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By Ria Devereux , PhD Student, Microplastic Pollution, University of East London, writing in The Conversation. However, our research found discarded face coverings and other personal protective equipment (PPE) are likely to be the cause of a rise in microplastics entering the environment. That works out to an average of 17.6
Microplastics have become so widespread that they have been discovered in fresh Antarctic snow. Something as seemingly innocent as Halloween decorations or gum can be a source, says Sulacpac, a producer of bio-based alternatives for conventional plastics. However, typical plastic waste isn’t the only source of microplastics.
Legislators in Europe seem to be keeping a closer eye on microplastics, with the introduction of European Union (EU) Regulation 2023/2055 in September being a recent milestone. While microplastics are useful, scientists, governments and consumers now recognize them as a major threat to the environment.
Where there's hope for speeding up business action on plastics. Wed, 08/26/2020 - 02:01. Its landmark report, "The New Plastics Economy," sounded the alarm in 2016 that if "business as usual" continues, by 2025 the ocean may hold more plastic than fish by weight. Plastics Pact by EMF, The Recycling Partnership and WWF.
The microplastic pollution that turns up in landfill leachate has received much less attention than the stuff appearing in wastewater, and there seem to be far fewer studies exploring it. According to the OECD, in 2019, 50% of the world’s plastic waste was landfilled, 19% was incinerated, 9% was recycled and 22% was mismanaged.
scientists sounded the alarm on a then-underappreciated problem: the breakdown of plastic litter into small, even microscopic, fragments. While many previous reports had documented the buildup of plastic bottles and bags in the natural environment, much less attention had been paid to what the scientists dubbed “microplastics.”
The world is producing twice as much plastic waste as two decades ago, with the bulk of it ending up in landfill, incinerated or leaking into the environment, and only 9% successfully recycled, according to a new OECD report. Almost half of all plastic waste is generated in OECD countries, according to the Outlook.
Want to know how much plastic is entering the ocean every year? But there’s an even more puzzling question for researchers who study plastic in the ocean: Where has it all gone? But there’s an even more puzzling question for researchers who study plastic in the ocean: Where has it all gone?
New research combining Planet’s high cadence satellite imagery and other innovative technologies has successfully found the sources and pathways of plastic pollution in the Caribbean Sea. A boom is filled with plastic, and yet was only able to collect small amounts of it due to much of the debris passing it by. km2 to 0.77km2.
The spotlight If you’ve read any climate-related news in the past several years, you’re probably familiar with the scourge of microplastics. These tiny bits of plastic end up clogging oceans. The bits of plastic shed from synthetic textiles have their own term: microfibers.
An aerial view of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, also known as Plastic Island, which comprises mainly plastic, light metals and organic residues of garbage. A new report attempts to better understand the provenance and impact of plastics in the ocean. Plastic, the report (titled ‘How Much Plastic Is In The Ocean?’)
Some of that sludge gets sent to a refinery and processed into plastic, then it becomes the phone in your hand, the shades on your window, the ornaments hanging from your Christmas tree. In 2020, a separate group of researchers found that the technosphere doubles in volume roughly every 20 years and now likely outweighs all living things.
million metric tons in "live weight," representing a market value of almost $264 billion, according to a 2020 report by U.N. These self-contained operations are designed to address concerns about wastewater discharges in coastal waters, as well as concerns over viruses, parasites and microplastics that plague ocean and coastal operations.
All these proposals fall under the purview of the European Green Deal, first approved in 2020, whose goal is to achieve incremental sustainable growth so that Europe becomes the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. Green Deal legislation has proven most adaptable to the times.
Plant-based and cultivated seafood companies raised $80 million in 2020, according to the nonprofit Good Food Institute (GFI), which counts 800 companies involved in the space. If the sourcing is done carefully, fake fish also should be devoid of the mercury and microplastics that can stem from ocean plastic pollution.
The world produces 381 million tonnes in plastic waste yearly - for context, this is roughly the weight of two-thirds of the world's population, every year, with just one company, Coca Cola, producing over 3,000 plastic bottles every second. Coral is 20 times more likely to become diseased upon coming into contact with plastics.
Group of academics, campaigners and politicians warn against delaying plastic pollution crackdowns in US and UK. At the same time, the use of plastic bags for food deliveries has once again become widespread, as supermarkets have sought to speed up delivery processes in response to soaring demand. It is estimated around 4.7
The most “significant” harm, according to the UN, came from the spillage of 87 containers full of lentil-sized plastic pellets: nurdles. It is the largest plastic spill in history, according to the UN report. The tiny beads can be made of polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride and other plastics.
Specialist laboratory analysis has been carried out, focussing on microplastic analysis and dewaterability of digestates derived from food waste processes. The idea for the work was first submitted in 2020.
Recent research has established that plastic rain is now pouring in the most protected areas in the western U.S. receive rain that is contaminated with plastic microparticles. The rainwater in these protected areas was found to be highly contaminated with plastic particles. Science Via Wired Image via Dennis Kleine.
RECYCLED PLASTIC. Recycled plastic used in construction offers a building material that has a lower carbon footprint and is stronger than brick, all while tackling our plastic waste problem ( 367 million metric tons produced globally in 2020). Recycled plastic. Recycled-plastic roofing shingles.
Climate advocates said that giving green accolades to companies who continue to produce adverts and public relations campaigns for major polluters undermines the credibility of Ad Net Zero, an advertising industry body formed in 2020 amid a broader push by the business world to show it was serious about tackling the climate crisis.
From a small base of just 3,300 participants in the first year, signatories to the campaign have doubled every year to top more than 300,000 in 2020, helped in no small part by Greggs' now famous vegan sausage roll. Major corporates all now have plastic reduction strategies and countries across the world are banning single-use plastics.
A “human biomonitoring” study, jointly conducted by the German Environment Ministry and the Robert Koch Institute, is sounding the clarion warning that plastic pollution is present — and not just in our oceans, estuaries and the fish we eat. Plastics and microplastics surround us; consequently, we cannot avoid being exposed.
Campaigners are stepping up calls for a global treaty to tackle plastic pollution, as evidence grows that voluntary measures are struggling to turn the tide of plastic waste. At the same time, plastic waste has more than doubled, rising from 156 million tonnes to 353 million tonnes over of the same period.
Related: Atlantic has 10 times the microplastics previously thought The centralized information also allows organizers to track the amount and types of garbage removed. During this time of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the organization encourages social distancing during cleanups as well as the use of masks and gloves. View post:Â .
Glitter is a ready-made microplastic that is commonly found in our homes and, particularly through cosmetics, is washed off in our sinks and into the water system,” said Dannielle Green , a senior lecturer in biology at ARU. Related: Scientists call for a worldwide ban on the global hazard of glitter Regular glitter is made from PET plastic.
Decarbonizing packaging Since the 1950s, the world has produced over 9 billion tons (bt) of plastics. Of these plastics, around 36% are used in packaging. Its bioplastics optimize the management of organic waste by avoiding microplastics, reducing environmental impacts and increasing the circularity of economic systems.
Related: Microplastics accelerate cell death at 3 times the normal rate, study says “The goal of Tikkurila’s paints has always been to protect buildings and furniture, thus increasing their lifespan,” shares Elisa Markula, CEO of Tikkurila. They are also packaged into recycled plastic buckets.
Whether from deforestation, intensive farming and pesticide use, polluted rivers and lakes, or the microplastic epidemic swamping the planet's oceans, the planet's ecosystems are facing intensifying threats that further risk undermining the global economy.
million metric tons in “live weight,” representing a market value of almost $264 billion, according to a 2020 report by U.N. It is being considered more often as a sustainable alternative to plastic packaging , which gives farmers another potential buyer. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Among the emerging U.S.
Plant-based and cultivated seafood companies raised $80 million in 2020, according to the nonprofit Good Food Institute (GFI), which counts 800 companies involved in the space. If the sourcing is done carefully, fake fish also should be devoid of the mercury and microplastics that can stem from ocean plastic pollution.
contraction in global GDP in 2020. In addition, the EU Gothenburg’s Green Week conference , October 2020, stated that cities across the EU will support innovative and green tech business endeavors. Studies indicate that greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) were down by 17% in early April 2020. Once more, consumer needs are changing.
Terracycle traps Thai plastic waste. The TerraCycle Global Foundation, the non-profit founded by recycling giant TerraCycle, has announced that it has cleared 581 tonnes of waste from waterways in Thailand following the 2020 launch of its campaign in Bangkok.
Aditya Mukarji , is from New Delhi India, In March 2018 he began waging war on plastic straws. Within just five months, he had already helped replace more than 500,000 plastic straws at restaurants and hotels in New Delhi. Through his passion for the outdoors, he witnessed the effects of microplastic pollution on the environment.
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