November 2024 - Plastic Waste Solutions
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Inside the Plastic Industry’s Battle to Win Over Hearts and Minds – USA
Posted on November 30, 2024 by DrRossH in Plastic RecyclingDocuments leaked from an industry group show how plastics companies are pushing back against a “tide of anti-plastic sentiment.” Source: Inside the Plastic Industry’s Battle to Win Over Hearts and Minds - The New York Times The campaign’s messaging was at...
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Plastics treaty talks clash over production limits, slow progress
Posted on November 29, 2024 by DrRossH in Plastic Limiting RegulationsNegotiations for a global plastics treaty hit a boiling point on Nov. 27, as countries accused each other of bad faith and expressed frustration over stalled talks. Source: Plastics treaty talks clash over production limits, slow progress | Plastics News One...
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Ireland launches deposit return scheme
Posted on November 26, 2024 by DrRossH in GeneralThe scheme covers drinks in PET bottles and cans, excluding dairy Source: Ireland launches deposit return scheme | Sustainable Plastics Starting today, consumers in Ireland can help boost plastic recycling rates by returning their PET bottles in a new Continue reading this entry →
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Spain to introduce deposit return scheme for plastic bottles
Posted on November 26, 2024 by DrRossH in Plastic RecyclingThe Spanish government confirmed it failed to meet the 70% separate collection rate for plastic bottles in 2023. It is now mandated by law to introduce a deposit return scheme Source: Spain to introduce deposit return scheme for plastic bottles...
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APR Plastics finds solution for soft plastics recycling challenge – Australia
Posted on November 20, 2024 by DrRossH in Plastic RecyclingDarren Thorpe and the team at APR Plastics is pioneering recycling technology in Australia that will give soft plastics a second life. Source: APR Plastics finds solution for soft plastics recycling challenge - Waste Management Review Most soft plastics, such...
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Mass balanced materials to count as recycled content in UK
Posted on November 6, 2024 by DrRossH in GeneralMove aims to promote a circular economy for packaging recycling Source: Mass balanced materials to count as recycled content in UK | Sustainable Plastics The use of pre-consumer waste as recycled plastic for the Plastic Packaging Tax will be barred. The...
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Sweden abolishes tax on plastic bags despite warnings usage could rise | Sweden | The Guardian
Posted on November 1, 2024 by DrRossH in Plastic Limiting RegulationsLevy that reduced usage by more than three-quarters in four years fell victim to rightwing culture wars, say critics Source: Sweden abolishes tax on plastic bags despite warnings usage could rise | Sweden | The Guardian “The plastic ban tax...
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LA County sues Coke, Pepsi, alleging ‘deception’ in plastic packaging recycling claims – USA
Posted on November 1, 2024 by DrRossH in Plastic RecyclingLos Angeles County has sued consumer product giants Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc., accusing them of misleading the public about plastics recycling and the environmental impacts of their packaging. Source: LA County sues Coke, Pepsi, alleging ‘deception' in plastic packaging...
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Advanced biodegradable plastics run rings around their predecessors – Japan
Posted on November 1, 2024 by DrRossH in Plastic Waste NewsSource: Advanced biodegradable plastics run rings around their predecessors Plastics and polymers need to achieve both desirable performance in terms of durability and strength, as well as triggerable degradation capability to enable their breakdown into useful components for reuse...
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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?