The DiplomatOpinion

The Plastic Pollution Crisis

The negative consequences of plastic are everywhere and affect everyone. Microplastics are now found throughout our bodies, ...
Grist

This fuel is 50% plastic — and it’s slipping through a loophole in international waste law

Since 2019, the 191 countries that are party to an international agreement called the Basel Convention have agreed to classify mixed plastic trash as “hazardous waste.” This designation essentially ...
Phys.org

Plastic pollution is worsened by warming climate and must be stemmed, researchers warn

Climate change conditions turn plastics into more mobile, persistent, and hazardous pollutants. This is done by speeding up plastic breakdown into microplastics—microscopic fragments of ...
PBS

This Earth Day, Plastic Pollution is Among the Planet’s Biggest Threats

This post comes to PBS Nature from World Wildlife Fund (WWF). WWF and Nature are collaborating on a series of blog posts from WWF conservation scientists that will share the stories and motivations ...
CNN

The birds on this tiny, remote island are so full of plastic their bellies crunch

On a remote, crescent-shaped island surrounded by crystal-clear ocean live some of the most plastic-contaminated birds in the world. They have bellies so full of fragments, they crunch when touched.
Outside

Black Plastic Has No Place in Your Kitchen

Update (January 9, 2025): The study cited in this article had a mathematical typo in calculating the exposure risk of a harmful chemical called deca-BDE, inflating the number by tenfold. As a result, ...
The New York Times

There’s an Explosion of Plastic Waste. Big Companies Say ‘We’ve Got This.’

Big brands like Procter & Gamble and Nestlé say a new generation of plants will help them meet environmental goals, but the technology is struggling to deliver. Big brands like Procter & Gamble and ...
NPR

This week in science: a comet, plastic-eating bugs, and how altitude changes smell

Emily Kwong and Regina Barber of NPR's Short Wave talk about a comet visiting from interstellar space, caterpillars that eat and break down plastic, and how animals' sense of smell varies by altitude.
NPR

I avoided plastic for a week. Here is what I learned about a plastic-free life

Americans, on average, toss out about three quarters of a pound of plastic each day, according to researchers at Oxford University. Most of that trash winds up in a landfill. As someone who loves ...
Scientific American

The U.S. Has Its First Plan for Plastic Pollution. This Is What’s in It

The following essay is reprinted with permission from The Conversation, an online publication covering the latest research. Plastic waste is piling up at a daunting pace around the world. The World ...
Entrepreneur

The Plastic Crisis Is Accelerating, and This Company Is Turning It Into a $125B Opportunity

Disclosure: Our goal is to feature products and services that we think you'll find interesting and useful. If you purchase them, Entrepreneur may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from ...