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4 Mins Read After years of campaigning and awareness-raising from anti-plastic activists, a global treaty to regulate plastic pollution and waste management could finally be on the cards. Amid the current G7 talks in Cornwall, major packaging producers and charities are calling on the world’s richest democracies to take the lead on the issue, following more than 100 […]
4 Mins Read Environmental organization Earth Island Institute has filed a lawsuit against beverage giant Coca-Cola for falsely advertising that it is sustainable and environmental-friendly despite it being the largest plastic polluter in the world. Earth Island Institute has sued the Coca-Cola Company on World Oceans Day demanding answers from the American multinational on why it is misleading […]
3 Mins Read A new 56-metre-long Manta sailboat will help fight the ocean plastic pollution crisis with its first-of-its-kind collection and processing capacities. Presented by the environmental nonprofit the SeaCleaners and French adventurer Yvan Bourgnon, the catamaran is equipped with everything from waste-collecting conveyors to microplastic collection “mobulas” and fitted with a hybrid system featuring wind turbines, hydro […]
4 Mins Read Just twenty companies are behind over half of all single-use plastics that end up as waste in the environment and oceans, a new report has revealed. Made almost exclusively from fossil fuels, drink brands are often blamed for the deluge of throwaway plastics, but researchers are now exposing the small group of petrochemical businesses – […]
3 Mins Read Plastic items are now officially considered toxic under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA), a move that environmental campaigners have described as a “bold message” to the plastic industry. The decision to list plastics as toxic under CEPA came despite multiple blocking attempts from industry-backed lobbying groups, paving the way for the government’s proposal to […]
4 Mins Read Edible peel startup Apeel, which works to eliminate food waste and plastic pollution, has acquired AI hyperspectral imaging tech company ImpactVision, and by integrating this new tech into their application systems at supplier locations around the world, they will be able to help food suppliers and retailers in extending the shelf life of their fresh […]
4 Mins Read French grocery chains will have to begin switching to food refill stations as part of a new environmental bill. The law, which has been passed by the French parliament, will require retailers to phase out disposable plastic packaging and dedicate a fifth of their store to allow customers to buy dry food products using their […]
4 Mins Read Founded by Clarisse Merlet, France-based company FabBRICK works to upcycle textile waste into bricks that are supposedly great thermal and acoustic insulators. In France, textile waste is estimated to be around 4 million tons, however, less than a third of this is collected for reuse or recycling in the country. Back in 2017, architecture student […]
4 Mins Read Major brands from a cross-section of industries are set to come together for an upcoming summit focused on sustainable innovation in plastics and packaging. Taking place in May 19-20, the two-day virtual Rethinking Materials conference will see the likes of Unilever, PepsiCo and Colgate-Palmolive join sustainable startups and biotechs such as LanzaTech and Modern Meadow […]
4 Mins Read Coca-Cola has announced an upcoming trial of its new paper-based bottles in Hungary, marking the first time the beverage giant has launched bottles of its kind on the market. No doubt a bid to shed away the criticism the corporation has received after being named the worst plastic polluter for the third consecutive year, the […]
3 Mins Read A new study conducted by Kering, the luxury fashion giant that owns the likes of Gucci, Saint Laurent and Alexander McQueen, has found that the majority of Chinese consumers are keeping their luxury products for just one to three years. The results reveal how our current throwaway culture and consumption habits are contributing to disastrous […]
3 Mins Read Suez, the French waste and water management multinational company, has opened its first plastic recycling plant in Asia. Located in Thailand, the plant will be able to convert 30,000 tonnes of plastic packaging waste into post-consumer recycled plastics. It marks a significant development in the region’s recycling infrastructure to tackle the increasingly severe plastic pollution […]
3 Mins Read TIPA, an Israeli startup developing sustainable packaging solutions, has just raised US$4 million from the Millennium Food-Tech, a Tel Aviv-listed investment vehicle. The company’s breakthrough material innovation technology offers a compostable packaging solution for food that can replace existing difficult-to-recycle flexible plastic films on the market. Securing US$4 million from Millennium Food-Tech, which came shortly […]
5 Mins Read Beverage giants Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Nestlé have again topped the list for being the world’s biggest polluters for the third year in a row, showing no progress despite a slew of sustainability claims and pledges the firms have made in recent years. The annual audit, conducted by nonprofit Break Free From Plastic, named Coca-Cola as […]
4 Mins Read With the coronavirus pandemic fuelling the demand for plastics, from face shields to packaging used for online shopping deliveries, oil industry players are taking advantage and starting a price war between new plastics that they manufacture against recycled plastics. Across the world, statistics are also showing that recyclers are losing the battle too, putting the […]
3 Mins Read Walk down your usual supermarket aisle, and bets are on that you’ll come across produce wrapped in a layer of non-recyclable plastic. Now, in a bid to meet the growing demand for more sustainable packaging from consumers, retail giant Walmart is going to pilot 100% plastic-free cucumbers as part of a collaboration between sustainable startup […]
4 Mins Read By: Hope Mafaranga As Uganda develops its e-waste policy, neighboring Rwanda establishes a broad-based plan involving incentives and high-tech facilities. As many countries in Africa embrace the latest technology—smartphones, computers, and other electronic gadgets—few have developed national strategies for managing the resulting e-waste. E-waste may include electrical and electronic assemblies, scrap, and batteries. Some contains […]
3 Mins Read A new United Nations report has revealed the astonishing waste generated by our electronics. Last year, the world dumped over 53 million tonnes of e-waste with only a tiny fraction ending up recycled. According to the analysts, the unrecycled waste represents a huge economic loss, with US$10 billion in precious metals hidden in the mountains […]
3 Mins Read The British government is proposing to introduce a new tax on plastic packaging that contains less than 30% recycled plastic. If the planned bill is passed, any plastic used for packaging across all sectors that is manufactured in or imported into the United Kingdom from April 2022 onwards will be taxed at a flat rate […]
3 Mins Read Household rubbish sorting is now mandatory in Beijing, the capital city of China. It is the latest of 16 cities that have enforced the regulation, as a part of the country’s wider efforts to curb its monumental waste crisis. While the move is a step in the right direction, the bigger problem of our overconsumption […]
4 Mins Read A new report by the environmental NGO Tearfund has just revealed the massive plastic and carbon pollution of major drink firms. According to the report, the 4 leading beverage corporations – Coca Cola, PepsiCo, Nestlé and Unilever – are responsible for more than half a million tonnes of plastic pollution in 6 developing countries each year. […]