Plastic pollution News
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Plastic is the much-maligned detritus of modern living. It is the broken toy, the used carrier bag and the surgical face mask polluting our streets, streams and oceans. Yet plastic can become a force for good as a valuable re-usable commodity.
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One of the major sources of microplastics in the ecosystem is from cosmetics products, especially those that deliberately contain plastic particles for exfoliation. The time has come to eliminate these.
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It is well documented that microplastics present a major problem for life on Earth and the problem is accelerating. How can humanity move away from its reliance on plastics? We look at the EU solution.
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The extent of microplastic pollution of the oceans has been revealed, confounding earlier predictions, with a new assessment of the levels of the pollutants on marine seabeds – with far higher levels than previous assessments have shown.
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Many companies tend to tout hemp plastics as a superior alternative to petroleum-based plastics, but its disadvantages often go unmentioned. Cody Ziering of PAQcase explains more.
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Plymouth -
It's been long-known that the traditional LEGO brick takes along time to breakdown, which is something of concern in the context of plastic pollution. New research shows just how long it takes a humble brick to fully decompose.
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One solution to the toxins produced from some forms of plastic could be found with the humble mealworm, according to new research. Mealworms are capable of eating plastic and its toxic by-products.
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The Tara Ocean Foundation project has revealed the extent of plastic pollution in the rivers of Europe, based on the environmental project's latest analysis. The plastics are adversely impacting marine biodiversity.
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Microplastics have been detected in every part of planet, on land and in the oceans. New research finds microplastic particles are drifting down with the snow with events recorded in the Alps and the Arctic.
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Where does plastic waste originate? How does it arrive in the Ocean? Where should we concentrate our efforts to stop the flow of this waste? These questions will be addresses in a new study of ten rivers by the Tara Ocean Foundation.
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The U.K. government is seeking to ramp up efforts to tackle the scourge of litter and waste from single-use plastics, proposing a new tax on plastic packaging, subject to consultation.
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Pollution of the oceans has been identified as a major risk in recent years. The impact is not only on the appearance of the seas, but the impact on sea creatures and the food chain. One marine animal impacted is the sea turtle.
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Plastic rings from can and bottle holders are a danger to wildlife and a major part of plastic pollution in our oceans. Two breweries are tackling plastic waste in a unique way by removing plastic from 6-pack holders.
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India has vowed to ban all single-use plastics by 2022, according to the U.N.'s environmental agency, which called it an "unprecedented ambitious move against disposable plastic."
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From poisoning and injuring marine life and seabirds to disrupting human hormones, from littering our beaches, roadways, and landscape, to clogging our rivers and streams — plastics are now threatening the very survival of our planet.
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Geneva -
Plastic pollution of the oceans has been highlighted as a significant ecological concern, with billions of pieces of plastic floating in the oceans. A new concern are the ‘microfibers’ released from clothing when washed in domestic washing machines.
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The Greenpeace ship Beluga II is currently travelling around Scotland on a scientific expedition, to document the threat of plastic pollution in the most remote and biodiverse areas in the U.K. The results so far are disturbing.
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Studies in Canada show that microfibers used in garments such as yoga pants have become a huge threat to aquatic life. Microfibers made up 95 percent of the plastic pollution in waterways as compared to microbeads which constituted only 5 percent.
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Montreal -
Get a mermaid, 10,000 plastic bottles, and a video studio. Try to express a response to a statement like "More plastic than fish in the sea by 2050". That's Benjamin Von Wong’s new viral video, a whole new way of sending a very effective message.
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The most common material used in the modern world is plastic. Many modern plastics are composed of nanoparticles. What is the ecological consequence when plastic degrades? A research group have been finding out.
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A British led expedition has begun to sail to the Falkland Islands to study the effects of plastic pollution on tiny creatures in the depths of the seas.
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Seoul -
Dutch-registered nonprofit, The Ocean Cleanup, today announced that the world’s first system to passively clean up plastic pollution from the oceans will be deployed next year.
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Los Angeles -
On Monday, environmental campaigning organization, Ocean Cleanup, founded by young Dutchman, Boyan Slat, unveiled its Mega Expedition, a massive research undertaking to assess the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
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Two men chose to make a point about the damage that plastics can do to the marine environment, built a raft and then set sail across the Pacific to Hawaii. Their homemade raft was made from discarded plastic bottles and the remains of a Cessna 310.
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Plastic pollution Image
Close-up of one of The Ocean Cleanup's arrays for collecting plastic debris in the oceans The Ocean Cleanup
The Mega Expedition will take place in August 2015, in which up to 50 vessels will cover a 3,500,000 km² area between Hawaii and California in parallel, creating the first high-resolution map of plastic in the Pacific Ocean. Ocean Cleanup Press
Artist's impression of how the Tsushima Island array would look. When deployed in 2016 the 2000 meter long array would become the world's longest floating structure The ocean Cleanup
Tsushima is a Japanese island halfway between South-Korea and Japan, in the Tsushima Strait. The Ocean Array is to be launched on May 20, 2016. The Ocean Cleanup
Almost 90 percent of the world's seabirds have plastics in their intestines. Chris Jordan/Greenpeace
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