Author: Packaging Europe

Eurostat calculates the amount of municipal waste generated per person in the EU at 513kg in 2022 – down by 19kg from 2021, yet 46kg higher than in 1995 – and an average of 249kg recycled by each citizen, 15kg lower than three years ago. The highest amount of municipal waste is thought to have been generated in Austria at 827kg per person, followed by Denmark at 787kg and Luxembourg at 720kg. Romania (301kg), Poland (364kg), and Estonia (373kg) are named as the lowest waste generators.

Author: James Bruggers

Two environmental organizations are challenging a draft state report on California’s “Truth in Labeling” recycling law, saying the preliminary data it contains could allow companies to make broader plastics recycling claims than the 2021 law allows and reveals potentially illegal exports of plastics waste to Mexico. The report is based on data obtained from a survey of facilities that collect, sort and bale a variety of waste for potential recycling, including paper, metals and plastic. 

Author: DutchNews

More plastic is ending up in incineration plants and producing harmful CO2 emissions despite efforts to promote recycling, caretaker environment minister Vivianne Heijnen has said in a briefing to MPs. In 2022, some 52% of discarded plastic was burnt, compared to 49% the year before. Much of the plastic waste was contaminated by food residue or chemicals, making it unsuitable for recycling. There was also insufficient capacity at recycling plants, Heijnen said.

Author: Colin Staub

U.S. recovered paper exports in 2023 reached a 19-year low, driven by major multi-year declines in shipments into key overseas markets. Recovered plastic exports dropped slightly year over year, bringing a record low for another consecutive year. The U.S. Census Bureau, part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, recently released December 2023 export figures, allowing for a full-year analysis.

Author: Noah Daly

MATTAPAN, Mass. — A bird calls through the canopy of autumn leaves as Amenyonah Bossman walks onto Livermore Street. She’s lived just one block away for the past 20 years along with her three sons. Their neighborhood, one of the poorest in Boston, has few spaces to escape urban sprawl. This tree-lined road, nestled between the urban wilds of the Kennebec Marsh and the dense tract of the Pendergast Preventorium Park, is a gift for the community, Bossman tells me. Or at least it could be.

Author: Bella Zanin

The Environment Agency (EA) has launched an Economic Crime Unit to investigate serious financial offences in the waste sector. The new unit, an expansion of the EA’s Financial Investigations Team, aims to ensure waste operators “do the right thing” and prevent organised criminals making money from illicit waste activities. Highly skilled staff - including Accredited Financial Investigators, Accredited Financial Intelligence Officers and a Financial Crime Analyst - will work with partners across law enforcement, such as the police and HMRC.

Author: Corey Dehmey and Jim Puckett

We may have started from different perspectives, and we may have different points of emphasis, but the e-Stewards and R2 standards have each played a highly significant role in improving the sustainability of electronics in the last few decades. It is certain that certification programs now serve to differentiate the good actors – the leaders who follow applicable laws, protect the earth, workers and communities – from the laggards, who do not.

Author: Beatriz Santos

Exports of plastic waste from the European Union to countries worldwide has been growing steadily in the past decade. EU plastic waste exports to non-Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, a group of mostly rich countries, rose to 58.9 million kg/month in August 2023 from 28.1 million kg/month in May 2022.

Author: Daisy Dumas

More than a year after the demise of REDcycle, Coles and Woolworths customers are still incorrectly being told they can return soft plastic food packaging to stores, where they will be handled by the now-defunct recycling program. So what’s going on?

What are soft plastics? Simply put, they’re plastics that can be scrunched into a ball. The term covers bread and cereal packets, vegetable packaging, chocolate bar wrappers and clingfilm. Australians use 70bn pieces – or about 538,000 tonnes – of soft plastics each year, according to the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (Apco).

Author: Jabed Ahmed

Shocking pictures have revealed Hermit crabs are increasingly turning to plastic waste as armour for their bodies amid record levels of pollution in the world’s oceans. The findings are based on analysis of photos taken by wildlife enthusiasts and the discovery have been published as part of a study in the journal Science of the Total Environment.

Author: Victoria Gill

Hermit crabs all over the world, which scavenge shells as armour for their bodies, are turning increasingly to plastic waste instead. The conclusion is based on analysis of photos, taken by wildlife enthusiasts, and published online. Scientists said they were "heartbroken" to see the extent to which the animals were living in our rubbish.

Author: Sidhi Mittal

This is according to the ‘Failing Commitments’ report from Business360, a competitive intelligence firm providing research and analysis services. The analysis is based on data sourced from both the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the revenue filings of companies that committed to the Foundation’s New Plastics Economy Global Commitment in 2018. This initiative, supported by more than 1,000 organisations, aims to address global plastic pollution through collective goals.

Author: University of Utrecht

About half of Europe’s plastic waste is exported to several countries in the Global South, including Vietnam. An Utrecht University research team ventured to Minh Khai Craft Village, the largest recycling hub in Vietnam, to follow the recycling path of European plastic.

Author: Daily Sabah

he Mediterranean region faces a severe threat from plastic pollution, with an average of 229,465 tons of plastic waste added annually, according to warnings from experts. Middle East Technical University (METU) Marine Sciences Institute faculty member professor Ahmet Kıdeyş expressed concerns over the escalating pollution levels in the Mediterranean, comparing it unfavorably to other seas worldwide.