April 2012 - Plastic Waste Solutions
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HARRIS: Chewing on plastic freedoms : California
Posted on April 30, 2012 by DrRossH in Plastic Limiting RegulationsHARRIS: Chewing on plastic freedoms : North County Times - Californian. This article by Rusty Harris is typical of the reply a number of people feel when a bag on plastic waste items of convenience is...
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Sharks don’t eat plastic
Posted on April 30, 2012 by DrRossH in Plastic & WildlifeSharks don’t eat plastic | BusinessWorld Online Edition. "The root of the problem lies in the general lack of environmental awareness and apathy. People do not seem to appreciate the fact that the ocean is a vibrant world with thriving...
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Coalition forms for extended producer responsibility
Posted on April 28, 2012 by DrRossH in Plastic Waste NewsPlastics News - Coalition forms for extended producer responsibility. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is the way to go for future management of plastic waste, especially for...
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Oregon PET recycling plant has new name, set to open
Posted on April 28, 2012 by DrRossH in Plastic Waste NewsPlastics News - Oregon PET recycling plant has new name, set to open. We applaud this plant for getting into operation. It...
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Recycling to Hit 60% in Months with New Service in Tandridge UK
Posted on April 28, 2012 by DrRossH in Plastic Waste NewsRecycling to Hit 60% in Months with New Service in Tandridge - Waste Mangagement World. While the quoted number of 60% doesn't mean too much as you could ask 60% of what? But what this article does inform us about...
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Paring back plastic-bag use BC Canada
Posted on April 27, 2012 by DrRossH in Plastic Waste NewsParing back plastic-bag use | Local News | Squamish Chief, Squamish, BC. As often happens and is encouraged by an unscrupulous oxodegradable industry, degradable is confused with biodegradable. Degradable bags are made from a plastic with an...
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Defra UK debates ways to improve Pack Regulations
Posted on April 27, 2012 by DrRossH in Plastic Waste NewsDefra debates ways to improve Pack Regulations | Packaging News | Manufacture | Jobs | Design | Materials | Equipment. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is one of the key elements that needs to...
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Sita: EfW hindered by lack of incentives in UK
Posted on April 27, 2012 by DrRossH in Landfills and DisposalSita: EfW hindered by lack of incentives | Packaging News | Manufacture | Jobs | Design | Materials | Equipment. "Lost opportunity Currently, there is less than six million tonnes of energy-from-waste capacity in the UK, compared to the estimated...
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EU ‘must do better’ on recycling
Posted on April 27, 2012 by DrRossH in Landfills and DisposalEU ‘must do better’ on recycling | Packaging News | Manufacture | Jobs | Design | Materials | Equipment. If only Europe could do what this report mentions. This has to be the way of the future. People with vested...
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SeaWorld eliminates plastic bags: SeaWorld says it will eliminate plastic shopping bags in its theme parks – Orlando
Posted on April 27, 2012 by DrRossH in Plastic Limiting RegulationsSeaWorld eliminates plastic bags: SeaWorld says it will eliminate plastic shopping bags in its theme parks - Orlando Sentinel. A good step by Seaworld. Considering the oceans receive millions of tons of plastic wast a year, Seaworld is an...
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How many people today grab a takeaway coffee cup from the local cafe to drink on the go? We don’t know, but the number must be enormous.. Most every one of the above have a plastic top that will last 100s of years. Some cafes still use plastic cups that last a similar time. Is 10 minutes of coffee worth 100s of years of trash?
These items can be seen littering our gutters and on our streets all over the place. If they were all cardboard, they would still be littered, but they would, at least, be gone in a short time.
They do not need to be made of plastic.
On the way home from the gym last week, a distance of about 1 km (1/2 mile), I counted the items of plastic litter on the curb as I walked. In that short distance I counted 63 pieces of plastic litter. Plastic drink bottles, bottle tops, candy wrappers, plastic film, polystyrene fragments etc. That seemed to be a lot to me. I guess it is a generational thing. Our parents would have been horrified to see that amount, whereas it seems to go unnoticed by our youth of today. In another 20 years how many pieces will there be on this stretch, -- 200? What will today’s youth think of that new amount then when they are older? Will their children be so readily accepting of a higher amount of litter?