May 2025 - Plastic Waste Solutions
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Study complete for Viva/Cleanaway soft plastics facility – Australia
Posted on May 29, 2025 by DrRossH in Plastic RecyclingPlans for a soft plastics facility are closer after Cleanaway and Viva Energy announced the completion of their pre-feasibility study. Source: Study complete for Viva/Cleanaway soft plastics facility - Inside Waste Plans for Australia’s first large-scale advanced soft plastics recycling facility...
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NSW EPA hand out $3 million to help combat landfill crisis Australia
Posted on May 27, 2025 by DrRossH in Landfills and DisposalNSW EPA to deliver local waste and recycling solutions, supporting the transition to a circular economy and taking waste away from landfill. Source: NSW EPA hand out $3 million to help combat landfill crisis - Inside Waste “Councils are at the...
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Alterra and Viva Energy advance soft plastic recycling in Australia
Posted on May 21, 2025 by DrRossH in Plastic RecyclingTrial clears path for large-scale plastic chemical recycling plant Source: Alterra and Viva Energy advance soft plastic recycling in Australia | Sustainable Plastics US-based chemical recycler Alterra and Australian oil refiner Viva Energy have hit a milestone in plastics recycling. Viva has...
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The birds on Lord Howe Island are now so full of plastic, they crunch – Australia
Posted on May 18, 2025 by DrRossH in Plastic Waste NewsIt's an exclusive tourist destination and one of the most pristine places on the planet. It's the last place you would expect to find birds with bellies so full of plastic that they crunch if you squeeze them. Source: The...
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Ziploc Is Facing a Class Action Lawsuit Over Its ‘Microwave Safe’ Labeling – USA
Posted on May 14, 2025 by DrRossH in Plastic Waste NewsThis new complaint could change how we think about “safe” plastic use. Source: Ziploc Is Facing a Class Action Lawsuit Over Its ‘Microwave Safe’ Labeling A class action lawsuit is accusing Ziploc’s parent company, S.C. Johnson, of misleading consumers by...
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State recycling bills offer solutions to economic chaos – USA
Posted on May 14, 2025 by DrRossH in Plastic RecyclingExtended Producer Responsibility bills offe supply chain relief to U.S. companies Source: State recycling bills offer solutions to economic chaos As long-held global economic norms and reliable trade partnerships are disrupted by the Trump administration’s ad hoc tariff policies, the need...
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Tasmanians return more than one million containers in four days – Australia
Posted on May 7, 2025 by DrRossH in Plastic RecyclingThe one-millionth deposit in Recycle Rewards, Tasmania's new container deposit scheme, was made on Sunday morning. Source: Tasmanians return more than one million containers in four days - Waste Management Review The most popular container types deposited were aluminium (62...
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UK shifts timeline for chemical recycling in Plastic Packaging Tax
Posted on May 6, 2025 by DrRossH in Plastic RecyclingThe UK’s HM Revenue & Customers (HMRC) department has set a timeline for updates to the Plastic Packaging Tax (PPT), first introduced on April 1, 2022. The governing body is anticipating the deadline to recognise mass balance materials as recycled...
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Does Trump’s ban on paper straws impact York’s new ban on plastic straws? – USA
Posted on May 2, 2025 by DrRossH in Plastic Limiting RegulationsYork's ordinance is taking effect at a time when President Trump has taken aim at paper straws with the executive order he issued earlier this year. Source: Does Trump's ban on paper straws impact York's new ban on plastic straws? Here...
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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?