About 48 million tons of plastic waste is generated in the United States each year, but only 5 to 6 percent of it is actually recycled. A new report from the Center for Climate Integrity, "The Fraud of Plastic Recycling," accuses the plastics industry of a decades-long campaign to "mislead" the public about the viability of recycling.
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Microplastics or tiny plastic particles are everywhere. Now a new study has found them where they've never been seen before, sitting deep inside human lungs. But what does it mean for our health?
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A marine scientist discusses the problem of plastic pollution and her hopes for an international treaty to tackle it
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As governments impose limits on plastic food packaging, climate-friendlier alternatives are in the works. Here are some that might be coming to a grocery store near you.
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Mounting evidence shows the endocrine-disrupting chemicals in plastics are harmful to human health
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It can sometimes seem that everything you want to buy is either made of plastic, wrapped in plastic or contains some form of plastic - in short, it's everywhere. Plastics pollute and poison the environment and people with it, prompting many of us to try to reduce our dependence on them. The good news is that small changes in everyday life can make a big difference.
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The cleanliness of cutting boards is a long-debated food safety issue, given that both wood and plastic — the most common cutting board materials — can easily harbor bacteria. New research shows that using plastic cutting boards can release microplastics. So how concerned should you be?
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You've heard about sweeping problems under the rug. Well, how about converting the problem into a broom instead? One Cambodian entrepreneur is doing just that. In a mission to help tackle plastic pollution in his country's capital city of Phnom Penh, 41-year-old Has Kea has started an upcycling business. In 11 months, his workers turned about 44 tons of plastic bottles into heavy-duty brooms.
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![Supreme Court poised to block Biden administration’s plan to limit health threat: ‘[It] would undermine … the public interest’](https://www.plasticsfreeinitiative.org/storage/supreme-court-block-220x220.jpg)
The Supreme Court appears ready to limit the Biden administration's ability to protect the environment once again. This time, several justices expressed skepticism of a proposed rule from the Environmental Protection Agency meant to reduce harmful cross-state air pollution, according to the New York Times's Adam Liptak. A decision is expected by June.
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We breathe, eat and drink tiny particles of plastic. But are these minuscule specks in the body harmless, dangerous or somewhere in between? A small study published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine raises more questions than it answers about how these bits — microplastics and the smaller nanoplastics — might affect the heart.
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