Tag: plastic

Washing your clothes can create Arctic microplastic pollution

by Kelly Macnamara Agence France-Presse Households in Europe and North America are flooding the oceans with plastic pollution simply by washing their clothes, scientists said Tuesday after research found the majority of microplastics in Arctic seawater were polyester fibres. Plastic particles have infiltrated even the most remote and seemingly-pristine regions of the planet. These tiny fragments have been discovered inside fish in the deepest recesses of the ocean — the Mariana Trench — peppering Arctic […]

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Atlantic plastic levels far higher than thought: study

by Patrick GALEY PARIS, France (AFP) — There may be more plastic floating just beneath the surface of the Atlantic ocean today than the estimated total weight of plastic waste dumped in it since 1950, new research showed Tuesday. The findings, based on analysis of samples of the three most common plastic materials and computer modelling, highlight the unseen scale of the pollution clogging the world’s second-largest ocean. Earth’s oceans contain an estimated 150 million […]

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Japan begins charging for plastic bags

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Retailers in Japan began charging for plastic bags Wednesday, a move aimed at curbing Japanese consumers’ love for packaging and finally bringing the country in line with other major economies. Shops including the ubiquitous convenience stores can decide how much to charge customers for the bags, with a common price being three yen (around three US cents). The new rule seemed to be having some effect, with one shopper telling public […]

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Plastic ‘has entered’ Antarctic terrestrial food chain

by Kelly MACNAMARA PARIS, France (AFP) — Scientists have found bits of polystyrene in the guts of tiny, soil-dwelling organisms in the Antarctic, raising concern that microplastics pollution has already “deeply” entered the world’s most remote land-based food systems. While the infiltration of microplastics throughout the oceans is well-known, researchers said their findings provided the first evidence of contamination in the Antarctic terrestrial food chain. “Plastics have therefore entered even some of the most remote […]

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Plastic bubble brings joy to French nursing home

by Elia VAISSIERE PICTURES BY DENIS CHARLET Agence France-Presse BOURBOURG, France (AFP) — Nathalie Szczepaniak caresses the hand of her husband Joseph, a care home resident, as the couple reunites after weeks without a visit because of France’s coronavirus lockdown. But this is no ordinary reunion. The couple meets in an anti-virus “bubble” at Joseph’s nursing home in Bourbourg, northern France, separated by a clear plastic sheet that allows them some physical contact, face-to-face, without the […]

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Uruguayan project uses virtual money to encourage plastic recycling

by Pablo IZMIRLIAN Agence France-Presse   PIRIÁPOLIS, Uruguay (AFP) — On a hot summer’s day in southern Uruguay, Graciela Martinez weighs her plastic waste before dropping it in a designated container by the beach. In return, she’ll receive some virtual money on her phone that she can use for discounts on purchases at restaurants or partnered shops. It’s part of a pilot environmental project called “Plasticoin” aimed at encouraging plastic recycling in the South American country. […]

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Researchers to conduct major Japan ocean microplastics survey

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) – Scientists will begin a two-year survey of microplastics in the coastal waters of Japan from April, a research group announced on Wednesday, with concern growing about the impact of plastics on the oceans. The survey organized by Japanese scientists and the Tara Ocean Foundation will be conducted by several marine research facilities located across Japan, from the northern island of Hokkaido to southwestern Kyushu. Researchers will collect samples for analysis of microplastics […]

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Pangilinan hails House panel passage of measure taxing single-use plastics

Pushes for passage of his own measure in Senate (Eagle News)–Senator Kiko Pangilinan has lauded a House of Representatives’ panel approval of a measure taxing single-use plastics, as he pushed for the passage of his own measure pending before the Senate. In a statement, Pangilinan said imposing the taxes, as specified in House Bill 178 or “An Act Imposing Excise Tax on Single-use Plastic Bags” passed by the House Ways and Means Committee was a […]

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Dead deer found in Thailand with 7kg of plastic in stomach

  BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — A wild deer was found dead after swallowing 7 kilograms (15 pounds) of plastic bags and other trash in Thailand, an official said Tuesday, raising the alarm on waste littering the country’s waters and forests. The Southeast Asian country is one of the world’s largest consumers of plastic, with Thais using up to 3,000 single-use plastic bags each per year, whether for wrapping street food, takeaway coffee or packing groceries. […]

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President Duterte mulls ban on plastic use

(Eagle News)–President Rodrigo Duterte is mulling a ban on plastics use. Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said Duterte made the suggestion during the Cabinet meeting in Malacañang on Wednesday, Nov. 6. According to Panelo, Duterte said the ban would require legislation. There are already pending bills banning plastics use in the Senate. Apart from Senator Cynthia Villar, who filed Senate Bill No. 333 or the Single-Use Plastic Product Regulation Act of 2019, Senator Francis Pangilinan filed […]

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Trash for tickets on Indonesia’s ‘plastic bus’

by Harry PEARL JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Dozens of people clutching bags full of plastic bottles and disposable cups queue at a busy bus terminal in the Indonesian city of Surabaya — where passengers can swap trash for travel tickets. The nation is the world’s second-biggest marine polluter behind China and has pledged to reduce plastic waste in its waters some 70 percent by 2025 by boosting recycling, raising public awareness, and curbing usage. The […]

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Nine deer dead in Japan after eating plastic: wildlife group

  TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Nine deer have died after swallowing plastic bags in Japan’s Nara Park, a wildlife group said on Wednesday, warning that a surge in tourism may be to blame. The Nara Deer Preservation Foundation said that masses of plastic bags and snack packets were found in the stomachs of the deer which died between March and June this year. “The biggest litter found in one of the nine amounted to 4.3 […]

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