Plastic Pollution

Anthropogenic factors are posing a big threat to biodiversity as over one million species are at risk of extinction. This requires the immediate attention of the world. Therefore, representatives of 190 countries are meeting in Montreal, Canada for a summit on biodiversity known as COP 15. This two-week conference (between…

Save the environment, minimize or terminate use of plastics Editorial “Plastic pollution seriously endangers the ecosystem, especially bodies of water like rivers that are vital to fishermen’s livelihood.” With this in mind, the House of Representatives passed on third and final reading this week House Bill No. 4102 that proposes…

As international negotiators began hammering out the details of a global plastics treaty last week, legislators in the United States were busy unveiling a domestic policy to address the plastic pollution crisis. A new bill introduced by four congressional Democrats on Thursday takes aim at plastic manufacturers in an attempt…

 A plastic bottle lies on the sand at Maccarese beach, west of Rome, Italy November 21, 2018. REUTERS/Max Rossi WASHINGTON, Dec 2 (Reuters) - The first round of negotiations on a global plastics treaty ended on Friday with agreement to end plastic pollution but a split on whether goals and…

A cheap powder can help treat wastewater by rapidly absorbing microscopic bits of plastic pollution – and because it is also magnetic, both can then be removed with magnets...Read More

The Canadian government is looking to curb domestic plastic pollution by the end of the decade as negotiations toward a formal plastics management treaty begin this week in Uruguay OTTAWA — Canadians appear to be slowly cutting back on their use of plastic straws and grocery bags ahead of a…

This week in Uruguay, scientists, environmentalists, and government representatives—and, of course, lobbyists—are gathering to begin negotiations on a United Nations treaty on plastics. It’s only the start of talks, so we don’t know how they will shape up, but some of the bargaining chips on the table include production limits and…

Environment2022 in ReviewFrom a thriving new marine park to rules curbing plastic pollution, the past year gave us several reasons to be optimistic for the planet's future. BySarah Gibbens Published November 29, 2022 • 8 min read The world now has eight billion people, according to the United Nations. The…

UBC professor Dr. Feng Jiang holding samples of the biodegradable foam:. Credit: Lou Bosshart/UBC A new biodegradable packing foam developed at UBC not only potentially addresses the world's plastic pollution crisis but also serves as an equal and true partnership example of working with First Nations. The team came together…

Microplastics have become a new form of plastic pollution, reaching an alarming level worldwide. Commodity plastics are widely considered to be chemically inert, but alterations in their surface properties owing to environmental weathering are often overlooked, impeding their life-cycle analysis in the environment.  In a new paper published in ACS…