Plastic Pollution

Pictures | Sat Oct 17, 2020 | 2:14am BST Products made entirely of plastic bags are pictured at the Plastic Bag Store, a pop-up to raise awareness of the environmental issues with plastics in Times Square in Manhattan, New York City, October 16, 2020. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri Reuters / Friday, October…

It is no secret that Asia has trouble with managing plastic waste. According to a 2015 report by the Ocean Conservancy and McKinsey, 60% of all plastic waste in the ocean comes from five Asian countries—China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand. All around the world, scientists are developing innovative…

Nowhere, it seems, is immune from plastic pollution: plastic has been reported in the high Arctic oceans, in the sea ice around Antarctica and even in the world’s deepest waters of the Mariana Trench.But just how bad is the problem? Our new research provides the first global estimate of microplastics…

Ecologists studying the prevalence of plastic pollution in aquatic ecosystems around the world are concerned after measuring the scale of human response needed to reduce future emissions and manage what's already floating around out there. "Unless growth in plastic production and use is halted, a fundamental transformation of the plastic…

Too much plastic is getting into the world's waterways. (Photo: Christopher Furlong, Getty Images) In recent years, world leaders have taken steps to curb plastic pollution in the oceans, But a new study, published in Science on Thursday, says these measures are nowhere near enough to get the problem under…

A mess of plasticIt is not clear what strategies will be most effective in mitigating harm from the global problem of plastic pollution. Borrelle et al. and Lau et al. discuss possible solutions and their impacts. Both groups found that substantial reductions in plastic-waste generation can be made in the…

For small island nations, marine plastic cleanup is prohibitively expensive by Brooks Hays Washington DC (UPI) Sep 10, 2020 Greenpeace warns Beirut fire smoke could be 'toxic'Beirut (AFP) Sept 10, 2020 - Greenpeace warned residents in Lebanon's capital Thursday to protect themselves against "toxic" smoke after a huge fire broke…

Smart tech is being trialled at Ala Wai Harbor in Honolulu, Hawai’i in the hopes of cleaning up plastic pollution.Hawai’i Volcanic Water, a beverage and active lifestyle brand from the island state has sponsored two Seabin units that were recently installed in Honolulu’s Ala Wai Harbor.The Seabin, invented by Pete…

Almost every product and material we refer to as "plastic" is made from fossil fuels. Most of it hasn't been around for long -- a little over 70 years for the most common products. North American grocery stores didn't start offering plastic bags until the late 1970s. Over that short time, plastics…

Potentially deadly particles of plastic chemicals used in products including food packaging and mobile phones have been found for the first time in major human organs, a new study warns. US researchers analysed 47 samples from a tissue bank originally established to study neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease. All of the samples…