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.
Single-use plastics make up most of the plastic waste in Nigeria.
Adam Abu-bashal/Anadolu Agency/ Getty Images
Dependence on bottled water weakens pressure to fix tap-water problems. Who pays the price?
Bottled water corporations exploit surface water and aquifers, buy water at a very low cost and sell it for 150 to 1,000 times more than the same unit of municipal tap water.
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The bottled water industry can undermine progress of projects aimed at creating safe-water systems for all, by redirecting attention to a less reliable, less affordable option.
New research finds that tap water avoidance is on the rise in the US, especially among minorities. An expert on water and health calls for better public education about water quality and testing.
Delegates at this week’s marine science conference in Fremantle take a plastic-free coffee break.
Alicia Sutton/AMSA
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.
Bottled water distribution in Glenwood, Iowa, where massive spring flooding along the Missouri River disrupted drinking water treatment, April 3, 2019.
AP Photo/Nati Harnik
New research shows that chemicals leached from ocean plastic impair the growth and oxygen production of the planet’s most abundant photosynthesiser - endangering marine ecosystems and the climate.
Accumulated plastic debris on Direction Island.
Jennifer Lavers 2017
The entire Cocos (Keeling) Island group is a little more than twice the size of the Melbourne CBD. So it’s hard to envision 414 million debris items washed up there.
As well as polluting our seas, plastics are warming the planet too. Urgent changes are needed to eliminate plastic’s contribution to climate breakdown.
Plastics pile up at Thilafushi, an artificial island created as a landfill, in the Maldives.
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Nurdles are a raw feedstock used to make most of the plastic products we use everyday, but they’re flooding the ocean as “mermaid tears”.
A study of drinking water sourced from groundwater in areas of intensive farming and horticulture found nitrate levels are already high and rising.
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Mike Joy, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington and Michael Baker, University of Otago
Nitrate in drinking water has been linked to an increased risk of colorectal cancer. That could have implications for some parts of New Zealand where nitrate levels are high.
Christmas is hectic, and it can be easy just to go with the flow and vow to cut your plastic use in the new year. But here are some easy steps you can take now to make your Christmas plastic-free.
Your salt intake from water can vary depending on where you live.
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Of Australia’s capital cities, Perth has the saltiest tap water, while Melbourne, Hobart, Darwin and Canberra have the least salty. And while all are within guidelines, the variation is striking.
Nina Lansbury, The University of Queensland; Susan Mott, The University of Queensland, and Wendy Hoy, The University of Queensland
Drinking water in Australia can be contaminated by natural and manmade processes, especially in communities. Innovation is needed to ensure water is ‘fit for purpose, place and people’.
Many plastics that used BPA have now replaced it with substitutes like BPS, a related molecule that may have just as many health issues.
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BPA, used widely in plastics and as a liner in food cans, was replaced by a related chemical called BPS. But it seems that this substitute may also harm eggs and sperm and disrupt hormones.