California Becomes First State to Ban Plastic Bags
California Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday signed the nation’s first statewide ban on single-use plastic bags at grocery and convenience stores, driven to action by pollution in streets and waterways.
Côte d’Ivoire Chokes on its Plastic Shopping Bags
Each year, Côte d’Ivoire produces 200,000 tonnes of plastic bags of which 40,000 go directly into the trash. Less than 20 percent of this plastic is recycled. In this West African nation, the pressure is growing to find alternatives to plastic shopping bags.
Toxins From Plastic Pollution Impacting Health Of Seabirds
Plastic pollution is having a greater impact on seabirds than previously thought, scientists say.
Microplastic Pollution Discovered In St. Lawrence River Sediments
Microplastics have been discovered widely distributed across the bottom of the St. Lawrence River, the first time such pollutants have been found in freshwater sediments.
Volunteers Hit the Beach for 2014 International Coastal Cleanup Day
Today, volunteers around the globe will flock to the shore for International Coastal Cleanup Day, an annual call-to-action for people to help tidy up summer hotspots after the busy tourism season is over.
20 Years Old Aeronautical Engineer Boyan Slat Now Has the Funds to Build His Ocean Cleanup Machine
Dutch wunderkind Boyan Slat turned 20 this year. He also closed on $2 million in crowdfunding to build cleanup contraptions designed to intercept and remove plastic refuse from the ocean.
Plastic Rubbish From Land, Not Ships, Killing Australian Sea Life, Say Scientists
Mounds of plastic rubbish along Australia’s coastline are growing and killing wildlife which is ingesting or becoming ensnared in it, researchers say.
Historic Step Toward Superfund Designation Could Save Ocean Wildlife From Plastic Pollution in Hawaii
The EPA released an assessment September 9th,2014, documenting the hazard that plastic pollution poses to wildlife on Tern Island in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands — a key finding that will advance Tern Island as a potential Superfund site, an area of toxic hazard singled out for federal cleanup. This is the first time the agency has ever considered using the Superfund program to address an area contaminated by plastic.
California Plastic Bag Ban Would Be First Of Its Kind In The Nation
The California state legislature enacted a ban on plastic grocery bags on Friday near the end of its two-year session, a measure that if signed into law would become the first of its kind in America.