Plastic

22 Stories

WA Legislature passes bill aimed at reducing single-use plastics

Those travel-size bottles of shampoos, lotions or toiletries wrapped in plastic now offered in hotels will be a thing of the past.
Ruby de Luna
High-end coolers wash up on Alaska beaches after Washington cargo spill

Consumer goods from coolers to bike helmets have been washing up on Alaskan beaches, up to 1,200 miles from a cargo spill off the Washington coast.
John Ryan
Whatever happened to the Malawian anti-plastic activist inspired by goats?

Gloria Majiga-Kamoto, after seeing goats dying from eating plastic bags, took on the plastic industry and won the Goldman Environmental Prize. But Malawi's plastic industry still poses challenges.
Julia Simon
Millions of Amazon mailers at heart of anti-plastic vote

Amazon facing vote from shareholders and environmentalists this week to cut its use of plastic
Paige Browning
22 tips for 2022: To cut back on plastic, you need to audit how much you use

The first step in cutting back on plastic is understanding what you're using, and how much of it. Do an audit of the plastics in your home to get a sense of how much plastic you use.
Rebecca Davis
Washington state bans polystyrene foam, clamps down on other plastics

The new law, signed Monday by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, restricts restaurants’ use of disposable plastic items, requires recycled content in some plastic bottles and bags, and bans most uses of polystyrene foam, including cups, clamshell containers, packing peanuts, and coolers.
John Ryan
National

How Big Oil Misled The Public Into Believing Plastic Would Be Recycled

An NPR and PBS Frontline investigation reveals how the oil and gas industry used the promise of recycling to sell more plastic, even when they knew it would never work on a large scale.
Laura Sullivan
Unilever Vows To Reduce Plastic Packaging Use By 2025

Environmentalists praised the company, but also asked that it commit to more robust reforms to its plastic usage.
Paolo Zialcita
Plastic with your seafood? Same question goes for otters and orcas

It was a dark and slippery early morning on the Oregon coast when researchers scrambled down the rocky shore in the small town of Yachats. They kept one eye on the crashing waves while scanning for two species of Pacific Northwest sea life that are now being checked for microplastics — fibers and fragments less than 5 millimeters long.
Tom Banse
National

More U.S. Towns Are Feeling The Pinch As Recycling Becomes Costlier

The U.S. recycling industry is facing a quandary: Too much of the plastic we use can't be recycled, and taxpayers increasingly are on the hook for paying for all that trash to hit the landfills.
Rebecca Davis

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