The world is drowning in plastic. The sheer volume and variety of plastics on the market, and its persistence in nature, create significant risks for human and animal health and the survival of sensitive ecosystems. While Canada proposes regulating plastics as a toxic substance under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, and to ban [...]
It's no secret that organic farmers believe in compost, but just what role compost plays in soil's ability to store carbon - and keep it out of the atmosphere, where it contributes to climate change - has been less clear. A recent study out of the University of California, Davis suggests that compost plays a [...]
For years, plastic has played an important role in the food and drink sector by protecting goods from damage and ensuring a longer shelf life. But with the UK generating around 2.4 million tonnes per year of packaging waste, according to circular economy experts at WRAP, the industry is facing a crisis. “Plastic [...]
The world wastes more than 1.3 billion tonnes of food each year. The planet’s 1 billion hungry people could be fed on less than a quarter of the food wasted in the US and Europe. In a recent report, the World Economic Forum identified cutting food waste by up to 20 million tonnes as one [...]
The Australian Organics Recycling Association (AORA), the national voice of the organics recycling industry, believes Plastic Wars, featured on Four Corners, contains valuable lessons for Australia in better managing its waste and recycling tasks. Plastic Wars, a PBS Frontline production from the USA, was featured on Four Corners on 10 August and provides [...]
Farmers using plastic mulch film now have a compostable alternative that returns to the earth as organic matter instead of polluting soil with microplastics that remain for decades, even centuries. An Australian made, compostable agricultural film called BioAgri can be customised for farmers by Adelaide-based BioBag World Australia. In a circular story, the BioAgri film [...]
Part I of this article summarized the scope and research methods for a recent study at Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands that analyzed the fate of compostable packaging in an industrial composting plant. The central aim of the study, “The fate of (compostable) plastic products in a full scale industrial organic waste [...]
Waqas Qureshi hears from seven compostable and biodegradable packaging suppliers. The mood on the long-term outlook is mixed but there is a call for clarity over how the UK manages these materials. The industry experts interviewed are: Nick Burton – Managing Director of Celebration Packaging Joe Frankel – Chief Executive of Vegware [...]
In its latest report, The Recycling Myth 2.0, Greenpeace reveals that plastic waste exports from the UK and other developed nations, illegally dumped in Malaysia, have caused widespread environmental contamination. Heavy metals and toxic chemicals potentially harmful to human health, were found to be present in soil and water samples taken from [...]
A vital knowledge gap about England’s environment has been uncovered by soil campaigners. They have discovered that just 0.41 per cent of the cash invested in environmental monitoring goes on examining the soil. That’s despite the fact that soils round the world – including in the UK – are said to be [...]