General Archives - Plastic Waste Solutions
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Texas city wants state to declare plastic pellet leaks an industrial pollutant – USA
Posted on November 12, 2025 by DrRossH in GeneralGalveston city officials are asking Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to give state regulators "clear direction" that leaks of plastic pellets should be considered industrial pollution. Source: Texas city wants state to declare plastic pellet leaks an industrial pollutant | Plastics...
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Strong plastic recycling industry needed -Australia
Posted on September 29, 2025 by DrRossH in General, Plastic RecyclingLed by ACOR and APCO, the Advancing Plastics Recycling in Australia (APRA) Project helps Australia’s support and strengthen recycling. Source: Strong plastic recycling industry needed - Inside Waste Australia’s recyclers, resource recovery companies and brand owners placing packaging on market...
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Australia’s plastic recycling rate stalls at 13% | Sustainable Plastics
Posted on August 26, 2025 by DrRossH in GeneralAustralia consumed 4 million tonnes of plastic in the 2023–24 financial year but just 13% was recycled, data from the latest Australian Plastics Flows and Fates (APFF) report shows. The figures highlight a widening gap between plastic use and...
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Plastics treaty talks spotlight clash over health risks from chemical additives
Posted on August 11, 2025 by DrRossH in GeneralAs U.N. plastics treaty negotiations resume in Geneva, industry and scientists release dueling research over whether health risks from chemical additives should be part of the agreement. Source: Plastics treaty talks spotlight clash over health risks from chemical additives |...
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Kennedy tells industry to expect big changes on food packaging – USA
Posted on April 29, 2025 by DrRossH in GeneralRobert F. Kennedy Jr. used a speech at a plastics and chemicals conference to highlight health risks from microplastics and changes in regulations for food packaging. Source: Kennedy tells industry to expect big changes on food packaging | Plastics...
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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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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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Malaysia to introduce mandatory EPR scheme by 2030
Posted on October 9, 2024 by DrRossH in GeneralThe Malay Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) has announced it will make its Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme mandatory in the next three to five years Source: Malaysia to introduce mandatory EPR scheme by 2030 | Sustainable Plastics He...
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European Commission considering adopting mass balance for recycled plastic content allocation – EU
Posted on September 23, 2024 by DrRossH in GeneralIn a meeting happening today, an EU committee is discussing a draft document which adopts the mass balance fuel-exempt method for recycled content allocation in single-use plastic beverage bottles Source: European Commission considering adopting mass balance for recycled plastic content...
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Germany moves towards new ‘plastics tax’ | Sustainable Plastics
Posted on July 9, 2024 by DrRossH in General, Plastic RecyclingFollowing in the footsteps of countries such as Spain and the United Kingdom, Germany is now also introducing a ‘plastics tax’ of its own. Source: Germany moves towards new ‘plastics tax’ | Sustainable Plastics The following taxes, based on calculations of...
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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?