Whether we can recycle plastic or not depends on what it’s made of (because there are many different types of plastic), if it’s sufficiently clean and if enough people will buy recycled products.
Plastic pollution can have devastating effects on rivers.
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Nanoplastics are the smallest microplastics, far narrower than a human hair. Very little is known about their composition, structure or how they break down in the environment.
The treaty focuses on ending plastic pollution, not eliminating the use of plastics. But some countries are more ambitious than others.
So much ocean plastic originates from sources on land, but once floating in the sea it poses a risk to marine wildlife and habitats.
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As it travels around the ocean, plastic litter can harm wildlife and marine habitats in many ways. This study highlights five key hotspots where floating plastic poses the biggest risk.
Human influence on the climate started even before the Industrial Revolution.
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Erle C. Ellis, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Scientists have been debating the start of the Anthropocene Epoch for 15 years. I was part of those discussions, and I agree with the vote rejecting it.
A fisherman on the River Nile.
Khaled Desouki/AFP via Getty Images
A central question remains unresolved in the draft treaty: Is plastic pollution basically a waste management problem, or can it be solved only with a cap on production?
United Nations efforts to advance a global treaty on plastic pollution echo past multilateral agreements that tackled ozone layer depletion and acid rain.
A team of scientists has developed a method for creating a new class of plastic materials that are potentially more recyclable than single-use plastics.
Legos are designed to last for decades. That posed a challenge when the toymaker tried to switch to recycled plastics.
AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi
Corporate supply chains are riddled with high, uncounted emissions, as Lego discovered. New regulations mean more companies will face tough, sometimes surprising, choices.
A new ban prohibits businesses in England from selling some single-use plastic products.
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The new ban will raise awareness about the plastic crisis. But failing to provide viable alternatives may simply displace the problem, instead of addressing it