Plastic Pollution

Eight million metric tons of plastic waste enter the oceans every year. This equates to one garbage truck’s worth of plastic being dumped into our oceans every minute. The total weight is the equivalent of 90 aircraft carriers. On top of that, models project that by 2050, there will be…

By Layal Liverpool Plastic waste can degrade into smaller bits known as microplasticsHOTLI SIMANJUNTAK/EPA-EFE/ShutterstockA new method could help detect microplastics in human tissues and organs, allowing researchers to investigate the impact that environmental plastic pollution has on our health. Last year, Rolf Halden at Arizona State University and his colleagues…

In a sobering report published by the journal Science, plastic pollution in our oceans is set to increase massively, with a tripling of the flow of plastic by 2040.The increase will have resulted in a mind-blowing 1.3 billion metric tons of plastic ending up in our oceans.The study found that…

Incase and BIONIC have teamed up to bring a new collection of backpacks, MacBook sleeves, and organizers to help combat the 8 million metric tons of plastic that end up in the ocean. 91% of plastic is not recycled and just discarded due to poor recycling practices. For this reason,…

Single use personal protective equipment (PPE) is significantly adding to the already serious plastic pollution crisis, experts have warned.An estimated 194 billion disposable masks and gloves are being used worldwide every month as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a study in Environmental Science and Technology. Most single…

Environment 7 August 2020 By Adam Vaughan A discarded face mask in Budva, MontenegroZUMA Press, Inc. / AlamyIt looked as if the tide had turned against single-use plastic last year, with the European Union approving a ban on cutlery, straws and more, New York backing a plastic bag ban and…

Plastic bag in the ocean. Credit: Making Oceans Plastic Free Clean-up devices that collect waste from the ocean surface won't solve the plastic pollution problem, a new study shows. Researchers compared estimates of current and future plastic waste with the ability of floating clean-up devices to collect it—and found the…

As the country balances the reopening of our economy with saving lives, there also needs to be a balancing use of plastic with the protection of the environment, writes Eunice Ubomba-Jaswa.As Covid-19 cases continue to rise in South Africa and across the world, vast quantities of plastic waste are also…

During a visit to a bookstore a few weeks ago, we couldn’t help but stare at a display unit featuring no fewer than 10 books telling you how to rid plastics from your daily life. We’re bombarded by information on the topic of marine litter and plastic pollution, but how…

By Adam Vaughan Plastic pollution in Naples, ItalySalvatore Laporta/KONTROLAB/LightRocket via Getty ImagesPlastic pollution is ubiquitous and growing, but knowing the best way to stop it has largely been a guessing game so far. Now, a study has found that if the world undertook every feasible action to cut plastic pollution,…