You have swapped your plastic bags and ditched the straws. But there is a source of pollution you cannot opt out of, and it’s happening on every road in Britain, every single day. Although we call them rubber, modern vehicle tyres are actually made from a complex blend of synthetic materials, chemicals and polymers. Every time a car pulls away from the lights, it leaves something behind; not just exhaust fumes, but thousands of microscopic plastic particles, shed from the tyr

In the United Kingdom, we purchase an estimated 7.7 billion bottles of water every year. This is partially due to the misconception that bottled water is cleaner and healthier than tap water. New technological developments have allowed scientists to detect and count miniscule plastic particles called nanoplastics in bottled water. These particles are absorbed when we drink water from plastic bottles and may impact our health. What are Nanoplastics? Nanoplastics are tiny plas

If your child has eaten food stored in plastic containers, he or she has almost certainly consumed hundreds of thousands of tiny plastic fragments. Whether you keep them in the fridge or at room temperature, plastic containers release microscopic particles into our food in huge quantities. To measure the quantity of microplastics and nanoplastics present in the food we eat, researchers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in the USA tested different plastic containers,

The substantial water and energy consumption of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) usage is acknowledged by many in the scientific community, yet public awareness of the ecological impact of AI usage is remarkably small. While certain social stigmas surround its usage - namely how it facilitates laziness or lack of creativity by the user - discussions around how AI damages the environment are rare outside of scientific debates. GenAI works by using large-scale machine

Take a look around on a busy day. Parks, offices, cars, backpacks. You'll spot them everywhere: plastic water bottles. They're convenient, sure, but that convenience comes with a cost we don't always see. Reducing plastic bottle use and choosing tap water instead is one of the simplest and most powerful changes we can make for both the planet and our health. Let's start with the environmental side. "Around 117,000 plastic bottles will have been used by the time you finish re

On 7 November, schools and young people worldwide came together for the Plastic Clever Schools International Day of Action to tackle plastic pollution through inspiring assemblies, expert talks and hands-on activities. It made a visible difference across schools and communities, showing how small changes can add up to big wins for our ocean and planet. Hundreds of schools from the UK to Indonesia took part in the Day of Action, stepping up to lead the way toward a plastic cle

Menstrual hygiene affects billions of people each month, with most relying on single-use plastic products like pads and tampons. However, have we considered what happens to plastic menstrual products when we dispose of them? The average person who menstruates uses around 11,000 menstrual products during their lifetime. That’s enough to almost fill a London city bus! However, the majority of these menstrual products are made of plastic , from the product itself to the packagi

“If you really believe in something you can make it happen and it’s okay to make it up as you go along.”* Back in 2016, Dan Webb thought...

The WWF-UK reports that in the UK alone we use between 2.5 billion and 5 billion disposable coffee cups every year. The UK government...

With 49 million tonnes of plastic consumed annually across Europe in packaging alone, our appetite for plastic grows ever more ravenous. ...

If you are thinking of heading out on your daily run, walk or hike, have a read of how the chemicals in your clothing could be affecting...

There can be no doubt that plastic places an enormous burden on our planet. Plastic pollution damages habitats and ecosystems, reducing their ability to adapt to climate change, putting people’s livelihoods and well-being at risk. Millions of animals and birds die from entanglement, or starvation after ingesting plastic debris. Microplastics , tiny plastic particles linked to serious health problems, have been found in various human organs, including the placenta of newborn b

E-cigarettes and their potentially harmful effects on aquatic plants. You may have smelt it before you’ve seen it, a new scourge of...

Half a million tons of plastic microfibres, found in many fast fashion clothing items, are being dumped into the ocean each year,...

You might want to broach the topic of plastic waste at work, discuss synthetic clothing fibres with a friend or talk astroturf with a neighbour. Either way it can be hard to get the conversation rolling in the first place, never mind managing your emotions throughout and ending on a positive note. But building up the courage to discuss environmental problems can have all sorts of positive outcomes. You can find common ground with people, exchange ideas and find support. Yo

Did you know that one pack of single-use menstrual pads contains the same amount of plastic as 5 carrier bags? When we consider that, on...

The wealthiest 10% of the world’s population are responsible for 50% of lifestyle-based carbon emissions. If they reduced their emissions...

The Situation In recent years, brands such as H&M and Primark have advertised their clothing ranges made from recycled bottles. Brands...

Tyres are the second largest source of ocean microplastics, and new research has identified them as the source of a lethal toxin that’s...

First created for large playing fields, artificial grass can now be found in a whole range of businesses, schools, public roof terraces and private gardens. With more people aspiring to minimal maintenance lawns, the astroturf market has seen a huge increase. In fact it’s projected to reach 7 billion pounds by 2025 . But is it a good idea to be laying plastic all over our towns and cities? Aside from the fact it looks a little odd, there are many reasons astroturf is best avo