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☆ America's Plastic Catastrophe: Most Waste Can't Be Recycled
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Taylor Dorrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

It's an urgent question — what do we do with the 40 million tons of plastic waste we produce annually? One year of plastic waste is roughly enough to smother the entirety of Manhattan a meter deep, and it has to go somewhere. For decades, America sent its plastic waste to countries like China and Indonesia. Unlike aluminum or glass, the plastic that can be recycled rarely results in replacing one recycled water bottle with another. By downcycling a tiny portion of plastic waste, companies can genuinely reuse a relatively small share of plastic, while convincing consumers that the industry has created a circular economy of infinitely recycled plastic.

Persons: Kartik Byma, they're, Tim Miller, Susan Freinkel, Nestlé, Lea Suzuki, Larry Thomas, what's, Taylor Dorrell, Biden, that's, Taylor, Miller, Kelley Sayre, Vicky Abou, it's, Mike Bloomberg, Bloomberg, Espen Barth Eide, Norway's, Abou, It's Organizations: Getty, America, Chevron, Exxon, Paper Stock, Plastics Industry Association, Organization for Economic Co, San Francisco, NPR, International Energy Agency, ExxonMobil, Alterra Energy, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Royal Paper Stock, Akron, Buckeye Environmental, Business, Eastman Chemical Co, American Chemistry Council, New, Beyond Plastics, UN, Buckeye Environmental Network Locations: America, Manhattan, China, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, AFP, Ohio, American, San Francisco, Akron, Taylor Dorrell Akron , Ohio, United States, Oregon, New York City

The city's annual series of parades began more than a week ago and will close out on Tuesday — Mardi Gras — a final day of revelry before Lent. Aside from recycling, there's a small but growing movement to find something else for parade riders to lob. Grounds Krewe, Davis's nonprofit, is now marketing more than two dozen types of nonplastic, sustainable items for parade riders to pitch. "These efforts will help green Mardi Gras," said Christy Leavitt, of the group Oceana, in an email. Enck, who visited New Orleans last year and attended Mardi Gras celebrations, hopes parade organizers will adopt the biodegradable alternatives.

Persons: —, it's, ”, Judith Enck, Enck, Brett Davis, headbands, ” Davis, Christy Leavitt, Jennifer McDermott Organizations: ORLEANS, Environmental Protection Agency, Beyond, New Orleans & Co, Oceana, New, Mardi, Associated Locations: New Orleans, revelry, Lake Pontchartrain, Mexico, Mardi, Providence , Rhode Island

☆ New York lawsuit blames PepsiCo for plastic litter – not people
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN —New York’s water and parks are full of plastic waste. PepsiCo has downplayed the risks of its plastic packaging and created a public nuisance in the state, she alleged in a lawsuit filed against the company on Wednesday. Additionally, PepsiCo has failed to properly warn the public about where its plastic packaging ends up, according to the lawsuit, making it sound like recycling will effectively deal with plastic waste. Environmental advocates activists are hopeful that the complaint could help change the way lawmakers approach plastic pollution. Generally, lawsuits surrounding plastic pollution are brought by non-profits, not government officials, she said.

Persons: litterbugs, Letitia James, It’s, James, ”, “, Kirstie Pecci, Just, “ There’s, Judith Enck, James ’ Organizations: New, New York CNN, New York, PepsiCo, Pepsi, Research, CNN, Environmental, Beyond Plastics Locations: New York, Buffalo, City, Lake Erie, ”, Niagara, Vermont, York State

REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies PepsiCo Inc FollowNEW YORK, Nov 15 (Reuters) - New York state sued PepsiCo (PEP.O) on Wednesday, accusing the beverage and snack food giant of polluting the environment and endangering public health through its single-use plastic bottles, caps and wrappers. The lawsuit filed in state court in upstate Erie County is among the first by a U.S. state to target a major plastics producer. "All New Yorkers have a basic right to clean water, yet PepsiCo's irresponsible packaging and marketing endanger Buffalo’s water supply, environment, and public health," she said in a statement. The New York lawsuit also said PepsiCo has deceived consumers by announcing various targets to reduce the amount of non-recycled plastic it uses in packaging, although it has actually increased its usage. The lawsuit seeks to force the Purchase, New York-based company to stop causing a nuisance, clean up contamination and pay for damages caused by plastic waste.

Persons: Shannon Stapleton, Letitia James, PepsiCo, James, Jack, Doritos, Judith Enck, Obama, Clark Mindock, Jonathan Stempel, Chizu Nomiyama, Jonathan Oatis, Alexia Garamfalvi Organizations: Pepsi, REUTERS, PepsiCo, The New, Gatorade, Lay's, Plastics, Environmental Protection Agency, Thomson Locations: New York, U.S, Erie County, Buffalo, The New York, , New York, Fritos, Lipton, Connecticut, Minnesota, . California

☆ Microplastics may affect the weather, new study finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Mary Gilbert | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Now, scientists have found that these tiny particles might even be able to influence the weather. Microplastics form when larger plastics break down, either by chemically degrading or physically wearing down into smaller pieces. The authors of Wednesday’s study found microplastics affect cloud formation, and clouds are of huge importance to the weather we experience. According to the study, microplastics can now be added to that list. Once the first water droplets cling to microplastics and other tiny particles, more water droplets are pulled together and clouds form.

Persons: CNN —, They’ve, Judith Enck, ” Enck, Microplastics, Albert Gea, microplastics Organizations: CNN, Science, Technology, Beyond Plastics Locations: China, Barcelona, Spain, Tai

Kenya's President William Ruto called the treaty “the first domino” in a shift away from plastic pollution. The U.N. Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution is charged with developing the first international, legally binding treaty on plastic pollution on land and at sea. Kenya is a global leader in fighting plastic pollution, and in 2017, the country banned the manufacture, sale and use of single-use plastic bags. Nonetheless, he said, it is evident that negotiations have moved beyond plastic waste and into addressing plastic production and toxic chemicals used to make plastic. “The focus is on ending plastic pollution, not plastic production," he said.

Persons: Gustavo Adolfo Meza, Cuadra Velasquez, William Ruto, ” Graham Forbes, ” Eirik Lindebjerg, Björn Beeler, haven't, IPEN, Chris Jahn, Karen McKee, Jahn, ___ McDermott Organizations: United Nations Environment, Global, reconvening, Intergovernmental, UNEP, Greenpeace, World Wildlife Fund, Plastics, Industry, International Council of Chemical Associations, ExxonMobil, Solutions Company, AP Locations: NAIROBI, Kenya, Kenya's, Nairobi, Paris, Punta del Este, Uruguay, Norway, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Iran, China, Russia, United States, Baytown , Texas, Baytown, Providence , Rhode Island

☆ Why skinny soda cans are everywhere
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Drink manufacturers are aiming to distinguish their products on crowded shelves and save money on shipping and packaging with skinny cans, say analysts and drink makers. The can, presented at New York’s Fashion Week, had the tagline: “The New Skinny.” It was widely criticized as offensive and the National Eating Disorders Association said the company’s comments were both “thoughtless and irresponsible.”White Claw's skinny white cans have brought along copycats. Red Bull was one of the first brands to popularize slim cans, and White Claw saw success with its hard seltzer in thin white cans. skinny cans on store shelves, warehouse pallets and trucks than wider cans, said Dave Fedewa, a partner at McKinsey who consults for retail and consumer packaged goods companies. But the key, Fedewa said, is that skinny cans catch the eye: “It’s funny how much growth that can drive in retail.”

☆ Walmart bans single-use bags in more stores
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

New York CNN —Walmart will eliminate single-use paper and plastic carryout bags at the register from stores in New York, Connecticut and Colorado this month. The company previously stopped giving out single-use plastic bags in New York and Connecticut and in some areas in Colorado. Plastic-bag bans reduce the number of these bags in stores and encourage customers to bring reusable bags or pay a small fee for paper bags. In New Jersey, a ban on single-use plastic and paper bags has meant grocery delivery services have switched to heavy-duty bags. Reusable bags — cloth totes or thicker, more durable plastic bags — aren’t a perfect solution, either, unless they are actually reused.

☆ 6 climate wins from 2022 that are worth celebrating
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Paola Rosa-Aquino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Sweeping climate legislation passed, climate candidates won, and animals got important protections. Here are six of the year's highlights in climate progress, according to experts. But through it all, there was encouraging progress on climate that's worth celebrating. Peter B. de Menocal, president of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, told Insider that the event featured the first-ever Ocean Pavilion. "I want to invite other Indigenous communities in Ecuador and the world to join these collective fights happening in Amazonia," Lucitante previously told Insider.

☆ Adidas' former brand president says streetwear needs a 'Tesla-like moment' to move the industry beyond plastics. His startup now aims to accomplish what brands like Nike haven't.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Matthew Kish | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Liedtke recently cofounded Unless Collective, which makes plant-based streetwear. At end-of-life, a tag sewn inside each Unless Collective product gives directions on how to return it. The company's working with an industrial composter in California that can make "nutrient rich soil" out of the company's old hoodies and T-shirts. Instead of relying on factories in Asia, Unless Collective manufactures its jackets in Portugal, T-shirts in the Carolinas in the US, and hoodies in Los Angeles. In some cases Unless Collective is working to get a "minimum viable product" on the market in order to keep the company moving forward.

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