Your new post is loading...
Your new post is loading...
|
Scooped by
PIRatE Lab
|
Research out of Scotland suggests that the chopping, shredding and washing of plastic in recycling facilities may turn as much as six to 13 percent of incoming waste into microplastics—tiny, toxic particles that are an emerging and ubiquitous environmental health concern for the planet and people. A team of four researchers measured and analyzed microplastics […]
Indonesia has been in hot water over its contribution to marine waste since 2015, when a report by researcher Jenna Jambeck ranked Indonesia as the world’s second-worst marine plastic polluter for allowing about 1.29 million tons of plastic waste to enter the ocean in 2010 as a result of improper waste management. The government has been working to prevent waste from ending up in the ocean, including by building the country’s recycling industry. But the efforts still have a long way to go. Many say the country’s ineffective waste management practices have held the recycling industry back.
Via EcoVadis
|
Scooped by
PIRatE Lab
|
On some measures, the global governance of plastic is improving. Curbside recycling and community cleanups are increasing. Companies like Toyota, Walm…
|
Scooped by
PIRatE Lab
|
Kamilo Beach, located on Hawaii’s Big Island, has been called one of the most plastic-polluted spots on Earth
|
Scooped by
PIRatE Lab
|
Now the plan is to recycle that plastic into products you can buy to help fund the effort.
California lawmakers are weighing three bills to phase out single-use plastic containers and address the state's recycling crisis. But industry opposition looms.
Pushes to “recycle” plastics are one element of a massive industry-led effort to suppress meaningful efforts to reduce plastic waste.
Via AimForGood
|
Scooped by
PIRatE Lab
|
Editor’s note: The deluge of popular articles and reports on marine plastic continues, but here at The Skimmer, we became curious about one important area where we weren’t seeing as much information – how marine plastic pollution is affecting ocean users and the Blue Economy. We know that marine plastic is pretty much everywhere in the ocean and can have horrific effects on
|
Scooped by
PIRatE Lab
|
Nurdles are a raw feedstock used to make most of the plastic products we use everyday, but they're flooding the ocean as "mermaid tears".
|
Scooped by
PIRatE Lab
|
Microplastic (MP) pollution is an emerging issue in aquatic sciences. Little comparative information currently exists about the problem in coastal systems exposed to different levels of human impact. Here we report a year-long study on the abundance of MP in the water column of three estuaries on the east-coast of Australia. The estuaries are subject to different scales of
|
Scooped by
PIRatE Lab
|
Alex Weber discovered more than 50,000 balls in the ocean near coastal California golf courses. When golf balls degrade, as these were doing, they release plastic particles and toxic chemicals.
Solutions to marine litter have been discussed among more than 250 high-level representatives from NGOs, industry, politics and academia during a two-day conference in Brussels. PolyTalk 2016 was held on 16-17 March and organised by PlasticsEurope - one of the leading European trade associations. The event also explored some of the current innovations being developed to reduce litter. Ulf Björnholm, Head of the UNEP Brussels Liaison Office to the EU, participated in one of the conference’s high-level panel debates addressing regional issues and solutions. Mr Björnholm spoke about UNEP’s role and work in the field, inviting participants to join the Global Partnership on Marine Litter. Marine litter is a cross-border problem, he stressed. No country or region can address this by itself, therefore a global solution through partnerships is needed. Other panel members included Mehmet Ceylan, the Turkish Deputy Minister of Environment and Urbanisation; Stefanie Werner, Scientific Officer at the German Federal Environment Agency; Andrew Morlet, CEO of the Ellen MacArthur foundation and Patrick Thomas, President of PlasticsEurope and CEO of high-tech polymer supplier Covestro. The idea that marine litter was a global problem that required partnerships was shared by all panel members, with Mr Thomas stressing that the global challenge needs a global solution for example. Besides global partnerships and regional cooperation being highlighted as essential dimensions of the solution, the panel also commented on the importance of the circular economy and the European Circular Economy Package. While addressing plastics in the oceans is crucial, working upstream to prevent waste and proper waste management are just as important, it was stressed. Several panel members including Ms. Wennin furthermore pointed to the need for better regulatory frameworks and greater awareness raising. The plastics industry was a resource-inefficient one, she claimed, calling for greater efforts in addressing this challenge. For more information please click here or write alexa.froger@unep.org
Via AimForGood
|
Scooped by
PIRatE Lab
|
Flip-flops are one of the most common types of pollution found in oceans around the world, and one company in Africa is raising awareness by recycling them into colorful pieces of art.
|
Danish offshore support vessel operator Maersk Supply Service will continue providing marine support to The Ocean Cleanup, a nonprofit engineering and environmental organization working to rid oceans of plastic pollution. The Ocean Cleanup’s mission is to develop advanced technologies to rid the world’s oceans of plastic. To achieve this goal, the company's aim to stop the inflow via rivers and clean up what has already accumulated in the ocean. Its ultimate goal is reaching a 90% reduction of floating ocean plastic by 2040.
Via EcoVadis
|
Scooped by
PIRatE Lab
|
B.C. resident working with ocean conservation team to track trash on Soko Islands
|
Scooped by
PIRatE Lab
|
People are bringing in luggage, laundry hampers, pots, and buckets to carry groceries after a new plastic bag ban in Thailand.
|
Scooped by
PIRatE Lab
|
|
Scooped by
PIRatE Lab
|
|
Scooped by
PIRatE Lab
|
When completed, Royal Dutch Shell's newest plant in Pittsburgh will produce millions of tons of plastic.
|
Scooped by
PIRatE Lab
|
A South Coast city’s new ordinance which tries to reduce the use of single-use plastics is now in effect. Santa Barbara’s new ordinance bans food and
|
Scooped by
PIRatE Lab
|
The Cocos Keeling Islands make up barely 6 square miles in the Indian Ocean. It's a good place to measure debris because almost no one lives there. Scientists were flabbergasted by what they found.
|
Scooped by
PIRatE Lab
|
Plastic is not as much of a threat to oceans as climate change or over-fishing.
|
Scooped by
PIRatE Lab
|
Snorkeling off the California coast, a high school student found heaps of golf balls on the ocean floor. With a marine scientist, she showed that golf courses were producing tons of plastic pollution.
|
Scooped by
PIRatE Lab
|
Los Angeles • A trash collection device deployed to corral plastic litter floating in the Pacific Ocean between California and Hawaii has broken apart and will be hauled back to dry land for repairs.
|
Scooped by
PIRatE Lab
|
Advancements in satellite remote sensing techniques are paving the way toward the development of high resolution and temporal maps of marine microplastic distribution.
|