After INC-4, only one meeting is left to agree a global treaty to limit plastics pollution. With festering disagreements surrounding a cap on plastic production, success is far from assured.

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Single Use Plastics Directive Implementation Assessment Report Focus on Extended Producer Responsibility schemes on tobacco-related products

Two drafts - blog needs finalising.

It's been over three years since scientists first found microplastics swimming in four different human placentas, and as it turns out, that was just the tip of the iceberg.

Companies knew for decades recycling was not viable but promoted it regardless, Center for Climate Integrity study finds. Guardian 15 Feb 24

Launch and Panel Discussion to be summarised in preparation for Global Plastics Treaty.

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Europeans are exposed to alarmingly high levels of harmful chemicals and pesticides that also harm ecosystems, soil, air, and water. But promises to tackle these substances via the Green Deal are being shelved.

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Please share the briefing (and press release) with fellow campaigners and with local media contacts.

Today, BEUC and member organisations* from 13 countries have reported to EU authorities misleading commercial claims about the recyclability of their products by major drinking water bottle traders, such as Coca-Cola, Danone and Nestlé Waters/Nestlé.

A blueprint for setting up and running a successful returnable cup scheme.

Today, the #BreakFreeFromPlastic movement, Rethink Plastic alliance, Environmental Investigation Agency, Eko, and WeMove have published the results of their joint petition urging the European Union to ban plastic waste exports to both non-OECD and OECD countries.

The Story of Stuff Project has released a new report Bring Back Refill: Calling on Coca-Cola, the Beverage Industry and Policymakers to Bring Reusable Beverage Bottles Back to the US.

Glass packaging plays a crucial role in the ongoing transition towards sustainable packaging systems. Reusable glass bottles produce 75% fewer carbon emissions than single-use PET bottles and 57% fewer than aluminium cans. Glass also makes for a safe choice for food and beverage packaging.

Report: Leaky loop “recycling”: A technical correction on the quality of pyrolysis oil made from plastic waste

OPINION: Simpler, but not necessarily better. Peter Jones, principle consultant at Eunomia, shares his thoughts on the government’s “rather scaled back” Simpler Recycling announcement.

The plastic pollution crisis is the result of a broken system of overproduction and single-use, linear business models. We think it's about time this changed - and retailers have a big part to play.

The film was recently released and is a rallying point for the movement to convince the US EPA to ban vinyl chloride.

An extensive database and resource library focused on plastic legislation that has been passed around the world.

Food waste and plastic waste are two major economic,environmental and social challenges facing Europe

Rather than racing to extract natural gas, those who caused the climate crisis should help Africa harness its wind and sun

Experts say even if it claims to be “microwave-safe.”

Workout wear made from synthetic fabric is treated with chemicals, which research shows, can absorb through our skin

Some interesting thoughts about Glass and the DRS

Latest on Scotland's DRS. The following six topics give an overview of DRS AND EPR. A priority topic . Let Mark know if you want to collaborate on this.

Thread about DRS in Scotland

The Scottish Government has confirmed that it will be introducing a deposit return scheme to Scotland, as planned on 16th August 2023, counteracting recent calls to delay the scheme again.

We are reiterating our call for a comprehensive Deposit Return Scheme that covers all materials...

Links from Litternet.org.uk

Sabotage' claims over whisky industry lobbying of Scottish Government

Manufacturers will become responsible for the full cost of disposing of the packaging waste they create.

A report on the circularity of single-use glass packaging,

Take action in your community with this Climate Adaptation Toolkit

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Chemical recycling, also known as advanced or tertiary recycling, is a group of processes that uses heat, pressure, and/or chemical solvents to break plastic waste into its basic building blocks, which can then be remade into new plastic.

6 demands for a health-first reform of Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH)

Plastics recycling & 'chemical' recycling. All about Syngas. Would be useful to compare with existing chemical recycling processes.

Plastic credits can help fund waste cleanup, but they can also justify making more plastic.

False solutions: how the forces of Big Plastic seek to undermine our progress towards a plastic pollution free planet.

A study into what makes a financially viable
reusable packaging system

Ahead of the global plastics treaty negotiations in Paris, Defend Our Health Releases First-Ever Study that Reveals the Hard Truths Behind Plastic Bottles - May 2023

Ahead of a groundbreaking treaty to reduce plastic pollution, a group of independent scientists fear that the United Nations is legitimizing industry-backed proposals such as chemical recycling. ProPublica 19 Sep 2023

Implications for Human Health The results indicated that microwave heating caused the highest release of microplastics and nanoplastics into food

In some places, recycling may work; in others, it may not. Plastic must not be exported from places where plastic recycling works better to places where recycling largely does not work.

The problem with recycling? One word: Plastics
No matter how well we sort, much of what we throw away cannot be reused.

How recycling is killing the planet

By taking the guilt out of consumption, it undermines effort to cut back on waste.

In the ongoing negotiations of the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, the realities of disposable paper-based food packaging should not be ignored.

Without dramatically reducing plastic production, it will be impossible to end plastic pollution and eliminate the health threats from chemicals in plastics.

Have you ever wondered what happens to all the soft plastic you diligently collect at home and drop off at the supermarket? Do you know if it *actually* gets recycled?

A study finds one plastics recycling plant in the U.K. produces as much as 3 million pounds of microplastics a year—and that’s with filtering.

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More than 2.5 million kilograms of trash were picked up and disposed of properly by volunteers in coastal regions around the world in 2021, according to Ocean Conservancy.

Research needed to identify decision makers about water bottle sponsorship.

I get it that many environmentalists are instinctively against incineration plants. After all, isn't it very inefficient/wasteful to burn stuff? But what is the alternative?

Compare the Swiss approach to Plastics with that of the UK

New report calls for at least 75% reduction of plastics by 2050, reveals dire connection between plastic and climate

Second round of Global Plastics Treaty negotiations (INC2) is happening in Paris, France on May 29 to June 2, 2023.

Delegates from 180 nations set out pathway to binding global agreement on tackling plastic pollution as soon as 2025 - Guardian 6 June 2023

In preparation for the second session of the intergovernmental negotiating committee (INC-2), the Global Plastics Policy Centre, in collaboration with Break Free From Plastic, present this report to aid the negotiations.

Understanding the toxicity of plastic and ways to take action

Analyses the implications of micro- and nanoplastics moving through the air and entering the human body via inhalation.

They both release and attract toxic chemicals, and appear everywhere from human placentas to chasms thirty-six thousand feet beneath the sea. Will we ever be rid of them? Elizabeth Kolbert - New Yorker 26 June 2023

Plastic pollution is one of the defining legacies of our modern way of life, but it is now so widespread it is even finding its way into fruit and vegetables as they grow.

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What might a PET/polyester system look like, if it could combine all circular economy approaches, including reuse, and mechanical and chemical recycling?

What might look like an obvious solution to plastic pollution is not as straightforward as it may seem...

The effect of plastic on the environment

Today’s insatiable fast fashion business model is enabled by cheap synthetic fibres, which are produced from fossil fuels, mostly oil and gas.

We all agree on one point: we must stop plastic pollution. Our oceans cannot afford it any longer: mammals and birds are dying; fishes are eating millions of pieces of microplastic that eventually reach our food and the Pacific Plastic Garbage Patch`s insects are changing the natural environment.

As an expert on microplastics, here's what I do to keep my family safe.

Every stage of the plastics cycle reflects different gender-specific experiences and exposures.

Natural History Museum scientists say plasticosis, which scars digestive tract, likely to affect other types of bird too

Policies and management actions intended to mitigate plastic pollution sometimes have the reverse effect.

Reuse is not only about reusable cups and canvas bags, but entire systems that require standards, infrastructure, political will, financing, and promoting behavioural change.

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How reducing waste is a climate game changer

Key takeaways

McDonalds pushes back on reuse to waterdown PPWR

Carbon capture technologies cannot solve the climate crisis

Microplastics are tiny pieces of plastic less than 5 millimeters in size, and they are a growing environmental problem in the world's oceans.

World needs to offer trillions, not billions in overseas support, says leading climate economist Avinash Persaud - Guardian article 18 June 2023