COVID-19 is laying waste to many US recycling programs

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the U.S. recycling industry. Waste sources, quantities and destinations are all in flux, and shutdowns have devastated an industry that was already struggling.

Why we'll still need waste in a circular economy

Every year, we buy 30 billion tonnes of stuff, from pizza boxes to family homes. We throw out or demolish 13 billion tonnes of it as waste—about 2 tonnes per person. A third of what we discard was bought the same year. ...

Stepping up action on plastic pellets

Plastic is an incredibly useful material upon which much of our day-to-day life depends. The COVID-19 pandemic puts the importance of plastic in stark relief—protective personal equipment, intravenous tubes and soap dispensers ...

Plastic, paper or cotton: which shopping bag is best?

On March 1, New York State instituted its plastic bag ban, joining seven other states in an attempt to lessen litter, garbage in landfills, ocean pollution, and harm to marine life. March 1 was also the day that New York ...

Pandemic deals blow to plastic bag bans, plastic reduction

Just weeks ago, cities and even states across the U.S. were busy banning straws, limiting takeout containers and mandating that shoppers bring reusable bags or pay a small fee as the movement to eliminate single-use plastics ...

Banned! New York sends plastic bags packing

Consumerist mecca New York targets its throwaway culture this weekend with a ban on single-use plastic bags that has been years in the making and is still rare in America.

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