Author: Celia Ford

At the start of his third year of graduate school, Kazi Albab Hussain became a father. As a new dad and a PhD student studying environmental nanotechnology, plastic was on his mind. The year before, scientists had discovered that plastic baby bottles shed millions of particles into formula, which infants end up swallowing (while also sucking on plastic bottle nipples). “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.”

Author: Emily Chan

You might not know it, but you’re probably wearing some form of plastic right now. In fact, nearly two-thirds of our garments are made from synthetics such as polyester, nylon, acrylic and elastane – all materials that are derived from fossil fuels, release microplastics into the environment, and don’t biodegrade, taking hundreds of years to break down. Given that so many of us have made a concerted effort to cut back on single-use plastic, it may come as a surprise that there’s so much plastic in our wardrobes. Consider the fact that over 100 billion garments are created every year, and that 70 per cent of our clothes currently end up in landfill, and it’s clear that it’s a huge problem that needs to be addressed.

Author: Karen Wirsig

You’ve arrived at the final stop in the story of plastic in Canada.  It’s the part that we’re most used to hearing about: waste and litter. Last week, we checked out the aisles of the country’s grocery stores to confirm just how much single-use plastic is on the shelves. It’s a lot, and almost all of it ends up as garbage after a brief use. Plastic never really dies, but today let’s take a look at its final resting place. 

Author: ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability

In early 2022, during the resumed Fifth United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA5.2), nation states agreed to establish a binding global plastics treaty by 2024, which should work towards ending plastic pollution. The process to arrive at such a treaty would be led by the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) which will convene several times, starting with the first round of negotiations in Uruguay in December 2022. INC-2 took place from 29 May to 2 June 2023, at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France.

Author: Jamie Hailstone

The world has reached the annual point in the year when authorities and people can no longer properly manage the plastic waste produced annually, according to a new study. The report by Swiss-based research consultancy Earth Action warns today (28 July) is the point in the year where the amount of short-life plastic waste being produced annually exceeds the global capacity to manage it effectively. According to Earth Action, more than 68.5 million tonnes of short-life plastic will be mismanaged around the world and pollute the environment this year.

Author: Annita Elissaiou

For the first time, campaigners have proclaimed Friday 28 July 2023 as the date when the amount of plastic produced globally exceeds the capacity of waste management systems to absorb it, a move aimed at raising awareness about the issue. Plastic Overshoot Day, announced by the environmental action network, Earth Action, is meant to raise awareness of the urgent need to tackle the plastic waste crisis. According to their recently published report, combined international efforts to handle plastic waste will no longer be effective, leading to increased water and land pollution.

Author: Mohamed Dabo

IPA, a provider of compostable packaging solutions for food and fashion, has released the findings of a recent survey that sheds light on consumer perceptions regarding alternative packaging. The survey, which involved 1,500 American consumers across three locations – California, New York and Washington – highlighted the growing concern about plastic waste generated from packaging, with a significant difference in consumer attitudes between the West Coast and the East Coast.

Author: Marek Strzelecki and Pawel Florkiewicz; editing by John Stonestreet

Warsaw is filing a complaint to the European Commission against Berlin for allegedly failing to remove waste illegally transported from Germany to Poland and stored there, Climate Minister Anna Moskwa said on Wednesday.

Some 35,000 tonnes of waste was illegally moved to Poland by German companies and stored at seven sites and has not been removed despite several formal requests, she said, without specifying the sites' locations or when the waste was stored.

Author: Laurelle Stelle

For years, the American Chemistry Council’s Wrap Recycling Action Program (WRAP) has encouraged shoppers to drop off their used plastic bags at Walmarts, Targets, and other public locations to be recycled. However, an investigation by ABC News recently revealed that few bags ever make it that far. What happened? ABC News placed 46 electronic trackers inside bundles of plastic bags which it dropped off at WRAP collection sites across the country, according to its report. It then traced where the bags went.

Authors: Michaela Barnett, Leidy Klotz, Patrick I. Hancock, Shahzeen Attari

You’ve just finished a cup of coffee at your favorite cafe. Now you’re facing a trash bin, a recycling bin and a compost bin. What’s the most planet-friendly thing to do with your cup? Many of us would opt for the recycling bin – but that’s often the wrong choice. In order to hold liquids, most paper coffee cups are made with a thin plastic lining, which makes separating these materials and recycling them difficult. In fact, the most sustainable option isn’t available at the trash bin. It happens earlier, before you’re handed a disposable cup in the first place.

Author: Lisa Korycki

More than 5000 tonnes of soft plastics have been moved to safe storage under Clean-up Notices issued by New South Wales Environment Protection Authority (EPA) to Coles and Woolworths following the REDcycle collapse. The notices required the supermarkets to address the potential fire and pollution risk posed by 15 soft plastic stockpiles accumulated during the REDcycle soft plastics collection program. Steve Beaman, EPA Executive Director, said having the retailers move the stockpiles to a safe and lawful location has been a priority.

Author: Humberto Márquez

CARACAS, Jul 24 2023 (IPS) - Countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have made progress towards partial regulations to reduce plastic pollution, but the problem is serious and environmental activists are calling for regulations in the entire chain of production, consumption and disposal of plastic waste. The release of plastic waste into the environment “is the tip of the iceberg of a problem that begins much earlier, from the exploitation of hydrocarbons, to the transport and transformation of these precursors of an endless number of products,” Andrés del Castillo, a Colombian expert based in Switzerland, told IPS.

Author: Margaret Paul

Australia's major supermarkets have started sending samples of soft plastics overseas to be recycled, as they deal with the legacy of thousands of tonnes of stockpiled plastics from the collapsed REDcycle scheme. Coles and Woolworths took responsibility for the stockpiles of plastics in February, after REDcycle went into liquidation, owing creditors about $5 million, including fees for storing massive stockpiles in warehouses across several Australian states. Victoria's environmental watchdog charged REDcycle in December, alleging the company secretly stockpiled 3,000 tonnes of soft plastics across nine sites.

Author: Chrissy Sexton

Vacationers turned citizen scientists have assisted a team of researchers in uncovering the threat of microplastics on the pristine beaches of the Arctic.  As the world grapples with the increasing scale of plastic production, tiny fragments of these synthetic materials, known as microplastics, have become ubiquitous, sparking fears of accumulation and consequent ecosystem damage in the Arctic due to ocean currents. Still yet, our understanding of the extent and nature of this potential Arctic plastic pollution remains sketchy.

Author: Zahra Ahmad, Earthjustice

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today affirmed its May 2022 decision to allow the ongoing use of phthalates, a class of toxic chemicals, in food packaging and food production equipment. Health and environmental advocates had asked FDA to reconsider that decision based on mounting scientific evidence that phthalates in food cause serious health harm.