plastic pollution Archives - The Westside Story

A giant net is on its way to clean up the garbage patch in the Pacific Ocean

Sep 9, 2018

A new project launched this week will aim to clean up 90 percent of the garbage patch floating in the Pacific by 2040, using what is essentially a giant net, according to ScienceNews.org. Such a plan was fir...

Starbucks will stop using plastic straws worldwide by 2020

West Side Story

Jul 9, 2018

Business, Environment, Science

Starbucks announced Monday that it will stop using plastic straws globally by 2020, instead either offering straws made from other materials or lids that can be used without straws, according to CNN. Starbucks ...

Strict plastic ban in effect for India’s largest city

West Side Story

Jun 25, 2018

Environment, Policy, Science, World

The city of Mumbai banned single-use plastic items on Monday, making it the largest city in India to do so, according to The Guardian. Enforcement of the regulation will be strict, with up to a 25,000 rupee fi...

It’s time to look beyond recycling to combat plastic pollution

West Side Story

Jun 19, 2018

Environment, Opinion, Science

It’s understandable that our society would be inclined to focus primarily on recycling as a path toward waste reduction. After all, encouraging consumers to throw items in the recycling bin requires no big chan...

Greenpeace analysis finds pollution in the furthest reaches of Antarctica

West Side Story

Jun 8, 2018

Environment, Science

The environmental advocacy group Greenpeace warned Thursday that plastic waste and toxic chemicals have been found in the most remote parts of Antarctica, suggesting that global pollution has reached a distress...

40 companies sign on to landmark UK Plastics Pact

West Side Story

Apr 26, 2018

Business, Environment, Science

Forty companies have signed a pledge to reduce plastic pollution in Britain over the next seven years, in collaboration with the UK government, trade organizations, and environmental advocates. The UK Plastics ...

Scientists stumble on mutant enzymes that can digest plastic waste

West Side Story

Apr 18, 2018

Environment, Innovation, Science

With public awareness of the world’s plastic pollution problems on the rise, a timely and accidental breakthrough may now be poised to offer a solution. In 2016, Japanese researchers discovered bacteria able...

UK report warns that plastic pollution is set to triple within a decade

West Side Story

Mar 25, 2018

Environment, Science

A new report, written for the UK government, warns that plastic pollution may triple within a decade without serious action to mitigate the problem. The Foresight Future of the Sea Report was assembled by exper...

New wave of plastics investment runs counter to warnings from scientists

West Side Story

Dec 27, 2017

Environment, Science

A new wave of large investments in global plastic production threatens to exacerbate a global crisis of already epic proportions, according to a report from The Guardian. Fossil fuel companies and other investo...

UN Oceans Chief warns of looming global plastic pollution crisis

West Side Story

Dec 8, 2017

Environment, Science

In advance of the 2017 UN Environment Assembly in Nairobi that was held from the 4th to the 6th of December, UN Oceans Chief Lisa Svensson warned that plastic waste has caused large-scale damage to our oceans, ...

Tagged plastic pollution