Plastic has a big carbon footprint, accounting for 3.8% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Made of oil, gas, and coal, plastic generates heat-trapping gases at every stage of their life cycle. The extraction and transportation of fuels, refining, and manufacturing are greenhouse-gas intensive. Plastic even emits traces of methane and ethylene when exposed to sunlight, and incineration releases all the stored carbon in the plastic into the atmosphere, along with other air pollutants.
And because plastic doesn’t decay, it doesn’t ever stop polluting. Humans have made 8.3bn tons of plastic since 1950, and to complicate the situation further, the vast majority of plastic is not actually getting recycled. A profound amount is ending up in the ocean, with an estimated 8 million metric tons of plastics entering the ocean yearly. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, located between Hawaii and California, is the largest accumulation of ocean plastic in the world. And, a recent study on microplastic pollution in oceans has found that the problem has been grossly underestimated.
In 2019, a study published in Nature found that the amount of plastic could triple in 2060 if we do nothing about it. Find a Plastic Footprint calculator here and 15 ways to shrink your footprint here.
In May 2022, a report “The Real Truth About the U.S. Plastic Recycling Rate” documented a recycling rate of 5-6% for post-consumer plastic waste in the U.S. for 2021. The per capita generation of platic waste has increased by 263% since 1980, the report said.
Join the reuse revolution here and learn about 10 simple steps you can take to move closer to zero waste.
By James Bruggers Photo: James Bruggers
The bales, bundles and bins of plastic waste are stacked 10 feet high in a shiny new warehouse that rises from a grassy field near a town known for its bright yellow smiley-face water tower.…
Photo: Mark Dixon/Flickr
Plastic pollution is one of the biggest environmental threats to this planet, and according to a report by the advocacy group Beyond Plastics, greenhouse gas emissions from plastic production in the United States are on…
By Brooke Bauman
In 2015, Texas A&M graduate student Christine Figgener recorded a video of her colleagues removing a straw lodged in a turtle’s nostril. The video went viral, inspiring people to take action. Since then, “skip the…
By Mary McDonald
Here’s a trick question. Can #1 plastics — otherwise known as PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastics — go in the recycling bin? Bet you thought the answer was yes. That’s only half right. It’s a trick…
When it comes to the war on plastic, we aren’t even close to winning it. In the absence of significant intervention, demand for plastic is set to surge over the coming decades. Not only will…
By Mark Gillispie Photo: Jeff Dean, AP Photo
In a world increasingly troubled by the persistent harm that plastic — manufactured in petrochemical plants — has had on the environment, companies are investing billions of dollars to ramp up production of plastics made…
By Mark Schapiro Photo: Julie Dermansky
The flares started last December, an event Errol Summerlin, a former legal-aid lawyer, and his neighbors had been bracing for since 2017. After the flames, nipping at the night sky like lashes from a heavenly…
By Jamie Hailstone Photo: Justin Sullivan , Getty images
The global packaging company Amcor has joined forces with the Minderoo Foundation for the Sea the Future project, which plans to build a worldwide network of sorting and recycling plants.
By Laura Parker Photo: Hannah Whitaker
The United States creates more plastic trash than any other country and ranks third among coastal nations for contributing litter, illegally dumped trash, and other mismanaged waste to its beaches. Yet, even with such an…
By Winston Choi-Schagrin Photo: Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press
The landmark legislation also restricts single-use plastics. Because California’s economy is so big, experts say, the law could have far-reaching effects.
By Susanne Rust Photo: Jacqueline Martin
The legislation heads off a November ballot measure that many lawmakers and the plastics industry hoped to avoid, and it puts California at the forefront of national efforts to eliminate polystyrene and other plastics that…
By Adela Suliman Photo: Mukhina1 , Getty Images
Canada will ban the manufacture and importation of “harmful” single-use plastics by the end of the year, the government said, in a sweeping effort to fight pollution and climate change.
09/07/22
Beyond Plastics is a nationwide project based at Bennington College in Bennington, Vermont, that pairs the wisdom and experience of environmental policy experts with the energy and creativity of college students to build a vibrant…
05/02/22
The plastic pollution crisis that overwhelms our oceans is also a significant and growing threat to the Earth’s climate. At current levels, greenhouse gas emissions from the plastic lifecycle threaten the ability of the global…
02/23/22
Plastics have become an everyday part of our lives, including the many unintended consequences of plastic production, use, and disposal. Chemicals added to plastics – to make them stronger, more flexible, or UV resistant –…
02/01/22
Plastic pollution and climate change have commonly been treated as two separate issues and sometimes are even seen as competing. Here we present an alternative view that these two issues are fundamentally linked. Primarily, we…
09/20/21
The use of plastic is one of the conveniences of modern life, but in recent years microplastic contamination has become an emerging global concern. Microplastics ––plastic particles measuring less than 5mm ––are everywhere ––from the…
02/12/21
The ubiquity of microplastics in the global biosphere raises increasing concerns about their implications for human health. Recent evidence indicates that humans constantly inhale and ingest microplastics; however, whether these contaminants pose a substantial risk…
12/15/20
Plastics contain and leach hazardous chemicals, including endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) that threaten human health. An authoritative new report, Plastics, EDCs, & Health, from the Endocrine Society and the IPEN (International Pollutants Elimination Network), presents a…
10/01/20
First-of-its-kind modeling analysis describes actions needed to stop plastic from entering the ocean.
03/28/20
New state and local laws permanently banning plastic bags will attempt to force a habit change among local consumers and retailers. According to Forbes, nearly 350 cities in 25 states now require the use of…
03/06/20
The impact of plastic pollution on our oceans and what we can do about it.
03/02/20
MacRebur’s mission is to help solve the waste plastic epidemic and the poor quality of roads we drive on around the world today. Our innovative solution involves processing waste plastics destined for landfill or incineration…
02/22/20
If you are wondering what your yearly plastic consumption is, check out the plastic footprint calculator
02/13/20
The distribution and abundance of microplastics into the world are so extensive that many scientists use them as key indicators of the recent and contemporary period defining a new historical epoch: The Plasticene. However, the…
11/30/19
In a setback for environmental groups, California lawmakers early Saturday morning ended the 2019 legislative session without passing two bills that would have been the most ambitious effort in the nation to reduce the massive…
11/30/19
Resources, education, and solutions all about plastic.
11/27/19
They generate heat-trapping gases at every stage of their life cycle.
11/27/19
The first plastic material, Bakelite, was invented in 1907. It made its way into everything you can imagine: telephones, chess pieces, Chanel jewelry, and electric guitars.
11/14/19
Parley for the Oceans addresses major threats towards our oceans, the most important ecosystem of our planet. We believe the power for change lies in the hands of the consumer – given we all have a…
02/01/19
Despite being one of the most pervasive materials on the planet, plastic and its impact on human health is poorly understood. Human exposure to it grows with increasing plastic production and use. Research into the…
12/01/11
Plastic, one of the most preferred materials in today's industrial world is posing serious threat to environment and consumer's health in many direct and indirect ways. Exposure to harmful chemicals during manufacturing, leaching in the…
By Joseph Winters Photo: David Tipling , Getty Images 06/09/22
In January, a poll commissioned by the ocean conservation nonprofit Oceana showed that 82 percent of Americans would support a ban on the sale and distribution of single-use plastics by the National Park Service. Now,…
By Kevin Hurler Photo: Alex Aves 06/08/22
Microplastics continue to infiltrate even the most remote parts of Earth. New research has identified tiny bits of plastic in the continent’s snowfall, likely arriving there from local sources, according to the team. These particles…
By Erin Doherty Photo: Basri Marzuki , Getty Images 06/03/22
Driving the news: About half of the plastic waste produced globally is expected to end up in a landfill and less than a fifth is expected to be recycled, OECD found. Plus, plastic consumption is…
By Judith Enck and Jan Dell Photo: Katie Martin / The Atlantic; Getty 05/30/22
If the plastics industry is following the tobacco industry’s playbook, it may never admit to the failure of plastics recycling.
By Joseph Winters Photo: Drew Angerer , Getty Images 05/26/22
Two bills introduced in the New York state assembly this month would place far-reaching requirements on plastic manufacturers, mandating that they pay for waste management and dramatically increase recycling rates, among other things.
By Amber Allott 05/18/22
The new study by a Canterbury scientist found about ten times more tiny pieces of plastic in the air of New Zealand homes than outdoors. The source of the airborne microplastics was mainly tiny fibres…
By Annie Roth Photo: Ben Lecomte 05/06/22
Researchers found that small sea creatures exist in equal number with pieces of plastic in parts of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which could have implications for cleaning up ocean pollution.
By Alejandro De La Garza Photo: Torrance Daily Breeze , Getty Images 05/05/22
few weeks ago, my friend Brett Pogostin showed me a photograph of his girlfriend, Angie, taken on Padre Island National Seashore on the Texas Gulf Coast. They had driven 200 miles from Houston to visit…
By James Bruggers 04/30/22
The oil and gas industry has a new battle to fight with California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s first-of-its-kind investigation into their role in the global plastics crisis—and it looks a lot like one they’ve been…
By Andrea Michelson Photo: Mehdi Fedouach/AFP via Getty Images 04/30/22
Scientists are certain that humans around the world are ingesting tiny pieces of plastic on a regular basis. Now, they are seeking to understand how the wide distribution of microplastics affects human health and the…
04/30/22
Scientists from the Netherlands and the U.K. recently identified microplastics deep in the lungs of some surgical patients and in the blood of anonymous donors. Researchers say that it's possible to take in these particles…
04/30/22
Scientists from the Netherlands and the U.K. recently identified microplastics deep in the lungs of some surgical patients and in the blood of anonymous donors. Researchers say that it's possible to take in these particles…
By Valerie Volcovici Photo: Reuters/Sergio Moraes 04/29/22
California's attorney general announced on Thursday he issued a subpoena to ExxonMobil (XOM.N) for information on its role in causing the global plastic waste crisis.
By Laura Parker Photo: Alexander Stein, Getty Images 04/26/22
A few years ago, as microplastics began turning up in the guts of fish and shellfish, the concern was focused on the safety of seafood. Shellfish were a particular worry, because in their case, unlike…
By Karen Shapiro and Emma Zhang Photo: Yunaidi Joepoet/Moment via Getty Images 04/26/22
Typically when people hear about plastic pollution, they might envision seabirds with bellies full of trash or sea turtles with plastic straws in their noses. However, plastic pollution poses another threat that’s invisible to the…
By Evan Bush Photo: Pcess609 / Getty Images 04/11/22
Few places on Earth — or in our bodies — seem to be free of microplastics. Researchers in recent months have announced the discovery of microplastics traveling in the bloodstream of a handful of anonymous…
04/06/22
It's well known plastics are harmful to the environment, but this isn't the only thing plastics are impacting, according to the World Economic Forum. They can also be harmful to your health.
By Damian Carrington Photo: David Kelly 04/06/22
Samples were taken from tissue removed from 13 patients undergoing surgery and microplastics were found in 11 cases. The most common particles were polypropylene, used in plastic packaging and pipes, and PET, used in bottles.…
By Erika Veidis and Jamie Hansen Photo: Ben Curtis/AP 04/02/22
An emerging domain of research shows that plastic consumption and pollution harms human health — particularly for the world’s lower-income communities.
By Damian Carrington Photo: David Kelly 03/24/22
Microplastic pollution has been detected in human blood for the first time, with scientists finding the tiny particles in almost 80% of the people tested. The discovery shows the particles can travel around the body…
By Roya Sabri 03/22/22
At this year’s Consumer Technology Association conference, Samsung — maker of phones, laptops, refrigerators and more — announced a lineup of sustainability initiatives for its home appliances. Among the initiatives was a collaboration with outdoor…
By Julie Dermansky Photo: Julie Dermansky 01/27/22
“Pledging to make your operations ‘net zero’ when your entire raison d’etre is to continue producing the fossil fuels destroying the livable world: this is like pledging to become more energy-efficient when your business is…
By Charlotte Edmond Photo: Reuters/Hemanshi Kamani 01/19/22
From bags caught in hedgerows to bottles bobbing in the ocean, the visible signs of our single-use plastic addiction are everywhere. We all know that plastic pollution is a big problem. But what is less…
By Charlotte Edmond Photo: Hemanshi Kamani, Reuters 01/19/22
From bags caught in hedgerows to bottles bobbing in the ocean, the visible signs of our single-use plastic addiction are everywhere. We all know that plastic pollution is a big problem. But what is less…
By Brian Bienkowski 01/14/22
About 82% of U.S. voters support stopping the sale of single-use plastics at national parks, according to a poll released today by the non-profit Oceana. U.S. national parks average 33 million visitors and nearly 70…
By Justin Bernstein 01/13/22
U.S. efforts to reclaim its climate change leadership, as demonstrated at COP26 in Glasgow, will be undermined if the country does not also step up and accelerate action on reducing plastic waste. Plastic is packing…
By Rebecca Altman Photo: Matthew Porter 01/03/22
This is hardly the time to talk about plastics is what I think when Dad, hovering over the waste bin at a post-funeral potluck, waves me over, his gesture discreet but emphatic. He has retrieved…
By Julie Dermansky Photo: Julie Dermansky 12/20/21
“The normal flare plus the BBQ is on,” Elida Castillo, the program director of Chispa Texas, an environmental advocacy group, wrote to me in a text on December 6. It was an update about a…
By Damian Carrington Photo: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images 12/08/21
Microplastics cause damage to human cells in the laboratory at the levels known to be eaten by people via their food, a study has found. The harm included cell death and allergic reactions and the…
By Nina Tsydenovapawan Patil Photo: Shutterstock.com 11/09/21
What is the link between plastics and hurricanes Sandy and Katrina in the United States, melting glaciers in Antarctica, summer heat waves and erosion of coastal areas in Australia, and other natural disasters hitting us…
By Winston Choi-Schagrin Photo: Leon Werdinger/Alamy 07/21/21
Recycling, that feel-good moment when people put their paper and plastic in special bins, was a headache for municipal governments even in good times. And, only a small amount was actually getting recycled.
By Katherine Martinko Photo by Florian Roden 03/03/21
A coalition of prominent environmental groups hopes that the new United States president will take serious action on curbing plastic production. While plastic serves a purpose in certain situations (like medical procedures, food handling, high-tech…
By Nina Azzarello 12/03/20
The coca-cola company, PepsiCo and nestlé have been ranked as the world’s top plastic polluters for the 3rd consecutive year according to the report ‘branded vol III: demanding corporate accountability for plastic pollution’ published by…
By Katherine Allison Photo by Getty Images 10/13/20
It is estimated that the harm plastic production pushes onto the environment costs at least $40 billion a year, including polluted air, water and land.
By Peter Dykstra 09/25/20
It's always a challenge to find good news on the climate and environment beat. And we all desperately need a little more of the upbeat stuff right now. So I apologize in advance for the…
By Lloyd Alter 09/15/20
The American Chemistry Council (ACC) has long been a bête noire of Treehugger, ever since they tried to get the LEED green building certification system banned because it tried to limit the use of plastics…
By Zulie Rane Photo by Anna Shvets 09/14/20
This launched the $50-million-a-year campaign to rebrand plastic. The 1980s and 1990s featured heartwarming, sweet videos with kids talking about how plastic wasn’t trash — it was full of possibility! Plastic executives were photographed grinning…
By Laura Sullivan Photo: Laura Sullivan , npr 09/11/20
Laura Leebrick, a manager at Rogue Disposal & Recycling in southern Oregon, is standing on the end of its landfill watching an avalanche of plastic trash pour out of a semitrailer: containers, bags, packaging, strawberry…
By Jim Robbins Photo by Martin Bernetti 08/31/20
Bioplastics are being touted by industry marketers as the solution to plastics pollution. But the idea that bottles and packaging made of plant-based material can simply be discarded and then break down and disappear is…
By Hiroko Tabuchi, Michael Corkery and Carlos Mureithi Photo: Khadija M. Farah for The New York Times 08/30/20
Confronting a climate crisis that threatens the fossil fuel industry, oil companies are racing to make more plastic. But they face two problems: Many markets are already awash with plastic, and few countries are willing…
By Matt Simon Photo by Getty Images 08/18/20
Scientists calculate that the top 200 meters of ocean alone contains up to 21 million metric tons of plastic. And that wasn't even counting microfibers.
By Tim Radford Photo: Antoine GIRET on Unsplash 07/30/20
In a throwaway world, some discards are forever. New research measures the crisis of the world’s waste plastic.
By Joe Bagliere 07/05/20
Unlike dance battles and dangerous dares, here's a "challenge" just about anyone can get behind. The Australia-based Plastic Free Foundation is once again recruiting participants to take the Plastic Free July challenge -- that is…
By Kate S. Petersen Photo by Brian Bienkowski 06/12/20
The study is the first to calculate rates of microplastic pollution from the atmosphere onto American protected areas and adds to a growing body of research suggesting that microplastics are traveling long distances in the…
By Damian Carrington Photo: Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP via Getty Images 05/22/20
The abundance of microplastic pollution in the oceans is likely to have been vastly underestimated, according to research that suggests there are at least double the...
By Jillian Ambrose Photo by Diego Azubel 05/16/20
Beer and soft drinks could soon be sipped from “all-plant” bottles under new plans to turn sustainably grown crops into plastic in partnership with major beverage makers.
By Hugo Kugiya Photo: Sandy Huffaker for The Washington Post) 05/13/20
FRED, a solar-powered catamaran built by the organization Clear Blue Sea, retrieves marked water bottles during a test run in Mission Bay in San Diego. (Sandy Huffaker for The Washington Post)
By Rob Picheta Photo: Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty 05/04/20
All of the defining images of the coronavirus pandemic seem to feature one thing: plastic.
By Matt simon Photo by Juan Carlos Munoz 04/30/20
OFF THE COASTS of Corsica and Sardinia in the Mediterranean Sea swirls an omnipresent yet vanishingly small menace: microplastics. By this point, it comes as no surprise to scientists that they would find the tiny…
By Nikolia Apostolou Photo: Vincenzo Lombardo / Getty Images 04/25/20
By Nikolia ApostolouOver a month into the lockdown and the usually bustling streets of Kalamata, a Greek city southwest of Athens traditionally known for its olives,...
