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? ocean plastic Archives - Page 2 of 7 - Plastic Waste Solutions
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The amount of man-made heat energy absorbed by the seas has doubled since 1997, a study released Monday showed
Posted on January 24, 2016 by DrRossH in Plastic & Wildlife, Plastic Waste NewsWASHINGTON (AP) — The amount of man-made heat energy absorbed by the seas has doubled since 1997, a new study says. via The amount of man-made heat energy absorbed by the seas has doubled since 1997, a study released...
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More Plastic than Fish in the Ocean by 2050: Report Offers Blueprint for Change
Posted on January 24, 2016 by DrRossH in Plastic & WildlifeFon Mathuros, Head of Media, Public Engagement, Tel.: +41 (0)79 201 0211; Email: fmathuro@weforum.org via More Plastic than Fish in the Ocean by 2050: Report Offers Blueprint for Change. Most plastic packaging is used only once; new report reveals that...
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Miami Beach bans drinking straws | News – Home
Posted on November 14, 2015 by DrRossH in Plastic Limiting RegulationsMiami Beach bans drinking straws | News - Home. The sparkling coastline of Miami Beach is near pristine. But look a little more closely, and you’ll notice the array of multi-colored, slender cylinders in the sand: plastic drinking straws. Some beachgoers...
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Marine Plastic Pollution in Waters around Australia: Characteristics, Concentrations, and Pathways
Posted on October 30, 2015 by DrRossH in Plastic Waste NewsPLOS ONE: Marine Plastic Pollution in Waters around Australia: Characteristics, Concentrations, and Pathways. Plastics are a diverse group of materials derived from petrochemicals , or may enter the open ocean, where they tend to accumulate in convergence zones...
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Australia to update plastics marine threat plan – Australia
Posted on October 30, 2015 by DrRossH in Plastic Limiting RegulationsAustralia to update plastics marine threat plan | Plastics News#utm_medium=email&utm_source=pn-sustain&utm_campaign=pn-sustain-20151029&email_sustain. This is far over due. Like most other western countries, the over consumption of disposable plastic items is too high in Australia. We don't need to use them at all...
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Report puts cost of ocean plastic cleanup at $5 billion
Posted on October 5, 2015 by DrRossH in Plastic Limiting Regulations, Plastic Waste NewsReport puts cost of ocean plastic cleanup at $5 billion | Plastics News#utm_medium=email&utm_source=pn-sustain&utm_campaign=pn-sustain-20151001&email_sustain. That there are literally tons of plastic in the world’s oceans is hardly new information, especially to the plastics industry. But now there is finally an in-depth...
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Seabirds ‘blighted by plastic waste’
Posted on September 2, 2015 by DrRossH in Plastic & WildlifeSeabirds 'blighted by plastic waste' - BBC News. Back in 1960, the data showed that maybe fewer than 5% of birds would be found with waste fragments in their stomach. Today, this figure is roughly 90%. And, on...
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Microplastics in the ocean are moving up the food chain
Posted on July 12, 2015 by DrRossH in Plastic & WildlifeStudy: Microplastics in the ocean are moving up the food chain -- Earth Changes -- Sott.net. Plastic fibres and particles in West Coast waters are being consumed and passed up the food chain by tiny marine creatures that apparently...
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World Plastics Council supports G7 leaders marine plan | Plastics News#utm_medium=email&utm_source=pn-sustain&utm_campaign=pn-sustain-20150618&email_sustain#utm_medium=email&utm_source=pn-sustain&utm_campaign=pn-sustain-20150618&email_sustain
Posted on June 18, 2015 by DrRossH in Plastic Waste NewsWorld Plastics Council supports G7 leaders marine plan | Plastics News#utm_medium=email&utm_source=pn-sustain&utm_campaign=pn-sustain-20150618&email_sustain#utm_medium=email&utm_source=pn-sustain&utm_campaign=pn-sustain-20150618&email_sustain. The World Plastics Council has welcomed news that leaders of the G7 group of countries laid out a “bold action plan” to cut marine litter while at the recent...
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Ocean plastic debris to be recycled by Adidas into sports products – Germany
Posted on April 27, 2015 by DrRossH in Plastic & Wildlife, Plastic Waste NewsOcean plastic debris to be recycled by Adidas into sports products - Waste Management World. German sportswear company Adidas has partnered with initiative Parley for the Oceans to recycle ocean plastic waste into its products from 2016. A partnership programme will...
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