Tag: Plastics

Canada to ban single-use plastics from 2021

by Jacques LEMIEUX MONTREAL, Canada (AFP) —  Canada will ban single-use plastics from 2021, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Monday, declaring it a “global challenge” to phase out the plastic bags, straws and cutlery clogging the world’s oceans. “I am very pleased to announce that as early as 2021, Canada will ban harmful, single-use plastics from coast to coast,” Trudeau said, arguing Canada has a unique chance to lead the fight against plastic pollution as […]

EU countries back single-use plastics ban

  BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — EU countries on Wednesday backed the outlawing of certain single-use plastics, bringing the bloc a step closer to an outright ban on the products which account for huge quantities of waste in the world’s oceans. The approval by the 28 member states follows an overwhelming vote in the European Parliament last week to ban single-use plastic items such as straws, cutlery, cotton buds and balloon sticks. Work will begin next […]

Seattle bans plastic straws, but US still has a long way to go

by Ivan Couronne © Agence France-Presse Seattle has become the first major US city to ban plastic straws and utensils in its eateries, a victory for environmentalists that will be tough to replicate elsewhere in the United States. After targeting plastic bags, environmentalists have set their sights on plastic drinking straws as a public enemy, highlighting the gap between their brief moment of utility and the enduring impact they have on marine creatures, which often […]

Tiny plastic particles from clothing, tires clogging oceans: report

            by Nina Larson Agence France Presse GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — Invisible particles washed off products like synthetic clothing and car tires account for up to a third of the plastic polluting oceans, impacting eco-systems and human health, a top conservationist body warned Wednesday. Unlike the shocking images of country-sized garbage patches floating in the oceans, the microplastic particles that wash off textiles and roadways leave the waterways looking pristine. But […]