plastic pollution

Coronavirus is causing a flurry of plastic waste. Campaigners fear it may be permanent

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via CNN

Surgical masks, gloves, protective equipment, body bags — the Covid-19 crisis has spurred a rapid expansion in the production of desperately-needed plastic products, with governments racing to boost their stockpiles and regular citizens clamoring for their share of supplies.

Such production is necessary. But all that plastic ends up somewhere — and environmental campaigners fear it is just the tip of a looming iceberg, with the pandemic causing a number of serious challenges to their efforts to reduce plastic pollution.

Read the full story here: https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/04/world/coronavirus-plastic-waste-pollution-intl/index.html

Researchers uncover highest-ever amount of microplastics on ocean floor

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via CBS News

Researchers have uncovered the highest-ever concentration of microplastics on the seafloor. According to a new study in the journal Science, scientists recently found 1.9 million pieces in an area of about 11 square feet in the Mediterranean Sea. 

Over 10 million tons of plastic waste enter oceans each year — but the visible floating plastic that has led to anti-straw and anti-plastic bag movements accounts for less than 1% of the ocean’s total plastic.

Read the full story here: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/highest-ever-concentration-microplastic-ocean-floor-plastic-pollution/

E-cigarettes highlight the challenges of dealing with plastic waste

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Via ABC News

E-cigarettes and vapes have made the headlines amid national concerns about nicotine addiction among young people and health problems linked to black-market products. But among environmental advocates the increasingly popular products pose another challenge — how to get rid of them after they’re used.

E-cigarettes and pods for e-cigarettes or vapes can be both hazardous and electronic waste — depending on the product — and the plastic poses the same concerns as other plastic products that can add to overall waste and break down into microplastics that harm ocean ecosystems.

Read the full story here: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/cigarettes-highlight-challenges-dealing-plastic-waste/story?id=68890487

Dumped fishing gear is biggest plastic polluter in ocean, finds report

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via The Guardian

Lost and abandoned fishing gear which is deadly to marine life makes up the majority of large plastic pollution in the oceans, according to a report by Greenpeace.

More than 640,000 tonnes of nets, lines, pots and traps used in commercial fishing are dumped and discarded in the sea every year, the same weight as 55,000 double-decker buses.

Read the full story here: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/nov/06/dumped-fishing-gear-is-biggest-plastic-polluter-in-ocean-finds-report

A floating device created to clean up plastic from the ocean is finally doing its job, organizers say

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via (CNN) A huge trash-collecting system designed to clean up plastic floating in the Pacific Ocean is finally picking up plastic, its inventor announced Wednesday.The Netherlands-based nonprofit the Ocean Cleanup says its latest prototype was able to capture and hold debris ranging in size from huge, abandoned fishing gear, known as “ghost nets,” to tiny microplastics as small as 1 millimeter. Read the full story here: https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/02/tech/ocean-cleanup-catching-plastic-scn-trnd/index.html

Washing laundry on a delicate cycle releases more plastic microfibres into the ocean

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via ScienceFocus.com

Researchers have found it is the volume of water used which is the key factor in plucking the tiny plastic particles from man-made material. Read the full story here: https://www.sciencefocus.com/news/washing-laundry-on-a-delicate-cycle-releases-more-plastic-microfibres-into-the-ocean/

It’s raining plastic: microscopic fibers fall from the sky in Rocky Mountains

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via The Guardian

Plastic was the furthest thing from Gregory Wetherbee’s mind when he began analyzing rainwater samples collected from the Rocky Mountains. “I guess I expected to see mostly soil and mineral particles,” said the US Geological Survey researcher. Instead, he found multicolored microscopic plastic fibers.

Read the full story here: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/aug/12/raining-plastic-colorado-usgs-microplastics

“Mott Haven” Film Raises Awareness About Plastics Contaminating Our Oceans

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“I have been in the plastics recycling business for 30 years. The film we made, starring Robert Davi & Paul Wilson with Chuck Zito, Deborah Green and Brandi Porter, will help raise awareness to what many consider to be the #1 threat to the environment of our planet. “Mott Haven” is not a documentary but an entertaining and intense drama set in The South Bronx where the story’s protagonist is struggling to keep his life and his plastics recycling business afloat. His business, Bronx Recycling Company of Mott Haven is collecting much of the scrap plastic in New York City which otherwise might end up as pollution. We are all proud that we have created a film that is not only meaningful and exciting but also addresses a pressing environmental problem which affects all people, all over the world.” — Michael Domino, COO, Domino Plastics Company Inc.

www.motthavenfilm.com

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/planetorplastic/

Plastic Recycling Initiatives – Waste Plastic Used as Bus Fare in Indonesia

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In Indonesia, commuters pay for the bus with plastic waste

via AsianCorrespondent.com

RESIDENTS of Indonesia’s second largest city Surabaya can now pay for the bus in a novel way – by trading in used plastic.

The city’s mayor Tri “Risma” Rismaharini last month announced the roll out of the new Suroboyo Bus, comfortable, air-conditioned buses which are, importantly, accessible for disabled, elderly and pregnant passengers.

Read the full story here: https://asiancorrespondent.com/2018/05/in-indonesia-commuters-pay-for-the-bus-with-plastic-waste/