The nurdle hunters: is combing UK beaches for tiny bits of plastic a waste of time?

Squatting in the strandline as a storm brewed on the horizon, I combed through the debris with tweezers. I spotted my first nurdle almost immediately. Covered in sand, the pale plastic pellet blended almost perfectly into the background. Next to me, a woman scraped the top layer of sand away and plopped it in a …

Australia news live: EU-style plastic tax could raise $1.5bn; Queensland braces for more storms

AAP is reporting that homes remain under threat from rising floodwaters despite no rain and warm weather predicted for Victoria. Watch and act alerts remain active for the Goulburn River from Seymour to Shepparton, as well as Bendigo and Bullock creeks downstream of Minto. Temperatures are predicted to reach the mid-to-high 30s across the state …

Northern Spain on alert as plastic pellets from cargo spill wash up on beaches

Officials in northern Spain have issued alerts after millions of tiny plastic pellets spilled by a cargo ship off Portugal last month washed up on beaches, raising fears of environmental damage and triggering a political row. Spanish state prosecutors have also launched an investigation after receiving information suggesting the non-biodegradable pellets could be toxic. The …

Reduce, reuse, refuse: tips to cut down plastic use in your kitchen

Cutting boards, non-stick pans, mixing bowls, even tea bags: in the kitchen, plastics can be hidden in plain sight. It’s something that Jessica Brinkworth, an anthropology professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, realized once she began looking for ways to cut down on plastic use in her own kitchen after her workplace started …

Tesco switches pocket tissue packaging to paper to cut plastic waste

Tesco is scrapping plastic packaging from its own-brand pocket tissues, in a move that the UK’s largest supermarket says will eliminate almost 35 tonnes of new soft plastic waste each year. It is the first big supermarket to make the change, which will result in the individual packaging and the wrapping around multipacks of Tesco …

US plastic bag recycling directory site taken down after ‘abysmal failure’

A national online recycling directory for plastic bags and films has been taken offline, six months after an investigation by ABC News found some materials were ending up in landfills, incinerators and other waste facilities. The directory previously directed users to some 18,000 store drop-off locations around the country where they could bring used plastic …

Unilever accused of breaking plastics pledge as sachet sales approach 53bn

Unilever is on track to sell 53bn non-reusable sachets containing anything from sauces to shampoo in 2023, breaking its commitment to switch away from single-use plastic, a report from Greenpeace has found. The global consumer goods group has committed to reducing its plastic footprint and has said it wants to create a “waste-free world”. Under …

Microplastics found in clouds could affect weather and global temperatures

Air, water, soil, food and even blood – microplastics have found their way virtually everywhere on Earth, and now that list includes clouds. Bits of plastic particles were recently discovered above eastern China, with new research showing that these microplastics could influence cloud formation and the weather. A group of scientists from Shandong University in …

‘We can’t carry on’: the godfather of microplastics on how to stop them

In September 1993, during a beach clean on the Isle of Man, Richard Thompson noticed thousands of multicoloured fragments at his feet, looking like sand. While his colleagues filled sacks with crisp packets, fishing rope, plastic bags and bottles, Thompson became transfixed by the particles. They were so tiny that they did not fit any …

Countries meet in Kenya to thrash out global plastic pollution treaty

Government delegations will gather in Nairobi, Kenya, to hammer out details of what could be the first global treaty to tackle the plastic pollution crisis. A key focus for the discussions on Monday will be whether targets to restrict plastic production should be decided unilaterally or whether states should choose their own targets; this is, …