By Ryan Johnson Opinion: Alternatives have a significantly higher total impact on the environment, while inflating costs for consumers This week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his government will seek to ban many single-use plastics starting in 2021. Although the final list of banned items is still undetermined, it will likely include plastic bags, takeaway […]

By Ryan Johnson Japan plans to make it mandatory to charge for plastic shopping bags at supermarkets, convenience stores, drugstores and department stores as the country combats marine pollution by plastic waste. Environment Minister Yoshiaki Harada said at a press conference on Monday his ministry plans to introduce a new law banning the practice of […]

By Ryan Johnson The minister has proposed a ban in Germany similar to those in place in Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. Gerd Müller said that the issue was crucial to mankind’s survival. German Development Minister Gerd Müller has called for a ban on plastic bags in Germany, in part to reduce the exports of waste […]

By Ryan Johnson The waters of the Gulf of Mexico are warm and welcoming. Even during the dead of winter, Floridians enjoy higher temperatures swimming than New Yorkers on land in spring. We share the area with a marvelous array of wildlife, including dolphins—long, strong sleek creatures who speed by in pods, their jutting fins, […]

Biodegradable and compostable bags have been found intact enough to carry shopping three years after being exposed to air, soil and sea – the same conditions they would encounter if left as litter, a new study has found. Researchers at the University of Plymouth examined biodegradable and compostable plastic bag materials widely available from high […]

Yesterday, New York governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law a statewide ban on single-use plastic bags. It is estimated that New York uses 23 billion plastic bags every year with 50 percent of those plastic bags ending up in landfills and around the city and waterways. Governor Cuomo signed the legislation on Earth Day, which […]

California lawmakers introduced legislation this week to phase out single-use plastic food containers and other packaging that can’t demonstrate it’s recyclable or compostable. Proponents of the legislation say it could help reduce the problem of plastic littering beaches and oceans. Last year the Golden State became the first in the nation to restrict the use […]

I am big on recycling. It’s part of my family’s weekly routine. But come to find out, a lot of what we’ve been doing is wrong — and we have been contaminating entire bins of recyclables. Metro Public Works has started auditing recycling routes to help reduce contamination from people like me. Ricky Lloyd, a Public Works […]

‘Tis the season for holiday parties, mountains of wrapping paper and lots and lots of trash. Luckily, there are many items used around the holidays that can be recycled. There are also, however, just as many items that can’t be recycled at your local processing plant because they damage machines. Items like Christmas lights, ribbons […]

Despite a few hiccups along the way, Australia’s plastic bag consumption has dropped drastically. Three months after two of the largest supermarket chains banned plastic grocery bags, an estimated 1.5 billion bags have been prevented from use, the Australian Associated Press reported, citing the National Retail Association. Overall, the bans introduced by Coles and Woolworths […]