plastic

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Plastic in Landfill Is Killing Elephants

Post-mortems showed no signs of a normal diet

(Newser) - Conservationists and veterinarians are warning that plastic waste in an open landfill in eastern Sri Lanka is killing elephants in the region, after two more were found dead over the weekend. Around 20 elephants have died in the past eight years after consuming plastic trash in the dump in Pallakkadu...

Blame for World's Plastic 'Deluge' Lands Squarely on US

We're the biggest contributor to the waste problem, per new NAS analysis commissioned by Congress

(Newser) - There's a "deluge" of plastic mucking up the Earth's oceans, with the United States serving as the biggest contributor to it. That's according to a new National Academy of Sciences report ordered by Congress that's imploring the US to come up with a plan to...

LA Diners Must Now Ask for Plastic Utensils

Though enforcement won't start until January

(Newser) - Customers at Los Angeles restaurants will only get plastic utensils and napkins if they ask for them, under a new ordinance taking effect Monday that aims to reduce waste, the AP reports. The rule requires all restaurants with more than 26 employees to remove all single-use plastic utensil dispensers, the...

Competition for Empty Plastic Bottles Is Heating Up

Recycled PET now costs more than virgin plastic

(Newser) - Companies in the US and worldwide are facing a major shortage of something that often ends up in the trash: empty plastic bottles. With governments including those of California and Washington state introducing mandatory recycled content quotas for some items and major companies bringing in voluntary targets, producers are having...

McDonald's Is Phasing Out Plastic Toys in Happy Meals

Company wants to 'drastically' reduce use of plastic by 2025

(Newser) - McDonald’s plans to "drastically” reduce the plastic in its Happy Meal toys worldwide by 2025. The burger giant said Tuesday it’s working with toy companies to develop new ideas, such as three-dimensional cardboard superheroes kids can build or board games with plant-based or recycled game pieces, the...

Here&#39;s the Tastiest Suggestion Yet on Plastic Waste
Here's the Tastiest Suggestion
Yet on Plastic Waste
new study
Jun 15, 2021 12:21 PM CDT

Here's the Tastiest Suggestion Yet on Plastic Waste

Researchers convert it into vanilla flavoring

(Newser) - Plastic waste is a problem . A big , big problem. Seemingly unrelated fact: Lots of people love vanilla. Scientists at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland have managed to combine these two ideas to come up with one of the most novel suggestions yet for reducing plastic garbage. They figured out...

Report Identifies Biggest Contributors to Plastic Problem

Al Gore joins foundation's warnings about dangers to climate and health

(Newser) - More than half of all the single-use plastic waste in the world is generated by just 20 companies, an analysis has found. And tops on the list of 20 is ExxonMobil, which is responsible for 5.9% of the total, the Guardian reports, followed by Dow at 5.6%. The...

US Marine Animals Are Drowning in Plastic—Literally

Report mentions 1.8K cases of animals consuming or being entangled in plastic since 2009

(Newser) - Plastic pollution is taking a disastrous toll on marine animals in the US, particularly those threatened with extinction, according to a new report . It tells of 1,792 cases in which 40 different species of animals consumed or were entangled in plastic since 2009. Of those, 88% involved animals that...

&#39;Pac-Men&#39; Enzymes May Help Solve a Major Problem
Lab Breakthrough May Help
Fight on Plastic Waste
new study
Sep 29, 2020 12:00 PM CDT

Lab Breakthrough May Help Fight on Plastic Waste

'Pac-Men' enzymes engineered to feast on plastic

(Newser) - Plastic waste is a large and ever-growing problem around the world. Now, researchers say they're closing in on a potentially game-changing solution that could be commercially available in a year or two, reports the Guardian . Scientists have engineered a "super-enzyme" that breaks down plastic six times faster than...

Spirits Industry First: a Paper Bottle

Diageo announces Johnnie Walker Scotch whisky will have plastic-free packaging starting next spring

(Newser) - Tired: drinking out of a paper bag. Wired: drinking out of a paper bottle. Starting next year, you'll be able to do the latter, thanks to a spirits industry first. Reuters reports that Diageo—maker of such brands as Tanqueray, Captain Morgan, and Smirnoff, among others—has teamed up...

Scientists: It's Safe to Go Back to Reusable Containers

Experts remind consumers of the environmental harm done by single-use plastics

(Newser) - With reusable containers giving way to single-use plastics during the pandemic, consumers are receiving expert reassurance that it doesn't need to be that way. More than 100 scientists from 18 nations issued a statement saying that reusable containers do not increase the risk of transmitting the coronavirus, the Guardian ...

Exhibit on Ocean Pollution Leads to Big Shock for One Woman

German woman spots mixtape she lost 25 years ago—and it still works

(Newser) - If you're in your late 30s or older, you likely remember the unique joy that accompanied creating what we olds call a "mixtape." A German woman is now reliving that elation after she stumbled upon a mixtape she lost 25 years ago while on vacation in Spain....

Here's Why Coca-Cola Won't Ditch Plastic Bottles

Soft drink behemoth says it's because of consumer demand

(Newser) - Coca-Cola apparently believes "the customer is always right"—so much so that the soft drink giant is refusing to stop producing its plastic soda bottles. The company, which the BBC notes was deemed the "most polluting brand" in a global audit of plastic waste last year, churns...

Momoa Gets Snarky With Pratt Over Water Bottle, Apologizes

Aquaman says sorry after calling Star-Lord out over the plastic bottle

(Newser) - Chris Pratt posted a photo of himself in workout clothes, holding a plastic water bottle, on Instagram Tuesday to plug his partnership with Amazon showing customers "everything I use for my workouts," but one of his fellow stars took issue with that aforementioned bottle. "bro I love...

Hyatt Won't Put Small Bottles in Bathrooms

Hotel chain to reduce use of plastic water bottles at meetings

(Newser) - Hyatt is the latest hotel company to announce it’s removing small bottles from its bathrooms in an effort to reduce waste. Hyatt is shifting to large, multi-use bottles for shampoo, conditioner, bath gel and lotion at its 875 hotels worldwide. The Chicago-based company says the transition will be complete...

Lego Tests New Way to Recycle Bricks

Unwanted bricks will be donated to US nonprofit

(Newser) - Lego is looking to keep its plastic bricks out of the trash. The Danish toymaker is testing a way for customers to ship their unwanted bricks back and get them into the hands of other kids. It said Tuesday that customers in the US can print out a mailing label...

Investor Says Ocean Cleaning Boom Is Working

He plans to send another system to Pacific plastic patch

(Newser) - After a series of setbacks, a system for catching plastic floating in the Pacific between California and Hawaii is now working, its Dutch inventor says. Boyan Slat, a university dropout who founded the Ocean Cleanup nonprofit, announced Wednesday that the floating boom is skimming up waste ranging in size from...

All That Ocean Plastic? It Has an Unexpected Source

It doesn't all come from land-based sources

(Newser) - In 1984, 2009, and 2018, researchers made the trek to Inaccessible Island, which sits between Argentina and South Africa in the South Atlantic. They describe it as a "remote, uninhabited island ... that has a very high macrodebris load"—and that debris is what they were there for. In...

UN: Microplastics in Water Not a Major Health Worry

'Just because we're ingesting them doesn't mean we have a risk to human health'

(Newser) - The World Health Organization says the levels of microplastics in drinking water don't appear to be risky, but that research has been spotty and more is needed into their effects on the environment and health, the AP reports. Microplastics are created when man-made materials break down into tiny particles...

Microplastics Abound in Arctic Snow
Microplastics
Abound in
Arctic Snow
new study
Aug 15, 2019 4:06 AM CDT

Microplastics Abound in Arctic Snow

Scientists say air is carrying particles to remotest corners of the world

(Newser) - Scientists say they've found an abundance of tiny plastic particles in Arctic snow, indicating that so-called microplastics are being sucked into the atmosphere and carried long distances to some of the remotest corners of the planet. The researchers examined snow collected from sites in the Arctic, northern Germany, the...

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