Volunteers load plastic bags for a weekly food pantry service in Everett, Mass., May 10, 2020. Everett has some of the highest COVID-19 infections rates in the state.
Joseph Prezioso /AFP via Getty Images
Pandemic precautions have given new life to disposable plastic products, which the industry claims are more ‘hygienic’ than reusables. But critics say there’s no scientific evidence this is so.
The COVID-019 pandemic has boosted use of disposable packaging and personal protective equipment, at the same time that many recycling programs are facing budget cuts. The upshot: More plastic trash.
A media study of public criticism of plastic reveals that stigmatisation may result in limited bans, it leaves the vast majority of plastic production and pollution unexplored.
An unemployed man in Diepsloot, Johannesburg, collects trash for resale before South Africa went into a Covid-19 lockdown.
EFE-EPA/Kim Ludbrook
Stikeez, the latest collection of plastic collectables from Coles, flies in the face of the company’s plan to become Australia’s most sustainable supermarket.
Plastic waste that started as packaging clogs tropical landfills.
apomares/Getty Images
To manage plastic wastes, nations first need to know what they have and where it’s coming from. A case study from Trinidad and Tobago shows how this approach can help identify solutions.
Big challenges call for big responses.
Brian S./Shutterstock.com
Burning non-recyclable waste to generate energy sounds like a great idea – but incineration plants need an ongoing waste stream to be viable, which perpetuates the make-use-dispose mentality.
Waste-to-energy incineration has been raised as a solution to the global plastic waste problem, but the technology adds pollution and greenhouse gas emissions and encourages more waste production.
Plenty of ink has been spilled over Australia’s recycling and waste problem, but real action remains frustratingly out of reach.
AAP Image/James Ross
An inconclusive COAG meeting comes after years of inquiries, announcements, initiatives, investigations and reviews. Australia is no closer to actually tackling our waste problems.
A woman sorts plastic bottles at a workshop in Hanoi. The world is being overwhelmed by plastic waste, and companies should do more to address it.
EPA/LUONG THAI LINH
Yossi Sheffi, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
InterContinental Hotels Group plans to switch miniature toiletries for bulk products, but it isn’t likely to do as much for the environment as activists might think.
Even remote beaches are often strewn with plastic debris.
Susan White/USFWS
This year’s national conference of the Australian Marine Science Association is a plastic-free zone, as marine scientists aim to reduce the environmental burden of throwaway plastic.