Nurdles: the worst toxic waste you’ve probably never heard of – the Guardian
Excerpts:
Billions of these tiny plastic pellets are floating in the ocean, causing as much damage as oil spills, yet they are still not classified as hazardous…
When the X-Press Pearl container ship caught fire and sank in the Indian Ocean in May, Sri Lanka was terrified that the vessel’s 350 tonnes of heavy fuel oil would spill into the ocean, causing an environmental disaster for the country’s pristine coral reefs and fishing industry.
Classified by the UN as Sri Lanka’s “worst maritime disaster”, the biggest impact was not caused by the heavy fuel oil. Nor was it the hazardous chemicals on board, which included nitric acid, caustic soda and methanol. The most “significant” harm, according to the UN, came from the spillage of 87 containers full of lentil-sized plastic pellets: nurdles…
Plastic in the Depths: how pollution took over our oceans – The Guardian
By now, it is well known that the oceans swirl with plastic. More than 8m tonnes pour into the seas every year, spewed out via rivers, dumped along coastlines or abandoned by fishing vessels. Plastic even contaminates ocean air, where particles are kicked up by spray and then blown about the planet by the wind. In many places on Earth, it is literally raining – and snowing – plastic.
A burning ship covered beautiful beaches in plastic ‘snow.’ Now Sri Lanka faces an environmental disaster
Sri Lanka is facing one of the worst environmental crises in its history as tons of potentially toxic debris from a fire aboard a container ship blanket miles of its western coastline.
Victory: Washington State Passes Comprehensive Policy to tackle Plastic Pollution
The Surfrider Foundation and our partners in the Plastics Free Washington Coalition/Washington Sin Plástico are celebrating as Governor Jay Inslee signs into law SB5022, a major piece of legislation that will help tackle the plastic pollution crisis.
Twenty firms produce 55% of world’s plastic waste, report reveals
Twenty companies are responsible for producing more than half of all the single-use plastic waste in the world, fueling the climate crisis and creating an environmental catastrophe, new research reveals.
Plastic gets to the oceans through over 1,000 rivers
The problem with plastic waste just got more complicated—and so did the effort to stanch its flow into the world’s oceans.
Over 47 tons of plastic found at US marine reserve – and an entangled seal
In a span of just over three weeks, more than 47 tons of plastic waste were removed from America’s largest protected marine reserve, sometimes directly off animals, a stark reminder of the scourge of plastic pollution in the world’s oceans.
The lake of plastic: Even Bolivia’s waterways high in the Andes cannot escape the scourge of pollution as shocking images reveal horrific effect on the environment
A Bolivian lake that was once an oasis of natural beauty full of thriving wildlife has become a waterless basin full of plastic waste.
Magnets, vacuums and tiny nets: the new fight against microplastics
Some are now innovating in microplastic extraction, providing the basis for a touch of cautious optimism. Here is a look at several examples of what is being done…