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Considered one of the greatest environmental risks to health, air pollution is laden with fine particulate matter that causes cardiovascular and respiratory disease, cancers, and substantial mortality. Cleaning up our air demands concerted action by local, national, and international level policy makers.  A 2023 briefing  from the United Kingdom Without Incineration Network (UKWIN) examined claims and assumptions about the health impacts of ‘Energy from Waste’ incinerators, in particular...

“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 that plastic pollution happened in other parts of the world, not at home in the UK. But when he moved out of London to the coast, he was really shocked to see how much plastic pollution there was on the beaches, and decided to do something about it. Inspiration He started to realise just how much packaging there was, the amount that he was bringing home and...

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 clever future. Their...

PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are a large and diverse group of synthetic chemicals that have been widely used for decades. They are found in many everyday products, including water-repellent clothing, food packaging, furniture, and nonstick cookware. These chemicals do not break down in the environment, and once released, they can bioaccumulate for years or even decades, contaminating soil, water, and wildlife for generations unless active measures are taken to remove or contain...

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill  will reach the report stage in the House of Lords on 24th February.  Every day, an estimated 3 million cigarette filters are littered in the UK. This means that since the first reading of the Bill in parliament on the 20th March 2024, approximately 1.8 billion cigarette filters have been dropped onto UK streets and into waterways. With this bill the UK government could reduce plastic pollution and improve public health by answering the call from researchers and...

Cigarettes are among the most littere d items worldwide with an estimated 4.5 trillion cigarette filters entering the environment every year. Cigarettes also make up around two thirds of all litter found in England across 80% of surveyed sites . Despite the prevalence of cigarettes discarded in the environment, filters have rarely been tackled as a source of plastic in efforts to reduce this environmental waste. So why should we be concerned about cigarette filters? Cigarette filters are...

The Coca-Cola Company  is a multinational beverage corporation. In 2022, Coca-Cola produced 134 billion single-use plastic bottles  and were responsible for around one in five of the world’s PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) plastic bottles. It is the top plastic producing company in the world, with a plastic footprint of   3.45 million tonnes , estimated to increase to 4.13 tons by 2030.  Since 2018, Break Free From Plastic  (BFFP) member organizations and supporters have contributed to a...

For a long time, the fossil fuel industry has been pushing the narrative that it is the fault of consumers that there is so much plastic pollution.  They have said that the public is not recycling enough.  They blame developing countries for the pollution that ends up in the sea.  With the fall in revenue from fossil energy, the industry ramped up plastic production to mitigate its losses and focused on single use products to maximise turnover.  They turned a blind eye to what happens after...

In March 2022, the United Nations Environment Assembly committed to addressing the ever-growing threat of plastic pollution and established the Global Plastics Treaty. The treaty aims to regulate the full lifecycle of plastic from production to disposal. This includes regulation of the most harmful marine plastic pollution: Abandoned, Lost, or Discarded Fishing and aquaculture Gear (ALDFG).  It is estimated that over 11000 tonnes of ALDFG enters European seas annually, the majority of which...

The United Nations is currently tackling a global crisis: ghost gear .  Ghost gear is plastic fishing or aquaculture gear that is abandoned, lost or discarded and it is the most damaging source of marine pollution in the ocean . Why ghost gear is so harmful  Every year, 2% of ghost gear ends up in the ocean due to extreme weather, tangled on the seabed or simply thrown away. Ghost gear does more than just pollute; it harms protected or endangered marine life, it damages the livelihoods of...

We have normalised plastic. We wrap food in it, we drink from it, it sits in every supply chain. Yet the numbers are astonishing. Production has jumped from two million tonnes in 1950 to four hundred and seventy five million tonnes today. Without intervention the world is on track to pass one point two billion tonnes by 2060. Almost all plastic begins as fossil carbon. This links plastic to climate at the root. And less than ten per cent is recycled. The rest accumulates in soil, rivers,...

Plastic pollutes our land and our oceans, disturbing wildlife and ecosystems. Microplastics have been found throughout the human body and have unknown health effects. Almost all plastics are produced from chemicals sourced from fossil fuels, with production contributing to climate change. Worryingly, plastic production is growing exponentially , approximately doubling every decade. Much of this is single-use plastic.  Corporate Responsibility Profit-driven corporations are largely responsible...

As the sun sets in Africa, 600 million people do not have a light to turn on. Despite having 60 percent of the world’s best solar resources, and over 30 percent of the essential minerals required for the world’s renewable technologies, the continent has received less than two percent of global renewable investment. Energy is the key to African development, but the expansion of renewables goes beyond reliable energy as it is indispensable for both climate resilience, and the fight against...

From bread bags to bubble wrap, crisp packets to cling film, we are still heavily reliant on soft plastic packaging despite the damage it does to the planet after use.  Recycling has been shown to be largely ineffective . We need to reduce our reliance on soft plastics in the first place and encourage reusable packaging. The Role of Supermarkets Despite promising to phase out  soft plastics, UK supermarkets have been failing to meet their own targets on reducing soft plastic usage. To date...

Since the start of the industrial revolution in the mid-1700s, fossil fuels have played a pivotal role in the expansion of our economies. The Western world has developed off the back of carbon intensive non-renewable resources, yet the consequences of these actions are becoming increasingly evident, and it is the poor who are set to pay the disproportionate price. Our warming climate is unequivocally linked to our preceding and continued use of fossil fuels, and the evidence that links our...

Imagine this: you're carefully preparing your baby's meal or drink, ensuring healthy ingredi ents with little to no salt or sugar, and every utensil sterilised. Yet, unbeknownst to you, the very container you're using might be leaching billions of microscopic plastic particles into your child's food. It's not a dystopian fiction; it's the unsettling reality revealed by a study from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Researchers discovered that microwaving plastic baby food containers can...

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 packaging it comes in....

As consumers, we often view the market through a “what’s inside” lens. The delicious pastry in its bag, moisturizing cream in its tub or brand-new clothes wrapped in plastic. But what about the outside? These discarded layers might not feel like our choice, yet they quietly become a part of our daily lives, and our growing waste problem.  Packaging waste has been rising over the past decade and in response, the EU launched its European Strategy for Plastics in a Circular Economy  in 2018. ...

Ben Addelman and Ziya Tong’s Plastic People exposes the problems presented by plastic production and pollution in the world today. Fortunately, there is a glimmer of hope. Some solutions are afloat  in this time of crisis. Rick Smith ( Slow Death by Rubber Duck ) is confident that society can solve pollution problems . Previous generations were exposed to pollutants that ceased to exist once the health costs became clear. Banning certain chemicals improved population health. But can we do...

As shown in Ben Addelman and Ziya Tong’s Plastic People, national and community-scale decisions and  bans on plastics can be effective. In Rwanda, Juliet Kabera*, Director General of the Rwanda Environment Management Authority, discusses their 2004 nation-wide implementation of an effective plastic carrier bag ban. This was followed by a law against polythene bags in 2008. The next step is curtailing use of other single-use plastic items  including straws, plates and cutlery.  The issue with...