Humans are expert pattern-finders. But artificial intelligence tools are better at trawling through vast data sets to find anything from waste dumps to heat-tolerant corals.
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Articles on Plastic pollution
Displaying 41 - 60 of 138 articles
Waste pickers want a say in how policies are designed and implemented.
Many countries export their plastic waste abroad – but the mismanagement of this plastic waste is one of the leading causes of plastic pollution in nature.
Most single-use plastics produced worldwide since the 1970s have ended up in landfills and the natural environment. Recycling is not a silver bullet.
Billions of face masks and other personal protective equipment have been used throughout the pandemic. Containing plastic, these items are damaging wildlife and their environments.
It’s important to look at the whole value chain in the plastics economy, starting with design of products that can be reused and recycled.
The plastic industry uses powerful tactics to convince us it’s not that bad, but in reality many of their green solutions aren’t working.
The Vaal River, which serves more than 11 million people, is considerably polluted with microplastics.
Better enforcement of existing international laws would be a much faster way of addressing plastic pollution from fishing vessels than waiting for a new treaty to be adopted.
This Plastic Free July, we need to be teaching children to demand less plastic from the world’s worst producers instead of expecting change from individual recycling efforts.
Nigeria generates 2.5 million tonnes of plastic waste yearly. Research and public enlightenment can help address the problem.
Protecting green turtles is difficult because they perform some of the longest migrations known in the animal kingdom.
Normally land-bound pathogens that cause deadly diseases for both humans and animals can cling to microplastics and end up in your seafood.
A global treaty on plastic pollution must incentivize a take-make-reuse waste management system and include quantitative targets based on geography-specific emissions.
Plastic waste is a huge problem. To fix it, we need systemic change, not just a focus on picking it up or recycling plastic once it becomes rubbish.
Over 170 countries have endorsed a resolution to negotiate a plastics treaty that’s much more precise than the Paris climate change agreement.
Without action in the next five years, an extra 80 million tonnes of plastic may end up in the ocean by 2040.
Representatives of 175 countries voted to start developing a global treaty to reduce plastic waste. Treaties addressing mercury, long-range air pollution and ozone depletion offer some lessons.
Global plastics production is set to double by 2040. The upcoming UN meeting is a chance for New Zealand to stake a stronger position on a proposed treaty to reign in plastic pollution.
In South Africa, the work of ensuring plastic bottles are recycled lies with consumers and volunteers instead of the large industry polluters.
Top contributors
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Professor of Ocean Policy and Economy, University of Portsmouth
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Assistant Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto
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Senior Principal Research Scientist, Oceans and Atmosphere, CSIRO
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Professor of Geography and Environmental Science, Memorial University of Newfoundland
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Professor, School for Resource and Environmental Studies, Dalhousie University
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Professor of Sustainable Development, Keele University
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Research Chair, Indigenous Approaches to Environmental Management, Keele University
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Lead Researcher - Global Plastics Policy Centre, University of Portsmouth
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Senior Lecturer in Sustainability and the Built Environment, University of Portsmouth
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Research Fellow in Circular Economy Systems, University of Leeds
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Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
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Research Professor Ecotoxicology, North-West University
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PhD Student, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto
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Postdoctoral researcher CSIRO, CSIRO
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Professor in Forensic and Environmental Science, Staffordshire University
