Aldi ranked first among US grocers for its efforts to curtail single-use plastics
The time has come for the big companies to start doing the heavy lifting when it comes to reducing the staggering amount of plastic waste that has made its way virtually everywhere in the world, from the stomachs of whales to the food we eat and the water we drink. And while individual choices Read More...
180 countries agree to legally-binding framework to limit trade of plastic waste
If you live in the so-called Western world, chances are some of the plastic waste you have produced has been shipped off to private waste-handling companies in the developing world. That’s a problem, mainly because these companies can’t handle the millions of tons of plastic waste that get sent Read More...
Next-generation plastic can be recycled over and over again into new materials
Plastic is useful and ubiquitous – but that's not always a good combination. The vast majority of plastic waste can't be recycled, meaning it ends up in landfills at best or the ocean at worst. To help curb the problem, researchers at Berkeley Lab have designed a recyclable plastic – called Read More...
The London Marathon replaced plastic bottles with edible seaweed pouches
If you’ve ever been to a huge sporting event such as a marathon, you’re probably aware of the massive amount of plastic waste that gets left behind. The London marathon is usually no different, but this year, the organizers arranged for participants to be handed edible pods made of seaweed Read More...
Company comes up with 100% compostable water bottle
Many companies are looking for better ways to package our must-have water, but these alternatives often include metal, plastic or glass that needs to be separated eventually at the recycling stage. That’s why a company by the name of Cove has created a water bottle that sidesteps the recycling Read More...
Roads are being built using tons of recycled plastic waste
The road to a world with less plastic waste could come in the form of, wait for it, new roads. Dow Chemical, one of the world’s largest plastic producers, has started building roads using a combination of asphalt and plastic waste. In the past month, the company has constructed two private roads Read More...
This island is introducing the strictest plastic ban the world has ever seen
The Pacific island nation of Vanuatu currently boasts some of the strictest laws when it comes to plastic waste. In July, the island voted to ban single-use plastic bags, drinking straws and styrofoam containers in a dramatic attempt to stem the flow of trash from the country’s coasts into the Read More...
Answers to the questions you never asked about plastic waste
By now you’ve probably heard a million times that plastic waste is harming the planet. There’s no question about that. But there are many other questions you might have about plastic and how we should deal with the problem. For example, perhaps you want to find out if the plastic you put into Read More...
These scientists are turning a common type of plastic waste into clean fuels
While many people like to think that recycling is the antidote to our plastic problems, the reality is that most plastic waste doesn’t get recycled. On top of that, plastics that are recycled can only be recycled a couple times before the material is rendered useless and becomes waste. Read More...
Chemistry is helping raise the standard of recycling
Recycling is mistakenly thought of as a solution for plastic waste, but the truth is there are many types of plastics that cannot properly be recycled. That goes for many other materials such as textiles. Fortunately, chemistry is pointing the way towards cleaner, better means of recycling waste. Read More...