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Environment

The EPA Blames Six Asian Nations That The U.S. Exports Plastic Waste to for Ocean Pollution

The Trump administration pointed at China, Indonesia, and others as the main source of trash in our oceans, but the U.S. and other wealthy nations contribute to the problem.

Kate Wheeling

A volunteer of the non-governmental organization Canarias Libre de Plasticos carries out a collection of microplastics and mesoplastic debris to clean the Almaciga Beach, on the north coast of the Canary Island of Tenerife, on July 14th, 2018.

Environment

There Is No Escaping the Reach of Microplastic Pollution

Plastics have made their way to every corner of the globe.

Rebecca Dzombak

Viewfinder: The Philippines Returns Imported Plastic Waste to Canada

A transport vessel is berthed to load waste materials at the port in Subic Bay, north of Manila, Philippines, on May 30th, 2019.

Pacific Standard Staff

Environment

How to Get People to Recycle: Show Them the Results

Giving consumers an idea of what a can or glass might be transformed into makes them far more likely to recycle it.

Tom Jacobs

A plastic bag sits in a Manhattan street on May 5th, 2016 in New York City.

News in Brief

A New Report Documents the Plastic Industry’s Carbon Footprint

Here's what some cities, states, and countries are doing about it.

Leah Dunlevy

A food cart worker fills a styrofoam take-out container with food for a customer on December 19th, 2013, in New York City.

News in Brief

Maine Is the First State to Ban Styrofoam

Maryland, Oregon, Vermont, and Connecticut are also considering polystyrene bans as resistance to single-use plastic increases.

Leah Dunlevy

A picture taken on December 5th, 2018, shows the Pyrenees mountains, southern France, at sunset.

Researchers Discover Microplastics in the Air of the Pyrenees Mountains

According to a new study, scientists found as much microplastic pollution in the air in this remote area as in densely populated cities like Paris.

Leah Dunlevy

Only nine percent of all plastic discarded since 1950 has been recycled. The other 91 percent has been taken to landfills, turned into incinerator emissions, or ended up in the oceans.

Environment

The Earth’s Oceans Are Drowning in Plastic

A new book documents the plastic pollution crisis, the affect of that pollution on wildlife and people, and initiatives that have been created to tackle the problem.

Mike Gaworecki

News in Brief

Maryland Could Be the First State to Ban Styrofoam Food Containers

The proposed law would prevent food service businesses and schools from providing or selling any foam food containers, plates, cups, trays, or egg cartons.

Kelley Czajka

Workers sort recycling material at the Waste Management Material Recovery Facility in Elkridge, Maryland, on June 28th, 2018.

News in Brief

What Does America Do With Recycled Plastic?

India just banned imported scraps of plastic, leaving countries like the U.S. with limited overseas options for where to send their plastic waste.

Kelley Czajka