New research finds an estimated 27 million tons of nanoplastics in the North Atlantic, raising concerns for marine ecosystems and human health. Plastic pollution in the ocean has long been a visible crisis, with images of bags, bottles, and nets entangling marine life. But new research reveals that the most widespread form of plastic pollution…
Bio-based materials may pose a greater health risk to some of the planet’s most important species than the conventional plastics they are designed to replace, a new study has shown. Such materials are increasingly being advocated as environmentally friendly alternatives to plastics, and used in textiles and products including clothing, wet wipes and period products….
The world’s tallest building made with industrial hemp has officially opened, marking this as a defining step toward an environmentally sustainable future in the City of Cape Town. The wall of the 12-floor, 54-room Hemp Hotel comprises hempcrete blocks sourced from the cannabis plant and reinforced by concrete. According to Bizcommunity, hemp bricks are known…
As part of a government effort to encourage the use of more environmentally friendly building materials, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded a nearly $6.2 million grant to a nonprofit that works with hempcrete, a concrete-like material that’s made with hemp. The Nashville-based Hemp Building Institute, which works with entities that manufacture and…
A forthcoming report from the Ohio River Valley Institute shows that chemical recycling projects are unlikely to generate local economic benefits or curtail global plastic pollution. The report, “Chemical Recycling: A False Promise for the Ohio River Valley” explores the unproven mechanics of energy-demanding, waste-intensive chemical recycling processes and the market hurdles likely to inhibit…
f you were to create a recipe for plastics, you’d need a very big cookbook. In addition to fossil fuel-based building blocks like ethylene and propylene, this ubiquitous material is made from a dizzying amalgam of more than 16,000 chemicals — colorants, flame retardants, stabilizers, lubricants, plasticizers, and other substances, many of whose exact functions,…
https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/new-report-makes-the-case-for-legal-action-over-the-fraud-of-plastic-recycling