Tag: Plastic pollution

Bacardi and Lonely Whale to Remove 1 Billion Plastic Straws by 2020

Bacardi, the world's largest privately-owned spirits company, and Lonely Whale, the innovative oceans nonprofit helping Alaska Airlines reduce plastic use, have teamed up with the goal of removing one billion plastic straws...

These 5 Countries Account for 60% of Plastic Pollution in Oceans

Roughly 8 million tons of plastic is dumped into the world's oceans every year, and according to a new study, the majority of this waste comes from just five countries: China, Indonesia,...

Australia Takes Stand on Single-Use Plastic Bags

Single-use plastic bags are going out of style in Australia, but shoppers aren’t thrilled by the reduction. Two major retailers, Big W and Coles, have officially ended the use of plastic shopping...

IKEA to Phase Out Single-Use Plastics by 2020

Swedish furniture giant IKEA announced a slew of commitments to encourage sustainable living, including a pledge to remove all single-use plastics from its product range globally and from its restaurants by 2020.The...

Plastic Killed Most Sperm Whales Found Dead in Greek Waters Since 2001

More than a third of the sperm whales found dead in the eastern Mediterranean since 2011 were killed by plastic debris, researchers from the Pelagos Cetacean Research Institute in Athens found. Necropsies on...

New Labelling Helps UK Shoppers Avoid Plastic Packaging

A new plastic-free “trust mark” is being introduced today, allowing shoppers to see at a glance whether products use plastic in their packaging.The label will be prominently displayed on food and drink...

Scientists Develop ‘Infinitely’ Recyclable Plastics Replacement

One of the factors driving the plastic pollution crisis is that very little of it gets reused effectively—as of 2015, only 9 percent of all plastics ever made had been recycled, a...

More Than 40 Companies Sign Onto Historic UK Plastics Pact

In a historic move, more than 40 UK companies have signed up to fight plastic pollution as part of the UK Plastics Pact, The Independent reported Wednesday.The pact, which officially launches today,...

Food and Drink Giants Unite in Promise to Wage War on Plastic Waste

The government may have promised to wipe out avoidable plastic waste in the UK by 2042, but today large swathes of the UK's food and drink sector went a leap further, in...

Scientists Accidentally Create Mutant Enzyme That Eats Plastic Bottles

Scientists have created a mutant enzyme that breaks down plastic drinks bottles – by accident. The breakthrough could help solve the global plastic pollution crisis by enabling for the first time the...

May Announces £60m Fund to Clear Oceans of Plastic ‘Scourge’

Prime Minister Theresa May has pledged £61.4m in funding to turn the tide against ocean plastic, as part of a new initiative from Commonwealth countries to tackle the problem. Announcing the move on...

Plastic Bag Bans Actually Work, Study of European Waters Shows

If you ever feel like the world's plastic nightmare might never end, a new study shows proof that plastic pollution legislation actually works.There are significantly fewer plastic bags on the seafloor ever...

Microplastics Found in Fertilisers Being Applied to Gardens and Farmland

Many organic fertilisers being applied to gardens and farms contain tiny fragments of plastic, according to a new study. Widely considered a problem affecting the oceans, this work suggests microplastics may actually be...

‘Great Pacific Garbage Patch’ Sprawling with More Debris than Thought

An enormous area of rubbish floating in the Pacific Ocean is teeming with far more debris than previously thought, heightening alarm that the world’s oceans are being increasingly choked by trillions of...

Microplastics Pollute Most Remote and Uncharted Areas of the Ocean

Microplastics have been found in some of the most remote and uncharted regions of the oceans raising more concerns over the global scale of plastic pollution. Samples taken from the middle of the...

Campaign to Create World’s Largest Sanctuary in Antarctic Ocean Gains Momentum

Greenpeace's ship Arctic Sunrise is on its way to Antarctica, where the crew on board will be the first humans ever to visit the seafloor in the Weddell Sea. The three-month expedition will...

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