World news about plastic waste
Dead whale in Indonesia had swallowed 1,000 pieces of plastic
Jack Guy writing in CNN.com - 21-Nov-2018
In just the latest reminder of the dangers of pollution in our oceans, a dead whale in Indonesia has been found with 13.2 pounds (six kilograms) of plastic waste in its stomach.
The 31.17-foot sperm whale was found near Kapota Island in Wakatobi National Park, southeast of Sulawesi.
Park officials found bags, plastic bottles, sandals and 115 plastic cups in the whale's stomach, as well as a sack containing more than 1,000 pieces of string
Click here to read the full story on cnn.com
Plastic waste: UK should not pass buck to world's poorest, say MPs
Sandra Laville writing in thegurdian.com - 7-Feb-2019
A cross-party group of MPs is calling for a ban on the export of plastic waste over concerns the UK is passing the buck to the world’s poorest people to clean up its rubbish.
MPs have tabled an early day motion to highlight growing concerns first raised by the National Audit Office that millions of tonnes of plastic waste sent abroad for recycling may be being dumped in landfill.
Click here to read the full story on theguardian.com
Ireland mulls bottle deposit return scheme to cap plastic waste
Priyanka Shreshtha writing in energylivenews.com - 11-Feb-2019
The Irish Government is considering introducing a deposit-return scheme for single-use plastic bottles.
It is part of the government’s review into exploring how best Ireland could deliver a 90% collection target for plastic bottles by 2029.
It has also committed to increasing overall plastic recycling rate to 55% by 2030.
Deposit return schemes add a small extra cost to the price of a drink, which is then refunded to the customer when they take it back to be recycled.
Click here to read the full story on energylivenews.com
UK must support ‘Paris agreement for the sea’ to protect global oceans, say MPs
Josh Gabbatiss writing in independent.com - 17-Jan-2019
British seas are being treated “like a sewer”, polluted by an endless stream of plastics, untreated waste and farming effluent, MPs have warned.
In a damning new report, the Environmental Audit Committee has laid out the dangers facing the nation’s oceans and what needs to be done to address them.
Besides pollution, climate change, overfishing and deep sea mining are all threatening marine ecosystems and the trillions of pounds they deliver to the economy, the report states.
Click here to read the full story on independent.co.uk
Massive £16m project to clean up 'Great Pacific Garbage Patch' unable to collect plastic
Josh Gabbatiss writing in independent.com - 21-Dec-2018
A massive device created to clean up the world’s oceans is so far failing to pick up plastic.
While the net-like device being dragged through the water is managing to pick up rubbish, it is subsequently dropping it.
The $20m (£16m) project was launched two months ago to tackle the “Great Pacific garbage patch”, which is reported to be twice the size of Texas.