plastics

Plastics recycling is littered with misleading claims and waste. Here’s what that recycling symbol really means, its history and why more than 75% of your plastic waste ends up in landfills

In an economy upended by the coronavirus, shortages and price spikes have hit everything from lumber to computer chips

An intergovernmental conference has taken early steps toward drawing up an agreement to curb plastic pollution and marine litter around the world.

States across the U.S. are looking to adopt new recycling regimes that require producers of packaging to pay for its inevitable disposal.

Just weeks ago, cities and even states across the U.S. were busy banning straws, limiting takeout containers and requiring shoppers to bring reusable bags or pay a small fee

Oak Park wants input from businesses on a ban on single-use plastics at area restaurants. The items could still be available if requested by customers.

Flying into the uninhabited Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, Midway Atoll appears out of the vast blue Pacific as a tiny oasis of coral-fringed land with pristine white sand beaches that are teeming with life. But on the ground, there’s a different scene: plastic, pollution and death. With virtually no predators, Midway is a haven for many species of seabirds and is...

Companies across the world are moving quickly to bring to the market hamburgers and other meat products that are grown from animal cells in a lab. This month, Israeli-based company Future Meat Technologies raised $14 million to build a production plant for its cultured meat products, joining several dozen other start-ups poised to launch their first commercial products within the...

President Donald Trump sought to take credit Tuesday for the construction of a major manufacturing facility in western Pennsylvania as he tries to reinvigorate supporters in the Rust Belt towns that sent him to the White House in 2016. Trump visited Shell’s soon-to-be completed Pennsylvania Petrochemicals Complex, which will turn the area’s vast natural gas deposits into plastics. The facility,...

The world’s oceans will likely lose about one-sixth of their fish and other marine life by the end of the century if climate change continues on its current path, a new study says. Every degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) that the world’s oceans warm, the total mass of sea animals is projected to drop by 5%, according to a comprehensive...

Divers off the coast of Florida can now visit an underwater art museum.

“Aquaman” is clean-shaven. Actor Jason Momoa on Wednesday released a video in which he shaved off his signature beard and mustache in order to promote recycling. He started by saying farewell to his “Game of Thrones” and DC characters Drogo and Arthur Curry. Momoa said he thought he last shaved in 2012.

To help the environment by cutting down on non-compostable plastics, many people have begun saying no to plastic straws and are bringing reusable bags to the grocery store instead of accepting new plastic ones. But many more small steps like those can be taken. “There are so many simple changes you can make at home,” says Melissa Ozawa, features and...

Hawaii would be the first state in the U.S. to ban most plastics at restaurants under legislation that aims to cut down on waste that pollutes the ocean. Dozens of cities nationwide have banned plastic foam containers, but Hawaii’s measure targeting fast-food and full-service restaurants would make it the first state to do so. The liberal state has a history...

Bangladesh police said Friday that they were seeking up to a dozen suspects in connection with a fire in the oldest part of the capital and could charge them with negligence over the blaze that killed at least 67 people. The case involves between 10 and 12 people wanted on suspicion of “causing death through negligence” in the Wednesday night...

A new shopping platform announced Thursday at the World Economic Forum aims to change the way we buy many brand-name products. Loop, as the platform is called, would do away with disposable containers for things like shampoo and laundry detergent from some of the world’s biggest manufacturers. Instead, those goods will be delivered in sleek, reusable containers that will be...

Wind and rain arrived in Northern California this week, providing welcome relief to a region buffeted by the state’s deadliest wildfire and then besieged for nearly two weeks by a dome of thick, noxious smoke. Forecasters expected 25 mph winds and rain to blow away the worst of the fallout by Friday. While that would improve air quality, the cleaner...

2018 has been a lot of things but one word seems to sum it up best: toxic. At least that’s according to Oxford Dictionaries’ official word of the year selection. The British publisher said “toxic” beat out other expressions including “techlash” and “gaslighting” thanks to the “sheer scope of its application.” “In 2018, toxic added many strings to its poisoned...

America’s recycling industry is in the dumps. A crash in the global market for recyclables is forcing communities to make hard choices about whether they can afford to keep recycling or should simply send all those bottles, cans and plastic containers to the landfill. Mountains of paper have piled up at sorting centers, worthless. Cities and towns that once made...

The problems are “piling up” for San Francisco Bay Area recycling and trash collection companies trying to comply with California’s strict standards. Sam Brock reports.