Plastic Pollution
“The unprecedented plastic waste tide plaguing our oceans and shores, can become as limited as our chosen relationship with plastics, which involves a dramatic behavioral change on our part…” — Claire Le Guern
May 12, 2024
The more plastic companies make, the more they pollute – Grist Magazine
Excerpt:
Coca-Cola and PepsiCo came in at the top of a global audit of plastic waste
Every year, companies produce more than 400 million metric tons of plastic. Some of that plastic spills onto waterways or beaches, clogging streams or floating in huge gyres in the ocean. Some of it breaks down into tiny microplastics or nanoplastics that float in the air and enter human lungs, blood and organs.
Sometimes it’s hard to know which companies are behind all this plastic — but now, scientists have identified some of the largest contributors.
A new study published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances has pinpointed some of the major brands responsible for plastic pollution across six continents. The researchers, who used a team of over 100,000 volunteers to catalogue over 1.8 million pieces of plastic waste, found that 56 companies were responsible for more than 50 percent of branded plastic waste globally.
The largest contributor was Coca-Cola, which accounted for 11 percent of the branded plastic pollution worldwide.
The findings, researchers say, reveal the enormity of the planet’s plastic pollution problem. “This is a herculean effort we have to do,” said Win Cowger, a research director at the Moore Institute for Plastic Pollution Research and the lead author of the study. “There are no easy fixes.”
To get the data, thousands of volunteers around the world conducted plastic “audits,” in which they scoured beaches, parks, rivers and other locations for plastic waste. Volunteers examined each piece of waste and recorded any visible brands or trademarks. The group Break Free From Plastic organized 1,576 audit collections between 2018 and 2022.
Out of more than 1.8 million pieces of plastic surveyed, close to 910,000 had visible brands. (Plastics can lose their brand markers through exposure to sunlight and weather.) And of those hundreds of thousands of pieces of plastic, the top companies responsible were Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Nestlé and Danone…
Additional Reading:
Excerpt:
A global study just revealed the world’s biggest known plastic polluters
Every year, companies produce more than 400 million metric tons of plastic. Some of that plastic spills onto waterways or beaches, clogging streams or floating in huge gyres in the ocean. Some of it breaks down into tiny microplastics or nanoplastics that float in the air and enter human lungs, blood and organs.
Sometimes it’s hard to know which companies are behind all this plastic — but now, scientists have identified some of the largest contributors.
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More on Plastic Pollution . . .
The world dumps 2,000 truckloads of plastic into the ocean each day. Here’s where a lot of it ends up – CNN
The western coast of Java in Indonesia is popular with surfers for its world-famous breaks. There’s a majestic underwater world to explore, too. But it’s impossible to surf or snorkel without running into plastic water bottles, single-use cups and food wrappers. The garbage sometimes forms islands in the sea, and much of it washes ashore, accumulating as mountains on the beach…
What will it take to get companies to embrace reusable packaging? – Grist Magazine
The Philippine capital is the latest city to address rampant plastic pollution through a community-guided protocol.
Manila Confronts Its Plastic Problem – EOS
The Philippine capital is the latest city to address rampant plastic pollution through a community-guided protocol.
Plastic chemicals are inescapable — and they’re messing with our hormones – Grist
Researchers say the U.N.’s global plastics treaty must reduce production and protect public health.
We’re All Plastic People now – PBS
Introduced by actor and environmentalist Ted Danson, We’re All Plastic People Now investigates the hidden story of plastic and its effects on human health. In an era of throw-away ease, convenience has cost us our well-being. We’re All Plastic People Now asks the question, how much evidence do we need before we decide to take action?
Amazon says its plastic packaging can be recycled. An investigation finds it usually isn’t – Grist Magazine
Trackers placed in 93 bundles of Amazon packaging marked for “store drop-off” recycling showed many of them were buried or burned…
First Comprehensive Plastics Database Tallies Staggering 16,000 Chemicals—And It’s Still Incomplete – Scientific American
A massive new dataset highlights more than 4,200 plastic chemicals linked to health and environmental risks. But scientists say there are still large gaps in the scientific understanding of plastic ingredients…
Under pressure from activist investors, big brands agree to report and reduce plastics use – Grist Magazine
Shareholder advocacy groups have already won plastics-related concessions from companies including Disney, Hormel, and Choice Hotels…Globally, two garbage trucks’ worth of plastic enter the ocean every minute, and plastics and petrochemical companies are planning to make even more of the material over the coming decades…
Nanoplastics linked to heart attack, stroke and early death, study finds – CNN
People with microplastics or nanoplastics in their carotid artery tissues were twice as likely to have a heart attack, stroke or die from any cause over the next three years than people who had none, a new study found…“To date, our study is the first that associated the plastic contamination with human diseases,” said Raffaele Marfella, lead author of the study published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine…