È possibile eliminare del tutto l’utilizzo della plastica negli uffici pubblici? Arpa Campania muove alcuni passi significativi in questa direzione, in linea con la sua vocazione di tutela degli ecosistemi. Dopo aver aderito, in estate, alla campagna #PlasticFree lanciata un anno fa dal ministro dell’Ambiente Sergio Costa, l’Agenzia ambientale campana ha aggiudicato la fornitura di …

Can exposure to plastics harm your health? It’s a question currently being explored by researchers after a recent study suggested that traces of a synthetic chemical called Bisphenol A (BPA) can be found in more than 80% of teenagers. 

The problem is that BPA can be ingested or absorbed through skin contact, meaning that humans are regularly exposed through the chemical leaching out of packaging into food and drink – and over the past 20 years various studies have linked BPA to a variety of adverse health effects. The biggest concerns have been the impact on foetuses and young children, who have underdeveloped systems for detoxifying chemicals – the consequences being that the younger you are, the higher the levels of BPA in your body.

Marine life is facing "irreparable damage" from the millions of tonnes of plastic waste which ends up in the oceans each year, the United Nations has warned.

"This is a planetary crisis... we are ruining the ecosystem of the ocean," UN oceans chief Lisa Svensson told the BBC.

But how does this happen, where is most at risk and what damage does this plastic actually do?

A number of chemicals in plastics may be harmful to long-term health. They may potentially reduce fertility. People are sometimes exposed to these chemicals when plastics come into contact with the foods that they eat. 

After a vending machine is retired, it goes through processing to collect and properly treat CFCs (linked to global warming), fluorescent lights, batteries, and other toxic substances that could cause environmental pollution. The rest of the vending machine, which is approximately 90% steel and plastics, is broken down further. Copper is extracted from the wiring and cooling unit, while gold and other metals of value are extracted from computer circuit boards and other parts, thereby recycling the machines as an "urban mine" resource.

Wednesday: A proposed ban, New York’s big comeback, and an anniversary for the public library.

It’s important for New Yorkers to understand that the plastic straw is not a necessity; it’s more of a luxury, and our luxury is causing great harm to other environments,” said the bill’s lead sponsor, Councilman Rafael L. Espinal Jr., a Democrat from Brooklyn.

Americans use 500 million plastics straws per day, which is enough to circle the world 2 1/2 times.

Way too many of these plastic straws end up in our oceans as litter, threatening marine wildlife, degrading into tiny toxic microplastics, and then returning to us via our seafood and table salt! YUK!

There's nothing quite like the feeling of pure, ice-cold hydration. Some of us get our water for free from the tap. The rest pay for it — at the cost of roughly $100 billion a year. At that steep a price tag, you might assume buying the bottled stuff would be worth it. In most cases, you'd be wrong. 

Policy makers and clinicians should be aware of the role that these commonly used chemicals might play in the very earliest stages of a baby's development and the impact that could have on our population's health at later stages of life, as we know that having lower lung function in early life makes people more prone to developing chronic lung diseases like COPD.

H.U.M.A.N. Healthy Vending is fighting America's obesity problem with hi-tech vending machines that stock healthier options including low-sugar variants, organic products and gluten-free items. One of last year’s America’s Most Promising Companies, H.U.M.A.N. has 1,500 machines across 40 states and is set to double its revenue this year, on course to generate close to $12 million.

A research team led by Christine Figgener (Texas A&M University) found a male olive ridley sea turtle during an in-water research trip in Costa Rica. He had a 10-12 cm PLASTIC STRAW lodged in his nostril and they removed it. This video shows graphically why plastic waste is detrimental to marine life, especially single-use plastics (such as straws, which are one of the most redundant items). This turtle suffers from an item that is human-made and used by most of us frequently.

As plastic alternatives proliferate, some choose to sip instead of suck.

Ms. Figgener studies marine turtles, and in August 2015 she posted a video of one getting a plastic straw removed from its left nostril. The procedure seemed painful, and the turtle kept sneezing adorably. Over 40 million people have seen the clip on YouTube. A public crusade against plastic straws began.