Foods We Eat Are Covered in Plastics That May Be Causing a Rise in Premature Births, Study Says
Premature births are on the rise, yet experts aren’t sure why. Now, researchers have found synthetic chemicals called phthalates used in clear food packaging and personal care products could be a culprit, according to a new study.
Toothpaste Tablets and Syrup on Tap: Us Refill Shops Cut the Container
At Mason & Greens in Washington, the lack of packaging is the point -- the small shop selling household goods and groceries is among dozens of zero-waste refill stores sprouting up in US cities from Brooklyn to Los Angeles. Such stores are emblematic of what experts say is a necessary culture shift in one of the world's largest consumer economies, where the average person generates 4.9 pounds of waste per day, according to government statistics.
3M, Green Groups Push Back on Hochul’s NY Waste Reduction Bill
New York business groups and environmental advocates are pushing back on Gov. Kathy Hochul’s plan to require businesses like Amazon.com Inc., 3M Co., and Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. to reduce and pay for the disposal of paper and packaging products. Environmentalists say the plan doesn’t go far enough, and the complex issue should be handled outside of the state budget process.
California Passed a Landmark Law About Plastic Pollution. Why Are Some Environmentalists Still Concerned?
The law shifts the responsibility for plastic pollution from consumers to companies that make and use plastic packaging. Some green groups fear it gives the industry too much leeway.
Your Yogurt Tub Says ‘Widely Recyclable’—but Is It Being Recycled?
Companies are set to start labeling plastic packaging commonly used for yogurt, cottage cheese and butter as “widely recyclable,” sparking opposition from some environmental groups who say the change risks misleading consumers.
Taking Plastic Packaging BACK to the Store to Push CEOs to Skip Single-Use Plastic
Learn more about the fantastic plastic packaging take-backs Beyond Plastics advocates hosted outside major grocery chains across the country this Plastic Free July.
Bring Out the China, Hold the Plastic, Activists Advise Restaurants
Bring out the real silverware and glasses and hold the plastic utensils. That’s the theme of a new free guide that an environmental group has put out advising restaurant operators on how they can reduce their use of plastics. “Restaurants, in particular, have a big role to play in addressing our plastic pollution crisis,” said Judith Enck, a former EPA regional administrator as well as the founder and president of Beyond Plastics, which aims to reduce the amount of fossil fuel-based plastic that goes into the waste stream.
Beyond Plastics Releases Free Guide to Help Restaurants Reduce Use of Plastics
After years of pandemic-driven take-out orders, many consumers whose drawers are overflowing with plastic straws, disposable plastic cutlery, and single-use plastic packets of ketchup, soy sauce, and mustard are clamoring for less plastic with their food. Fortunately, a new guide called “Hold The Plastic, Please - A Restaurant’s Guide To Reducing Plastic” released today from Beyond Plastics offers restaurants detailed, practical, and inspiring advice for how to reduce the use of plastic in their operations and how to effectively convey those changes to customers, reporters, and the general public.
Albany Shoppers Return Plastic Packaging to Market 32
On Saturday, shoppers with signs returned plastic packaging waste from Market 32, in an effort to highlight the urgent need for a packaging reduction act in the state legislature. Organizers said excessive single-use plastic packaging is a growing global environmental crisis.
Beyond Plastics: Shifting the Waste Reduction Burden From Consumers to Producers
Since moving to England a few months ago, I’ve noticed the use of more stringent policies for the disposal of waste — be it cardboard, plastic, or other materials. Europe has been a pioneer in requiring companies to pay for recycling programs, which first took shape around 1990 in Sweden. One of these programs, known as extended producer responsibility or EPR, basically requires companies to cover the costs of recycling programs.
Plastic Recycling Doesn’t Work and Will Never Work
We need the facts so that individuals and policy makers can take concrete action to replicate proven solutions to the U.S.’s plastic-waste and pollution problems across the country. These solutions include enacting bans on single-use plastic bags and unrecyclable single-use plastic food-service products, ensuring widespread access to water-refilling stations, installing dishwashing equipment in schools to allow students to eat food on real dishes rather than single-use plastics, and switching Meals on Wheels and other meal-delivery programs from disposables to reusable dishware.
Chemicals used in packaging may play role in 100,000 US deaths a year – study
Phthalates, also found in consumer goods, may contribute to loss of life among older Americans costing US $40-47bn a year.
Plastic Waste Suppliers: Interview with Judith Enck
Host Bobby Bascomb talks with Judith Enck, founder of Beyond Plastics, about why fossil fuel companies are moving towards more plastic production, as well as what alternatives and next steps we can take to avoid using single-use plastics.
Don't Believe the 'Store Drop-Off' Label When It Comes to Plastic Packaging
Walmart and Greenpeace are now embroiled in a legal battle over mislabeled recyclable plastic packaging.
Online retail — and Amazon — has a plastic problem
Amazon’s investors could soon force it to reveal how much plastic it mails to customers around the world each year.
Twenty firms produce 55% of world’s plastic waste, report reveals
Plastic Waste Makers index identifies those driving climate crisis with virgin polymer production.
Plastics and toxic chemicals are killing fish — and poisoning us
Plastic, pesticides and other toxic substances are devastating the world’s fish and marine animals, according to a report released Tuesday.
Regulators missing pollution’s effect on marine life, study finds
Chemicals and plastics, not just overfishing, threaten aquatic food chain with ‘disaster’, report warns.
Survey finds consumers are concerned about waste from fast-food containers
Most consumers worry about pollution and waste from fast-food containers, according to a new survey from Adweek and Harris Poll.
Shareholders push Amazon to reveal its plastic footprint
A group of shareholders has asked Amazon to disclose how much of its plastic packaging winds up in the environment. The retail giant’s plastic pollution could damage the company’s reputation or lead to financial penalties from regulatory action or clean-up costs, according to the shareholder proposal.