Removing marine plastic litter is costly for small island states

Removing all of the plastic litter from the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Aldabra Atoll—a ring of islands formed from coral reef in the Seychelles—would cost US $4.68 million and require 18,000 hours of labour, according to a study in Scientific Reports.

The widespread footprint of blue jean microfibers

Researchers reporting in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology Letters have detected indigo denim microfibers not only in wastewater effluent, but also in lakes and remote Arctic marine sediments.

Plastics, waste and recycling: It’s not just a packaging problem

Discussions of the growing plastic waste problem often focus on reducing the volume of single-use plastic packaging items such as bags, bottles, tubs and films. But a new University of Michigan study shows that two-thirds of the plastic put into use in the United States in 2017 was used for other purposes.

Trump Opens Arctic Refuge to Polluters

The Interior Department is opening up the entire Coastal Plain of the refuge to polluters—at the expense of Indigenous peoples’ traditional ways of life, numerous wildlife species, and the climate.