This week in Paris, negotiators from around the world are convening for a United Nations meeting. They will tackle a thorny problem: finding a globally binding solution for plastic recycling and plastic pollution. Of the staggering 460 million tonnes of plastic used globally in 2019 alone, much is used only once and thrown away. About ...
A UK-wide study found that 60 percent of home-compostable plastics do not fully disintegrate in home compost bins and inevitably end up in our soil. The study also found that citizens are confused about the labels of compostable and biodegradable plastics, leading to incorrect plastic waste disposal. These results highlight the need to revise and ...
Now, after the United Nations’ historic decision to adopt a global treaty to end plastic pollution earlier this year, governmental negotiations on the agreement are set to begin on May 30. These will foster intense debates on what types of measures will be needed to end the pollution of the air, soil, rivers, and oceans ...
It is hard to believe that we have to talk about the plastic waste that is still going into the world’s oceans. Researchers from the University of California have found that more than 4.8 million metric tons of plastic waste end up in the oceans each year. A metric ton is equivalent to 1,000 kilograms, or 2,205 ...
Researchers have developed an innovative way to convert waste plastics into ingredients for jet fuel and other valuable products, making it easier and more cost-effective to reuse plastics. The researchers were able to convert 90 percent of the waste plastics into jet fuel and other valuable hydrocarbon products within an hour at moderate temperatures and ...
The amount of plastic waste accumulated in the ocean is a major threat to marine ecosystems. In a recent development, a prototype ocean cleaning setup made by a Slovak designer has drawn the attention of environmentalists. The ocean cleaning prototype designed by Lenka Petráková has fetched the designer the top award in a high-profile architectural ...
Waste fishing gear in the Ganges River poses a threat to wildlife including otters, turtles, and dolphins, new research shows. The study says entanglement in fishing gear could harm species, including the critically endangered three-striped roofed turtle and the endangered Ganges river dolphin. Surveys along the length of the river, from the mouth in Bangladesh to the Himalayas in ...
Of all the plastics we’ve ever produced, only 9 percent has been recycled. So what happened to all that plastic you’ve put in the recycling bin over the years? Hands up if you grew up thinking that recycling plastic waste is key to saving the environment. It turns out that for decades the recyclability of ...
In early 2018, the Chinese government banned the import of plastic waste. Till then, China used to be the largest importer of such waste, accounting for more than 50 percent of the global market. With China’s waste ban, countries that used to export such waste to China were caught surprised, unable to find alternative solutions. ...
Plastic is a kind of widely used artificial material. The invention of plastic gave us a lightweight, strong, and inexpensive material to use, but it also brought us the plastic apocalypse. Much of the unrecycled plastic waste ends up in the ocean, Earth’s last sink. Broken by waves, sunlight, and marine animals, a single plastic ...
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