greening the land around us, to work on …

The Life of Plastic: Born a Hero, Dying an Outcast, Resurrected a Monster
3 years, 1 month ago

The Life of Plastic: Born a Hero, Dying an Outcast, Resurrected a Monster

The Quint  

The material cycle of plastic consists of seven stages according to Counter Measure, a project by the UN Environment Programme and the Government of Japan, which aims to track, survey, and offer solutions for reducing plastic leakage into rivers in Asia. Stage 1 - involves material engineering, where plastic manufacturers decide on what raw materials – petroleum-based or non-petroleum-based, recycled …

How to use less plastic : Life Kit : NPR
3 years, 5 months ago

How to use less plastic : Life Kit : NPR

NPR  

The plastic problem isn't your fault, but you can be part of the solution One of the most overwhelming aspects of modern life, in my opinion, is knowing about major global-impact issues like climate change and plastic waste pollution and feeling like there isn't much that I can do to really change things. Sponsor Message Do an audit of the …

India Taking All Steps to Ensure it Becomes Free of Single-use Plastic by 2022: Prakash Javadekar
3 years, 6 months ago

India Taking All Steps to Ensure it Becomes Free of Single-use Plastic by 2022: Prakash Javadekar

News 18  

New Delhi, June 8: India is taking all steps to ensure that the country becomes free of single-use plastic by 2022 as envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said on Tuesday while launching ‘Plastic Hackathon 2021’ campaign. Announcing the campaign, he said it will help finding suitable alternatives to SUP and identify new ways of …

Editorial: Plastic trash is not just litter. It’s a climate change problem, too
3 years, 11 months ago

Editorial: Plastic trash is not just litter. It’s a climate change problem, too

LA Times  

President-elect Joe Biden will have a long to-do list the moment he takes over the White House this month. Single-use plastic is a climate change issue — as well as an observable, measurable menace to the environment that has only been exacerbated by the pandemic and the need for plastic protective gear. Instead, they have viewed single-use plastic — which …

Problem not with plastic: VP calls for responsible use of plastics
3 years, 11 months ago

Problem not with plastic: VP calls for responsible use of plastics

Hindustan Times  

Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday asked research institutes like the CIPET to focus on the development of eco-friendly products like biodegradable plastics as durability and longevity of plastics have posed several challenges to the environment. Improper littering habits and lack of awareness on plastics waste management have resulted in many hazards,” he pointed out. Venkaiah Naidu noted that the …

A struggling recycling industry faces new crisis with coronavirus
4 years ago

A struggling recycling industry faces new crisis with coronavirus

LA Times  

Even before coronavirus arrived on U.S. shores, California waste recyclers were reeling from the collapse of global markets for used plastics and other scrap materials — a predicament that diverted the contents of many blue recycling bins to local landfills. “This is the horror story that’s coming at us,” said Kreigh Hampel, recycling coordinator at Burbank Recycling Center. When material …

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