The millions of tons of plastic swirling around the world’s oceans have garnered a lot of media attention recently. But plastic pollution arguably poses a bigger threat to the plants and animals – including humans – who are based on land.
Assessing the sustainability of plastics requires both holistic and historic perspective, as well as the consideration of environmental, economic, and societal impacts of alternatives to, or avoidance of, plastics as a commonplace material in human society
How can plastic be part of a sustainable future?
Did you know that around 8.3 billion tons of plastic have been created by humans since the 1950s and of that plastic waste only 9% has been recycled? This has created a huge, nearly ubiquitous, plastic problem for our planet. There is ever-growing plastic pollution in our oceans because of the excessive plastic use. Now governments are trying to fix it. Will they succeed? Watch to find out more.
Plastics are part of our daily life and we can find them almost everywhere. Petroleum is the main raw material for the manufacture of plastics but they can also be produced from other raw materials. Despite its advantages, it causes environmental impacts that must be reduced. In this vídeo, we will talk about the history, formation, applications, and environmental impacts of plastics.
Explore the possibility of plastivores— organisms that can eat and break down plastic— helping reduce the plastic waste on Earth.
The climate impact of plastic pollution is negligible – the production of new plastics is the real problem.
Can plastics become more sustainable? An Economist Impact webinar discussed how the plastics sector is transforming itself in order to cut both waste and greenhouse-gas emissions.
The report focuses on actions to reduce, reuse, collect, and capture plastic waste.
New and innovative approaches are necessary to reduce and recover plastic materials and improve economic, social, and environmental impacts.
