Environmental charity Fidra says 168 of 195 SSSIs it surveyed are contaminated with tiny pellets
Plastic nurdles have been found in 84% of important nature sites surveyed in the UK.
Nurdles are tiny pellets that the plastics industry uses to make larger products. They were found in 168 of 195 sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs), so named because of the rare wildlife they harbour. They are given extra protections in an effort to protect them from pollution.
Continue reading...Campaigners say increase in exports mostly to Malaysia and Indonesia is ‘unethical and irresponsible waste imperialism’
Britain’s exports of plastic waste to developing countries have soared by 84% in the first half of this year compared with last year, according to an analysis of trade data carried out for the Guardian.
Campaigners described the rise in exports, mostly to Malaysia and Indonesia, as “unethical and irresponsible waste imperialism”.
Continue reading...An estimated 129bn were being used every month around the world at height of pandemic, with no recycling stream
The surge in the use of disposable face masks during the Covid pandemic has left a chemical timebomb that could harm humans, animals and the environment, research suggests.
Billions of tonnes of plastic face masks created to protect people from the spread of the virus are now breaking down, releasing microplastics and chemical additives including endocrine disruptors, the research found.
Continue reading...Marine Conservation Society calls for swift action as its litter surveys show some forms of plastic are on the rise
Volunteer beach cleaners are finding more vapes than ever before as plastic pollution chokes Britain’s coastline.
The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) on Wednesday launches its annual beach clean, which last year involved more than 15,000 volunteers who completed more than 1,200 litter surveys.
Continue reading...Environment minister Murray Watt is returning from oceans conference where he pledged to curb the scourge of plastics and ratify a treaty to protect the high seas
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The federal environment minister, Murray Watt, is returning from a UN oceans conference where he pledged to curb the scourge of plastics and make good on Australia’s promise to ratify a treaty to protect the high seas.
The five-day meeting in Nice, France finished on Friday, and conservationists celebrated some key steps towards protecting wildlife in international waters.
Continue reading...University of Reading report says conflicts including war in Ukraine among 12 most pressing threats to pollinator
War zones, microplastics and street lights are among the emerging threats to the bee population, according to scientists.
Bee experts have drawn up a list of the 12 most pressing threats to the pollinator over the next decade, published in a report, Emerging Threats and Opportunities for Conservation of Global Pollinators, by the University of Reading.
Continue reading...Researchers call for urgent action as fragments of plastic found in human brains and pollute food, water and air
The UK is falling behind on international efforts to tackle microplastics, scientists have said, as the pollutants continue to infiltrate food, ecosystems and human bodies.
The tiny fragments of plastic have been found in human testicles and brains, and they burrow into plants, inhibiting their ability to photosynthesise. The impact on human health is largely unknown, but they have been linked to strokes and heart attacks.
Continue reading...Anthocyanins in nuts, fruits and vegetables seem to lesson harmful effects of microplastics on reproductive systems
Antioxidants that give fruits and flowers their vibrant colors seem to counteract some of the most dangerous reproductive system effects of exposure to microplastics, such as decreased fertility, and could ultimately be used in developing treatments, new peer-reviewed research shows.
The paper focused on microplastics’ reproductive toxicity and plant compounds called anthocyanins, which are widely found in nuts, fruits and vegetables. The new review of scientific literature on anthocyanins found that the compounds are probably protective against a range of plastic-induced impacts on hormones, reductions in testosterone and estrogen, decreased sperm counts, lower sperm quality, erectile dysfunction and ovarian damage.
Continue reading...Malabar wastewater plant discharges 5.4bn to 120bn of microplastics each day, report says, prompting calls for more advanced treatment processes
It is not just human waste that is being pumped into the ocean off Sydney’s popular beaches due to the city’s unusual and archaic sewerage system – government scientists have confirmed billions of microplastics are also polluting the water.
A CSIRO report, released in 2020 but not reported on until now, found the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) at Malabar discharged an estimated 5.4bn to 120bn of microplastics into the ocean each day.
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Continue reading...President said he will sign an executive order next week despite global plastics crisis
Donald Trump has said that he will reverse Joe Biden’s plan to phase out plastic straws across the US government, complaining that paper alternatives don’t work and that a move is needed to go “BACK TO PLASTIC!”
Trump said in a Truth Social post that he will sign an executive order next week “ending the ridiculous Biden push for Paper Straws, which don’t work. BACK TO PLASTIC!” The US president added in a separate post that Biden’s “mandate” for paper straws was now dead: “Enjoy your next drink without a straw that disgustingly dissolves in your mouth!!!”
Continue reading...Mountaineers now scaling more peaks for first global study of nanoplastics, which can enter lungs and bloodstream
Particles from vehicle tyre wear are the biggest source of nanoplastic pollution in the high Alps, a pioneering project has revealed.
Expert mountaineers teamed up with scientists to collect contamination-free samples and are now scaling peaks to produce the first global assessment of nanoplastics, which are easily carried around the world by winds.
Continue reading...Campaigners welcome move but say success depends on enforcement and global agreement on a treaty
Thailand has banned plastic waste imports over concerns about toxic pollution, as experts warn that failure to agree a global treaty to cut plastic waste will harm human health.
A law banning imports of plastic waste came into force this month in Thailand, after years of campaigning by activists. Thailand is one of several south-east Asian countries that has historically been paid to receive plastic waste from developed nations. The country became a leading destination for exports of plastic waste from Europe, the US, the UK and Japan in 2018 after China, the world’s biggest market for household waste, imposed a ban.
Continue reading...Bigger Austudy and carer allowance payments, higher Medicare safety net thresholds and mandatory corporate reporting on climate also in 1 Jan changes
With the new year comes new policies, laws, taxes and reforms. Here’s everything to know about changes on 1 January, 2025 that could affect you.
Continue reading...Bigger Austudy and carer allowance payments, higher Medicare safety net thresholds and mandatory corporate reporting on climate also ahead
With the new year comes new policies, laws, taxes and reforms. Here’s everything to know about changes on 1 January, 2025 that could affect you.
Continue reading...Group of 85 countries and blocs press for ambition in plastic waste treaty after no agreement was reached in Busan
Binding global targets to cut plastic production must be at the centre of any continuing negotiations to secure the world’s first treaty to tackle plastic waste, a group of 85 countries has said.
Talks in Busan, South Korea, attempting to secure agreement between more than 200 countries on the details of a plastic pollution treaty ended in failure over the weekend.
Continue reading...Legal petition filed by 170 groups pushes environmental agency to tackle pressing health threat of pollution
A new legal petition filed by more than 170 top environmental groups demands that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) begin monitoring for microplastics in drinking water, an essential first step to reining in pollution viewed as one of the nation’s most pressing public health threats.
The scale of microplastic water pollution, the extent to which the substance is lodged throughout human bodies, and the many health implications have come into sharp focus in recent years, but the EPA still has not taken meaningful action, public health advocates say.
Continue reading...Analysis lays bare huge challenge of mismanaged waste on eve of UN plastic treaty talks in Busan
Global plastic production must be reduced to tackle the immense challenge of plastic pollution, according to an analysis published on the eve of crucial talks to hammer out the world’s first legally binding treaty on plastic waste.
Mismanaged plastic waste, which leaches into the environment and can be harmful to health, will double to 121m tonnes by 2050 if limits are not placed on the production of plastic, according to Samuel Pottinger, the lead author of the research.
Continue reading...Levy that reduced usage by more than three-quarters in four years fell victim to rightwing culture wars, say critics
A tax that has reduced plastic bag consumption in Sweden by more than three-quarters in four years is being abolished on Friday, despite warnings that the move could lead to usage rising back towards previous levels.
Since the introduction of the 3 kroner (£0.21) tax in May 2020, plastic bag usage in the country has slumped. In 2019, before the levy was introduced, people in Sweden used an average of 74 plastic bags (15-50 micrometres thick) per person each year each. In 2023 that number had dropped to 17.
Continue reading...Toymaker hopes to bring down oil-based plastic it uses by paying up to 70% more for certified renewable resin to encourage production
Lego plans to make half the plastic in its bricks from renewable or recycled material rather than fossil fuels by 2026, in its latest effort to ensure its toys are more environmentally friendly.
The Danish company last year ditched efforts to make bricks entirely from recycled bottles because of cost and production issues. At the moment, 22% of the material in its colourful bricks is not made from fossil fuels.
Continue reading...Type of microplastics used in skin exfoliators and banned in UK and US found in 45% of Indian products studied
India should consider a ban on microbeads in personal care products, in line with many other countries in the world, say researchers.
Microbeads are a type of microplastic used in cosmetic products to exfoliate the skin. After a public uproar when the plastics were highlighted in Europe a decade ago, they were banned in the Netherlands in 2014, with many other countries following, including the US in 2015 and the UK in 2018.
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