By Ryan Johnson Despite our attempts to take responsibility for recycling, the true value of recyclable materials is not being realised. Cross-contamination of plastics and dirty packaging means that over half of the items going into the recycling bin aren’t recycled. Recyclable materials are very valuable in their pure state but the cost and difficulty […]

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 One of the challenges with plastics is that even those marketed as recyclables are not used again. Only less than a third of recyclable plastic is repurposed after the recycling process, and the rest are either disposed of as non-recyclable waste or incinerated. A new breakthrough, however, offers hope to this problem. […]

By Christopher Thompson Plastic pollution poses serious health risks to wildlife globally, affecting a wide range of species including whales, turtles, fish and birds. On World Migratory Bird Day, celebrated on 11 May, two UN wildlife treaties and conservationists around the world are calling for urgent action to stop plastic pollution by highlighting its negative […]

By Ryan Johnson U.S. firms are reopening paper mills, expanding plants to turn recycled waste into something useful and need more glass, plastics and paper Alpine Waste & Recycling shut down its Denver recycling facility for a month to retrofit the plant with new technology and equipment. When it reopened in the middle of March, […]

By Ryan Johnson They will have to overcome the challenges of America’s convenient single-stream recycling system Nobody wants to spend hours picking through a steady stream of garbage; this is why many recycling operations rely on automated systems to separate plastic containers, glass bottles, aluminum cans and mixed paper. But these systems have an imperfect […]

By Christopher Thompson A new material called PDK can be disassembled and reassembled at a molecular level. We’re drowning in plastics. That’s why the world’s brightest minds are trying to find a way we can effectively deal with plastic waste and make sure we don’t add more in the coming years. Now, researchers from the […]

By Christopher Thompson U.N. negotiations seek deal on trade in plastic waste * Norway proposal would require importer’s prior consent * U.S. is a leading major plastics exporter, but not in treaty By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA, May 7 – Countries are nearing agreement to tighten controls on trade in plastic waste, which would make it […]

By Christopher Thompson From native species to Indigenous land management and water efficiency: Australia’s role in the extinction crisis A devastating new UN report shows the planet is in serious danger from the accelerating decline of the Earth’s natural life-support systems. Here we look at 10 of the key points from the report – and […]

By Christopher Thompson Sure, we all know there’s always more fish in the sea. But there’s also plenty more plastic garbage. Since 1957, scientific gear used to measure plankton in the north Atlantic Ocean has been clogged by plastic trash some 669 times. Almost all of those snarls have occurred since the late 1990s, showcasing […]