Plastic in the Oceans Increasing Risk of Disease in Coral Reefs

More than 11 billion pieces of plastic are lodged within coral reefs in the Asia-Pacific region. According to a new study published in the journal Science, as this plastic gets tangled, it often cuts the coral, increasing the risk of infection and disease outbreaks by as much 89 percent.

With China’s Ban on Waste Imports, Europe Announces New Recycling Initiatives

In the wake of China’s ban on the import of foreign garbage, which took effect earlier this month, countries across the globe are scrambling to figure out what to do with the thousands of tons of trash piling up at their ports. Now, Europe has announced it is launching an aggressive new recycling initiative to reduce plastic waste and garbage exports.

World’s largest plastics plant rings alarm bells on Texas coast

Gas giant ExxonMobil seal a $10bn agreement with the state-owned Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) to build the world’s largest plastics facility on the Texas coast. The Exxon-Sabic project will fuel an anticipated 40% rise in global plastic production over the next decade.

Drowning in garbage

The world produces more than 3.5 million tons of garbage a day — and that figure is growing.

U.N. environment chief warns “we’re facing an ocean Armageddon”

U.N. Environment Executive Director and Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, Erik Solheim, said that he is hoping that the Nairobi summit will be a turning point, “We’re facing an ocean Armageddon: Every year, we’re dumping at least 8 million tons of plastics into our oceans.”

Q&A: “What Price Do We Put on Our Oceans?”

An interview with the Executive Director of United Nations Environment ERIK SOLHEIM ahead of the Dec. 4-6 3rd UN Environment Assembly in Nairobi, where 193 member states will discuss and make global commitments to environmental protection.