Recycling

TOKYO — The Ministry of the Environment will include some 5 billion yen in its fiscal 2019 budget request to commission the development of biodegradable plastic products and subsidize companies producing paper alternatives to plastic items in a bid to reduce marine plastic waste, according to ministry officials. Biodegradable plastics are made from plants such as corn or sugarcane and can be broken down by microorganisms in soil. The material was first developed in the 1980s and is used in wrapping

With the State Government banning use of plastics from January 1, 2019, an awareness campaign “Plastic pollution-free Tamil Nadu” was initiated here on Saturday in which people were encouraged to use alternative products for plastic materials. At a function held at Corporation Girls Higher Secondary School at Karungalpalayam, Minister for School Education K.A. Sengottaiyan, Minister for Electricity P. Thangamani, and Minister for Environment K.C. Karuppannan inaugurated the campaign. Mr. Karuppannan said that the public access the portal, http://www.plasticpollution freetn.org/ explained the single-use

One of the worst culprits of single-use plastic waste are plastic water bottles that are discarded as soon as the drink has been finished. According to campaigners, Ban the Bottle, plastic water bottles can take between 400 and 1,000 years to decompose. Furthermore, it takes three times the amount of water to produce a plastic bottle than it does to fill one. But many clever and eco-conscious people are coming up with great ways to combat the problem. One of these is

For the millions of sun seekers who head to Thailand’s resort island of Phuket each year in search of stunning beaches and clear waters, cutting down on waste may not be a top priority. But the island’s hotel association is hoping to change that with a series of initiatives aimed at reducing the use of plastic, tackling the garbage that washes up on its shores, and educating staff, local communities and tourists alike. “Hotels unchecked are huge consumers and users of single-use

To ensure strict adherence to the norm, hefty fine is collected from violators Heaps of disposable plastic plates, and plastic glasses, water bottles and sachets strewn all over are a common sight post an event at function halls, marriage venues, and on roads as well. With extensive use of plastics becoming the order of the day, such venues not only present a revolting sight but also pose a challenge to the civic staff and other workers engaged in the task of

Researchers in the US have been investigating the final journeys taken by disposable contact lenses. They found 15-20% of US users simply flick these fiddly lenses down the drain via the bathroom sink or toilet. The Arizona State University study suggests that much of the plastic material then ends up in waste water treatment plants. The lenses are consequently spread on farmland as sewage sludge, increasing plastic pollution in the environment. Around 45m people wear contacts in the US, while rates in other countries

In recent years, the concept of extended producer responsibility (EPR) has caught on, first in Europe in the 1990s and since then in the rest of the world, including the U.S. The concept is relatively simple: Companies that make consumer goods are given responsibility for managing their products and packaging at their end of life. The concept, as the Journal of Cleaner Production points out, is to turn what was formerly waste “into the ‘food’ for industry and the next