Plastic is here to stay. Is sustainable plastic possible?
1 year, 4 months 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 so many different types and functions of plastic, with financial, environmental, or health trade-offs along the way, that there won’t be a one-size-fits-all solution, says Velis. An ideal plastic would be able to fulfill the function of lots of different existing plastics—“One Plastic to Rule Them All,” as Gregg Beckham at BOTTLE-member National Renewable Energy Laboratory describes it.

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History of this topic

Cheap plastic from China and the US is threatening sustainable plastic companies
3 months, 3 weeks ago

Cheap plastic from China and the US is threatening sustainable plastic companies

NL Times  

Cheap plastic from China and the United States is threatening Dutch companies that produce, process, and reuse plastic. Cheap plastic, especially from the United States and China, is currently flooding the Dutch and European markets. "We therefore want to recover much more plastic from waste than is currently available for reuse," the industry organizations stated. According to industry organizations, the …

Coca-Cola is dramatically scaling back its plastic promises
3 months, 3 weeks 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 …

Can the World Unite to End the Plastic Pollution Crisis?
4 months ago

Can the World Unite to End the Plastic Pollution Crisis?

Live Mint  

-- The final round of United Nations-brokered talks aimed at tackling plastic pollution opened in South Korea with deep divisions over the need to stem the rising flood of the material, a rift that threatens to scupper a two-year long quest for a deal. A coalition of nearly 70 nations, including Rwanda, Norway and the UK, is pushing for a …

Fears hundreds of fossil fuel lobbyists could derail crucial plastic pollution summit
4 months ago

Fears hundreds of fossil fuel lobbyists could derail crucial plastic pollution summit

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. “Allowing fossil fuel and petrochemical companies to exert their influence in these negotiations is like letting foxes guard the …

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

Can the World Unite to End the Plastic Pollution Crisis?
4 months ago

Can the World Unite to End the Plastic Pollution Crisis?

Live Mint  

-- The final round of United Nations-brokered talks aimed at tackling plastic pollution are opening in South Korea with deep divisions over the need to stem the rising flood of the material, a rift that threatens to scupper a two-year long quest for a deal. A coalition of nearly 70 nations, including Rwanda, Norway and the UK, is pushing for …

Plastic is what’s forming our future, and it’s killing us
6 months, 2 weeks 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. …

Why reusable plastics can’t fix the climate crisis
7 months 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 …

The Cure for Disposable Plastic Crap Is Here—and It’s Loony
7 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 …

Biden administration seeks to eliminate single-use plastics in federal government by 2035
8 months, 1 week ago

Biden administration seeks to eliminate single-use plastics in federal government by 2035

LA Times  

President Biden announced a new goal Friday to phase out the purchasing and use of single-use plastics across the federal government by 2035. The action is part of a government strategy to “target plastic pollution at production, processing, use and disposal,” according to a government report titled “Mobilizing Federal Action on Plastic Pollution: Progress, Principles, and Priorities.” The new initiative …

An ocean of plastics
8 months, 2 weeks 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
8 months, 2 weeks 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 …

The delusion of advanced plastic recycling using pyrolysis
9 months ago

The delusion of advanced plastic recycling using pyrolysis

Salon  

Last year, I became obsessed with a plastic cup. While old-school, “mechanical” recycling yields plastic that’s degraded or contaminated, this type of “chemical” recycling promises plastic that behaves like it’s new, and could usher in what the industry casts as a green revolution: Not only would it save hard-to-recycle plastics like frozen food wrappers from the dumpster, but it would …

Creating a throw-away culture: How companies ingrained plastics in modern life
9 months, 2 weeks ago

Creating a throw-away culture: How companies ingrained plastics in modern life

NPR  

Creating a throw-away culture: How companies ingrained plastics in modern life toggle caption Jacquelyn Martin/AP Just for a minute, think about how much of the plastic you use today will end up as trash. “But there’s a growing agreement,” she said, that a lot of single-use plastic “can probably go.” toggle caption Matt Cardy/Getty Images/Getty Images Europe The plastics industry …

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

How can we kick our plastic habit? Readers weigh in
1 year, 1 month 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 …

The only thing that blocks adoption of more sustainable plastics is our obsession with fossil fuels
1 year, 4 months ago

The only thing that blocks adoption of more sustainable plastics is our obsession with fossil fuels

Salon  

When the San Francisco sea lion named Blonde Bomber made one of his regular appearances at the city's Pier 39, residents were alarmed at the plastic strap wrapped around his neck. "We know that conventional fossil fuel-based plastics are subsidized by taxpayers footing the bill for waste management." "Realizing the potential benefits of biobased materials requires attention to responsible sourcing, …

For the Love of God, Stop Microwaving Plastic
1 year, 7 months ago

For the Love of God, Stop Microwaving Plastic

Wired  

At the start of his third year of graduate school, Kazi Albab Hussain became a father. “At that time,” Hussain says, “I was purchasing many baby foods, and I was seeing that, even in baby foods, there are a lot of plastics.” Hussain wanted to know how much was being released from the kinds of containers he’d been buying. In …

Plastic recycling is a minefield. Here's why it's so difficult and how we can make it easier
1 year, 8 months ago

Plastic recycling is a minefield. Here's why it's so difficult and how we can make it easier

ABC  

Why is it that after nearly 40 years of kerbside recycling in this country, figuring out which plastics can and can't go in your recycling is still so difficult? Here's the first challenge: Does your clear, single-use plastic water bottle stamped with a 1 go in the recycling bin or landfill? LDPE or low density polyethylene Plastic shopping bags, disposable …

Recycled Plastic More Toxic Than Original Parts Can Lead To Microplastic Pollution Not A Solution To Pollution Greenpeace Warns: Report
1 year, 10 months ago

Recycled Plastic More Toxic Than Original Parts Can Lead To Microplastic Pollution Not A Solution To Pollution Greenpeace Warns: Report

ABP News  

Amsterdam-based independent global campaigning network Greenpeace has warned that recycled plastic is more toxic than the original components, contributes significantly to microplastic pollution, and is not a solution to environmental pollution. Recycling increases plastic toxicity Quoting Graham Forbes, the leader of Greenpeace USA's global plastics campaign, the Guardian report said the plastics industry, including fossil fuel, petrochemical and consumer goods …

The Plastic Crisis Finally Gets Emergency Status
1 year, 10 months ago

The Plastic Crisis Finally Gets Emergency Status

Wired  

Humanity’s relationship with plastic isn’t just broken—it’s absurd. But today the United Nations Environment Programme is dropping an urgent report on the extraordinary environmental and human costs of plastic pollution, along with a road map for the world to take action. With several strategies working in concert—like production cuts and more reuse of plastic products—the report finds that humanity might …

Single-use plastic waste rose despite worldwide pledges
2 years, 1 month ago

Single-use plastic waste rose despite worldwide pledges

Live Mint  

Polluting single-use plastic production rose by 6 million tonnes per year from 2019 to 2021 despite tougher worldwide regulations, with producers making "little progress" to tackle the problem and boost recycling, new research showed on Monday. But while growth has slowed recently, the production of single-use plastic from "virgin" fossil fuel sources is still nowhere near its peak, and the …

Single-use plastic waste rises from 2019-2021 despite pledges
2 years, 1 month ago

Single-use plastic waste rises from 2019-2021 despite pledges

The Hindu  

Polluting single-use plastic production rose by 6 million tonnes per year from 2019 to 2021 despite tougher worldwide regulations, with producers making "little progress" to tackle the problem and boost recycling, new research showed on Monday. But while growth has slowed recently, the production of single-use plastic from "virgin" fossil fuel sources is still nowhere near its peak, and the …

How much plastic is too much for our planet?
2 years, 2 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 …

Why Most Plastic Ends Up As Trash In A Landfill : Short Wave : NPR
2 years, 3 months 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 …

Coke could help save oceans from plastic — by keeping its promise
2 years, 4 months ago

Coke could help save oceans from plastic — by keeping its promise

Al Jazeera  

The company defines how we drink beverages. That commitment, if met, could keep billions of single-use plastic bottles from polluting the world’s waterways and oceans while also reducing the company’s carbon footprint. Unfortunately, a key ingredient needed for Coca-Cola to keep its vow is missing so far: a parallel commitment from the company’s big bottlers to also raise their refillable …

Can most plastic be recycled? The answer, as per this Greenpeace US report, is…
2 years, 5 months ago

Can most plastic be recycled? The answer, as per this Greenpeace US report, is…

Hindustan Times  

In 2021, about 51 million tonnes of plastic was generated by households in the United States but only 2.4 million of this was recycled, reveals a new report by Greenpeace. From 9.5 per cent in 2014 to 8.7 per cent in 2018 and 5-6 per cent in 2021 - plastic recycling is said to have declined in the country, Greenpeace …

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

Plastic Free July 2022: How to smash the challenge, from reusable bottles to make-up
2 years, 8 months ago

Plastic Free July 2022: How to smash the challenge, from reusable bottles to make-up

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 Plastic Free July …

Global plastic waste is projected to triple by 2060: OECD
2 years, 9 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 …

What would happen if we stopped using plastic?
2 years, 10 months ago

What would happen if we stopped using plastic?

BBC  

What would happen if we stopped using plastic? Imagine trying to run a dialysis unit with no plastic – Sharon George Kseniia Zatevakhina/ Alamy In hospitals, the loss of plastic would be devastating Our food system would also quickly unravel. "I think initially we'd see all impacts increase," says Stuart Walker, a research fellow at the University of Exeter and …

Science report: US should make less plastic to save oceans
3 years, 3 months ago

Science report: US should make less plastic to save oceans

Associated Press  

America needs to rethink and reduce the way it generates plastics because so much of the material is littering the oceans and other waters, the National Academy of Sciences says in a new report. Recycling and proper disposal alone aren’t enough and can’t handle the problem, so the “United States should substantially reduce solid waste generation to reduce plastic waste …

The Life of Plastic: Born a Hero, Dying an Outcast, Resurrected a Monster
3 years, 4 months 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 …

Plastics Will Create More Climate Pollution Than Coal In U.S. By 2030, New Study Finds
3 years, 5 months ago

Plastics Will Create More Climate Pollution Than Coal In U.S. By 2030, New Study Finds

Huff Post  

A man in Kenya carries a load of plastic garbage. “But this is a significant and growing source of greenhouse gas emissions.” Construction on Shell Chemicals Beaver County ethane cracker plant in Potter Township, Pennsylvania, in May 2020. via Associated Press Across the country, particularly in states where hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has made the fossil fuel raw materials for …

The world's first 'infinite' plastic
3 years, 10 months ago

The world's first 'infinite' plastic

BBC  

The world's first 'infinite' plastic Alamy A new method of chemical recycling can take any old plastic back to its raw material – oil The way we normally recycle plastics is a downward spiral of waste and degraded materials, but there is another option – turning plastic back into the oil it was made from. Instead of a system where …

Problem not with plastic: VP calls for responsible use of plastics
4 years, 3 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 …

This New Kind of Plastic May Just Be What We Need to Save the Planet
4 years, 7 months ago

This New Kind of Plastic May Just Be What We Need to Save the Planet

News 18  

It is well known that plastic is a non-biodegradable material and is one of the most harmful elements. The plastic, which is named PBTL, is made up of chemical building blocks called bicyclic thiolactones. A part of the study reads, “the failure to address end-of-life issues of today's plastics has not only accelerated the depletion of finite natural resources but …

Why plastic waste is an ideal building material
4 years, 7 months ago

Why plastic waste is an ideal building material

BBC  

Why plastic waste is an ideal building material Dan Corbett Plastic waste is increasingly abundant on the planet, but reshaping plastic's lifecycle could make it more sustainable What if we turned the world’s growing wastelands of disused plastics into a new kind of sustainable building? Working with the ‘unrecyclable’ waste and developing plastics alternatives to natural materials may reduce demand …

Editorial: The plastics you don’t see might kill you
4 years, 8 months ago

Editorial: The plastics you don’t see might kill you

LA Times  

Disposable gloves and face masks — along with antiseptic wipes, disposable grocery bags, and bottles of hand sanitizer — have been crucial first lines of defense against the coronavirus. Sadly, though disposable plastic masks and gloves may be helping to save lives now, they may be endangering our future health. In June, the COVID-19 pandemic collided with another national crisis …

20 pledges for 2020: As everyone's ditching plastic, I'm feeling like less of an outsider for using glass milk bottles
4 years, 11 months ago

20 pledges for 2020: As everyone's ditching plastic, I'm feeling like less of an outsider for using glass milk bottles

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. Read our privacy policy If I’d told my now …

20 pledges for 2020: How I made my kitchen plastic-free - and my weekly shop too
5 years ago

20 pledges for 2020: How I made my kitchen plastic-free - and my weekly shop too

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. Six months before Blue Planet etched the sinister image …

10 steps to take to start becoming plastic-free
5 years ago

10 steps to take to start becoming plastic-free

LA Times  

You can find out which bottles of wine have cork rather than plastic before you buy at Corkwatch. A few years ago, the Guardian reported that people around the world buy 1 million plastic bottles per minute — or 20,000 bottles every second. The big four: You’ve likely already figured out how to banish single-use plastic water bottles, bags, straws …

Plastic Bank is cleaning up in the fight against waste
5 years, 4 months ago

Plastic Bank is cleaning up in the fight against waste

CNN  

CNN — We’re hooked on plastic, but too often we’re careless consumers. “We inherently reveal the value in this material,” he added, describing the company as “plastic alchemists.” Plastic Bank CEO and founder David Katz in Haiti, where the company currently has its most extensive collection network. “There’s already 9 trillion kilos on the planet,” he lamented, “why do we …

Why biodegradables won’t solve the plastic crisis
5 years, 4 months ago

Why biodegradables won’t solve the plastic crisis

BBC  

Why biodegradables won’t solve the plastic crisis Getty Images A Bangladeshi child sifts through waste "Green" alternatives to throwaway plastics don’t always break down in sea water. “Which you could argue is more problematic because you can't clean up – it's like trying to pick up Smarties with chopsticks.” Getty Images When plastics break down in the sea they become …

How Fossil Fuel Companies Are Killing Plastic Recycling
5 years, 5 months ago

How Fossil Fuel Companies Are Killing Plastic Recycling

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING So many things we buy come packaged in plastic containers or wrappers that are meant to be used once, thrown away and forgotten ― but they don’t break down and can linger in the environment long after we’re gone. Recycling will suffer when the new manufacturing plants begin pumping out more virgin plastic, said Ted Siegler, a …

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