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 also ends up in the ocean, which has already amassed as much as 219 million tons of the stuff—wrappers washing up on shorelines, chunks eaten by fish, islands of plastic forming in watery gyres at sea. We’ve got “thin films” like bags, thicker plastics in take-out bowls, multi-layered plastic containers for grocery store meat, and see-through polyethylene terephthalate bottles for soda and water.

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History of this topic

Millions of tons of plastic foul the world around us
3 weeks, 4 days ago

Millions of tons of plastic foul the world around us

Associated Press  

On a Philippines beach, barefoot children jumped and played on shoals of plastic washed ashore in previous typhoons. Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print People store various waste materials in plastic sacks for sorting out in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn …

How to cut down on single-use plastics : Life Kit : NPR
2 months, 3 weeks ago

How to cut down on single-use plastics : Life Kit : NPR

NPR  

I ditched plastic for a week. NPR's Claire Murashima cut out single-use plastics for a week. Use bar soap instead of body wash in a plastic container. Avoiding storing food in plastic containers and swap plastic utensils with alternatives made from wood, glass or metal. More resources from NPR: Sponsor Message This episode of Life Kit was produced by Margaret …

Plastic is what’s forming our future, and it’s killing us
3 months, 1 week ago

Plastic is what’s forming our future, and it’s killing us

LA Times  

Some of you may be thinking that plastic is convenient to use, but is it convenient to kill the planet? Instead of using plastic water bottles, I use reusable thermoses or, if I did use a plastic water bottle, I can reuse it. Instead of using plastic grocery bags, bring old bags or reusable bags or use the paper bags. …

‘Paper or plastic?’ will no longer be a choice at California grocery stores
3 months, 3 weeks ago

‘Paper or plastic?’ will no longer be a choice at California grocery stores

LA Times  

Roughly 10 years after California tried and failed to ban plastic bags at grocery stores, state lawmakers have passed a law that they say will forever end the choice of “paper or plastic” in checkout lanes. “This easy change eliminates plastic bags from the point of sale and helps California significantly reduce the plastic waste that is contaminating our environment …

Why reusable plastics can’t fix the climate crisis
3 months, 4 weeks ago

Why reusable plastics can’t fix the climate crisis

The Independent  

If you’re anything like me, you probably have very good intentions when it comes to packaging. While the EMF estimates that over a thousand uses, reusable bottles will result in 69 per cent fewer greenhouse gas emissions than a thousand single-use plastic bottles, that is less impactful than swapping out single-use plastic for single-use cartons. A 2020 study found that …

Startup Mantra: Transforming waste to save environment
4 months, 1 week 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 …

Editorial: Yes, California must ban plastic grocery bags — again
4 months, 2 weeks ago

Editorial: Yes, California must ban plastic grocery bags — again

LA Times  

When California banned flimsy plastic grocery bags, they were replaced with thicker and more durable versions that could be reused dozens of times. California banned single-use plastic grocery bags in 2016, becoming the first state to take this major environmental step. There are two identical bills moving through the Legislature — Assembly Bill 2236 and Senate Bill 1053 — that …

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, …

Companies like Nestle and Unilever modify plastic recycling goals due to implementation difficulties: Report
5 months, 1 week ago

Companies like Nestle and Unilever modify plastic recycling goals due to implementation difficulties: Report

Hindustan Times  

Nestle S.A. changed the wording of its plastic packaging goals in 2022, changing it to “designed for” recycling when earlier, it used to be “recyclable” or reusable packaging, Bloomberg reported. Plastic waste often ends up in water bodies, causing massive harm to animal and human health. The legal difference between these amount to about 280,000 metric tons of additional non-recyclable …

Will alternatives to plastic bags step up the fight against waste?
5 months, 2 weeks ago

Will alternatives to plastic bags step up the fight against waste?

The Hindu  

The switch to the alternatives to the banned plastic products has yielded mixed results in Tamil Nadu. A shopkeeper at Parry’s Corner says, “We have shifted from selling plastic items to printing invitation cards, selling greeting cards and paper and cloth bags since the Tamil Nadu government banned the single-use plastic. But, on Anderson Street, you will still find many …

A ban on single-use plastics takes effect in Hong Kong in a bid to reduce pollution
8 months ago

A ban on single-use plastics takes effect in Hong Kong in a bid to reduce pollution

Associated Press  

HONG KONG — Hong Kong has long been a major producer and consumer of great food, and a great amount of plastic and Styrofoam to go with it. A pedestrian carries takeaway food plastic bags in Hong Kong, Wednesday, March 13, 2024. A customer collects a takeaway food plastic bag at Kuen Fat Kitchen in Hong Kong, Wednesday, April 10, …

Mindful youths working towards innovative plastic management
8 months, 3 weeks ago

Mindful youths working towards innovative plastic management

Hindustan Times  

Plastic waste has been a topic of conversation for a long time now, but very few people think about reusing and disposing of it properly. Lahoti, a class XI student at IIS along with his plastic warrior team has been promoting innovative plastic waste management for a year and a half now. Several fish and animals died due to plastic …

Over 700million pounds of Amazon's 'recyclable' plastic packaging is dumped into environment each year - where chemicals infest livestock, human organs and even clouds
9 months ago

Over 700million pounds of Amazon's 'recyclable' plastic packaging is dumped into environment each year - where chemicals infest livestock, human organs and even clouds

Daily Mail  

It's the environmental disaster hiding in plain sight - a new report finds that Amazon's 'recyclable' plastic packaging generates 709 million pounds of waste each year. Adding insult to injury, the new report found Amazon's so-called 'recyclable' plastic requires customers to drive their waste packaging to special 'store drop-off locations where plastic film is accepted.' The new report, from US …

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 …

Opinion: California faces an uphill battle against plastic
10 months ago

Opinion: California faces an uphill battle against plastic

LA Times  

Given its green bona fides, it’s no surprise that California was the first state in the nation to ban single-use plastic bags 10 years ago. The plastic bag companies got a caveat in the legislation allowing grocery stores and large retailers to sell plastic bags for a minimum of 10 cents each if they are reusable and recyclable in California. …

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’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 …

Plastic is here to stay. Is sustainable plastic possible?
1 year ago

Plastic is here to stay. Is sustainable plastic possible?

Slate  

Plastic is a material of possibilities. But while this is an important goal, the idea that we’ll just stop needing plastic is “total wishful thinking,” says Velis. So, other research is looking into making polymers that could function like plastic, says Christopher Tassone, lead scientist at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in California, which is another member of BOTTLE. There are …

‘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; …

Food waste costs Australian households up to $3,000 a year
1 year, 5 months ago

Food waste costs Australian households up to $3,000 a year

ABC  

As a nation, Australians are throwing too much food in the bin. Key points: The equivalent of one in five shopping bags of food purchased in Australia goes to waste Throwing out one burger wastes the equivalent amount of water as running a shower for 90 minutes RMIT-led research has found unsuitable packaging sizes, poor buying habits, date label confusion, …

The Planet Earth in a Plastic Soup
1 year, 6 months ago

The Planet Earth in a Plastic Soup

Hindustan Times  

The United Nations declared 2011 as the International Year of Chemistry to honour the 100th Anniversary of the Nobel award in Chemistry to Marie Curie and also to commemorate the contributions of chemical sciences in the progress of human civilization. Unsurprisingly, the United Nations has declared ‘#Beat Plastic Pollution’ as the central theme of this year’s World Environment Day — …

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 …

More supermarkets stop giving away plastic and paper bags for fruits & vegetables
1 year, 10 months ago

More supermarkets stop giving away plastic and paper bags for fruits & vegetables

NL Times  

Supermarket chains Lidl, Jumbo, Plus and Aldi will stop offering free plastic and paper disposable bags for fruits and vegetables this year. That is why it is important that as many supermarket chains participate as possible,” said Carlijn Röell, the head of the Plastic Pact NL. With this measure, the five expect to save around 126 million plastic bags and …

Plastic as art? Entire grocery store created from discards
1 year, 11 months ago

Plastic as art? Entire grocery store created from discards

Associated Press  

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — A grocery store featuring thousands of faux food items made entirely from discarded plastic bags opens Tuesday to the public, an artist’s non-edible creation calling attention to the dangers of plastic waste. The Plastic Bag Store is a custom-built public art installation and film experience designed to encourage visitors to think more about the enduring impact …

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 …

Think those bags are recyclable? California says think again
1 year, 11 months ago

Think those bags are recyclable? California says think again

LA Times  

Rob Bonta says manufacturers can’t back up their claim that the thicker, more durable reusable bags are recyclable as required by the 2014 law that banned single-use plastic shopping bags. Since California adopted the nation’s first ban on single-use plastic shopping bags in 2014, most grocery stores have turned to thicker, reusable plastic bags that are supposed to be recyclable. …

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 …

Most home compostable plastics don't break down, study finds
2 years, 1 month ago

Most home compostable plastics don't break down, study finds

The Independent  

The majority of plastics marketed as “home compostable” do not fully disintegrate and end up settling in soil, new research has found. The UK-based study, called The Big Compost Experiment, found that 60 per cent of home compostable plastics - used for items such as food packaging, bags and cutlery - do not break up within six months. An author …

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, 1 month 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 …

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 …

Do single-use plastic bans work?
2 years, 5 months ago

Do single-use plastic bans work?

BBC  

Do single-use plastic bans work? Getty Images The problems caused by plastic waste are rapidly increasing around the globe, but it still serves a useful purpose in food packaging. In the end it often turns out to be more polluting to use cardboard wrapping than plastic, when the entire food production chain is taken into account – Romane Osadnick The …

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 …

Plastic Alternatives To Add Your Lifestyle on International Plastic Bag Free Day
2 years, 5 months ago

Plastic Alternatives To Add Your Lifestyle on International Plastic Bag Free Day

News 18  

International Plastic Bag Free Day which is celebrated each year on 3rd July, is an effort to eliminate the use of plastic bags. With bags made from cotton, jute, vegan leather and even upcycled plastic, the fashion industry is making an effort to encourage people to look for creative alternatives. For instance, Beco’s Reusable Cloth Bag which reads ‘Silently Judging …

First day of single-use plastic ban: Less awareness, no enforcement
2 years, 5 months ago

First day of single-use plastic ban: Less awareness, no enforcement

The Hindu  

The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board may have declared that single-use plastic items cannot be used from July 1, but in various parts of the city, SUP usage went on as usual owing to a lack of awareness. “The remaining stock which has come with plastic sticks will be returned to the distributors free of cost and then we will …

​Green Revolution 2.0: Single-Use Plastic Ban ‘Make or Break’ Moment for Green Future, Implementation Key​
2 years, 5 months ago

​Green Revolution 2.0: Single-Use Plastic Ban ‘Make or Break’ Moment for Green Future, Implementation Key​

News 18  

As the country prepares to take its first major step to phase out single-use plastic items starting Friday, environmentalists highlight that it is a ‘make-or-break’ moment for India’s green future. Our cities are littered with non-biodegradable plastic material, and it is greatly adding to environmental stress and degradation.” The Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2021, notified by the government in August …

Newsom signs nation’s most sweeping law to phase out single-use plastics and packaging waste
2 years, 5 months ago

Newsom signs nation’s most sweeping law to phase out single-use plastics and packaging waste

LA Times  

A trash can overflows with plastic waste at a park. The new law, he said, would “grow markets, create incentives for investment, and give tools to other states and countries to help play their part in this fight.” For the past six months, a team of roughly two dozen negotiators — mostly women — hammered out language designed to reduce …

Green Revolution 2.0: Saying No to Plastic is Fantastic, Finding Options Isn't, Say Industries Ahead of Single-Use Ban
2 years, 5 months ago

Green Revolution 2.0: Saying No to Plastic is Fantastic, Finding Options Isn't, Say Industries Ahead of Single-Use Ban

News 18  

Preparations are underway on war-footing as India readies itself for a ban on notified single-use plastic items. We have already placed the orders, but there are logistical constraints as the same supplier is providing straws to multiple players.” While most industries have already replaced some of the single-use plastic items such as cutlery and ice-cream sticks, it is the shortage …

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 …

Efforts on to contain plastic pollution off Kerala coast
2 years, 6 months ago

Efforts on to contain plastic pollution off Kerala coast

The Hindu  

As the world celebrated Ocean Day on Wednesday, the 24 fishing harbours in the State have come under the ‘Suchitwa Saagaram, Sundara Theeram’ campaign that was launched on a pilot basis at the Neendakara fishing harbour in Kollam under a State government initiative to clear the Kerala coastal sea waters and the coast of plastic waste accumulation. Sheik Pareeth, managing …

Beating plastic pollution in agriculture
2 years, 6 months ago

Beating plastic pollution in agriculture

Hindustan Times  

The application of razor-thin sheets of polyethylene film across farmlands began in the 1950s when agronomists noticed that it could successfully moderate soil temperature, limit weed growth and prevent moisture loss. According to Food and Agriculture Organization experts, agricultural value chains use 12.5 million tonnes of plastic products each year. The use of plastics in agriculture could be the next …

Best reusable bags 2022: Bags for life that won’t be adding to landfill
2 years, 8 months ago

Best reusable bags 2022: Bags for life that won’t be adding to landfill

The Independent  

Get our weekly Home and Garden email for tips, advice and interior inspiration Get our weekly Home and Garden email for tips, and interior inspiration Get our weekly Home and Garden email for tips, and interior inspiration SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Remember the days …

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 …

Delhi govt plans to phase out single-use plastic in 2022
2 years, 11 months ago

Delhi govt plans to phase out single-use plastic in 2022

Hindustan Times  

New Delhi: The Delhi government plans to phase out single-use plastic such as bags, cutlery, films, banners, wrappers in three phases next year, beginning with thermocol and plastic sticks used with balloons, flags and candy, according to its draft alternatives to single-use plastic policy. The official said the draft policy is also open for public feedback and suggestions, both for …

Indonesian Museum Made Out of Plastic Bottles, Bags Aims to Highlight Marine Crisis
3 years, 2 months ago

Indonesian Museum Made Out of Plastic Bottles, Bags Aims to Highlight Marine Crisis

News 18  

Environmentalists in Indonesia keen to send a message about the world’s worsening ocean plastics crisis have created a museum made entirely from plastics, to convince people to rethink their habits and say no to single-use bags and bottles. “We want to send information to the people to stop the use of single-use plastic,” said the museum’s founder Prigi Arisandi. “These …

India’s toxic love affair with plastic: on the 2022 ban against single-use products
3 years, 3 months ago

India’s toxic love affair with plastic: on the 2022 ban against single-use products

The Hindu  

C ome July 2022 and the Indian government’s ban on single-use plastics will come into force. The ‘Report on Single Use Plastics’, worked on by an expert committee constituted by the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, has categorised plastic products based on their environmental impact and utility — those found to have the lowest utility and highest environmental impact are …

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 …

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