U.K. bans plastic microbeads in effort to protect marine life
Manufacturing ban means the tiny beads which harm marine life can no longer be used in cosmetics and personal care products
Plastic pollution
China institutes unprecedented ban on the import of plastic waste
China’s “National Sword” policy banned the import of most plastics and other materials headed for that nation’s recycling processors, which had handled nearly half of the world’s recyclable waste. The move was an effort to halt a deluge of soiled and contaminated materials that was overwhelming Chinese processing facilities and causing environmental havoc. Within one year, China’s plastics imports plummeted by 99%, leading to a major global shift in where and how materials are being processed and incentivizing less wasteful behavior around the world.
U.K. to devote foreign aid money to fighting plastic pollution
In a major win in the battle to turn the tide on plastic, British Prime Minister Theresa May has confirmed that the United Kingdom’s foreign aid budget will be used to fight plastic pollution in the developing world.
Over 150 organisations back call to ban oxo-degradable plastic packaging
Oxo-degradable plastics are being produced and sold in many countries, with society being led to believe they safely biodegrade in nature
Australian state of Victoria to ban single use plastic bags
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has announced the government will ban single use plastic bags “as quickly as we can”.
London’s first plastic-free store now open
The products are brandless, instead of hiding behind the familiar brand names and packaging we all know and recognise in the supermarkets.
Kenya becomes latest African nation to ban plastic bags
Cameroon, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Mauritania and Malawi are among the countries that have adopted or announced such bans.
Cameroon fights pollution by turning used plastic into jobs
Officials say the recycled slabs have already been used by the Yaounde city council for various projects and by the National Olympic sport committee in the construction of the national handball field.
Supermarkets in U.K. urged to create plastic-free aisle in every store
Environmental activist organisation A Plastic Planet will lobby Britain’s major supermarkets in the coming weeks to urge them to offer food packaged only in biodegradable materials.
India’s capital Delhi just banned all disposable plastics
“The National Capital Territory of Delhi shall take appropriate steps against storage, sale, and use of such plastic material at the above-mentioned places and it shall stand prohibited with effect from January 1, 2017,”