Plastic. It’s not hard to see how anyone who is appalled at the despoliation of the environment could think that the world would be better without it. Nearly 10% of the world’s oil is used in making it. It has enabled the proliferation of cheap goods — cramming closets, landfills and otherwise-unspoiled places where it […]
What do you get when 65,326 screaming football fans cram into a stadium to watch the Super Bowl? Trash, and lots of it. Most of those fans will drink and eat their way through the contest, leaving mountains of drink cups and food containers in their wake. The NFL is very image conscious and cleaning […]
Single-use plastics are getting hammered everywhere you look. What was once considered “normal” is now seen as an incredibly destructive influence that threatens the health of the Earth and all of the creatures who call it home, especially humans. China has decided to phase out all single-use plastics over the next few years. Now the movement away […]
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this week, Bea Perez, head of sustainability for Coca-Cola, announced that the company has no intention of abandoning single-use plastic bottles. Why? It’s all the customers’ fault, apparently. They like the convenience of lightweight, recloseable bottles, she says, and the company dare not deny customers what they […]
You finish that last sip of morning coffee and stare at the empty paper cup in your hand. Should it go into the recycling bin, compost, or be landfilled or incinerated? You are not alone. Most Americans are confused about recycling, and the crisis driven by China’s decision to stop accepting most foreign scrap material is […]
Amanda Kistler, Director of Communications and Development at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), has shared a new report with CleanTechnica. The full report, Plastic & Climate The Hidden Costs of a Plastic Planet, was released on May 15, 2019. Below is a summary and several highlights from the report, and here is the full executive summary. By […]
Plastics are both a boon and a bane to all humanity. One the one hand, they are strong, light, and flexible. On the other hand, they take centuries to break down, which has created an environmental catastrophe of unimaginable proportions. Some would argue that plastics have played an important role in powering the robust world […]
Plastic bottles may be the perfect analogy for the battle against climate change. We all know they are harmful to the environment. We all know there are millions and millions of them clogging up the world’s oceans. We all know that our landfills are filled to overflowing with them. But what do we do about […]
Synthetic plastics have made many aspect of modern life cheaper, safer and more convenient. However, we have failed to figure out how to get rid of them after we use them. Used once and done. Michael Coghlan, CC BY-SA Richard Gross, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute The Conversation Unlike other forms of trash, such as food and […]
China’s decision earlier this year to implement a ban on the import of 24 categories of recyclable materials, including many common plastics used in consumer goods, has shocked recycling systems across the world. Surplus plastics in the United States and Western Europe appear destined for temporary storage facilities or local landfills in the short run, as […]