New research reveals how roads channel microplastics from car tires and brake pads to remote ocean habitats.
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.
King George Island, Antarctica.
Don Fink / shutterstock
To inner west Sydneysiders, the Cooks River is known to be particularly polluted. But after a storm, microplastic particles increased more than 40 fold.
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.
Many sustainability-conscious people now find their cupboards stocked with plastic bottles of hand sanitiser, disposable wipes and takeaway food containers.
Releasing balloons at weddings and other celebrations is festive, until they break into pieces and become plastic pollution. A citizen science project is spotlighting the problem.