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Save the Children urges people taking part in its charity event to source sweaters through clothes swaps and vintage shopsSave the Children is calling on people to hold clothes swaps and scour vintage shops rather than buy new Christmas jumpers, after research found that 95% of the novelty items for sale contained plastic.The appeal for consumer “sustainability” comes ahead of the charity’s annual Christmas...

Experts fear species decline after huge number of deaths on Henderson and CocosMore than half a million hermit crabs have been killed after becoming trapped in plastic debris on two remote island groups, prompting concern that the deaths could be part of a global species decline.The pioneering study found that 508,000 crabs died on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands archipelago in the Indian Ocean, along...

Calls for ban or higher prices as sales jump to 1.5bn, equivalent to 54 bags per householdPlastic “bags for life” should be banned or raised in price, campaigners say, as new figures reveal a surge in the bags is fuelling a rise in the plastic packaging footprint of leading supermarkets.Despite high profile promises by the country’s best known supermarkets to tackle the amount of...

Study of chicken egg samples reveals presence of dangerous chemical compounds around areas where waste is dumpedPlastic waste exports to south-east Asia have been implicated in extreme levels of toxins entering the human food chain in Indonesia.A new study that sampled chicken eggs around sites in the country where plastic waste accumulates identified alarming levels of dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls long recognised as extremely...

Country has changed definition of waste, which campaigners far could lead to imports of low-grade plastic scraps Argentina has changed its definition of waste in a move that could allow it to import millions of tonnes of plastic waste discarded in the US.The country’s president, Mauricio Macri, signed a decree in August reclassifying some materials destined for recycling as commodities instead of waste, allowing...

Europe’s manufacturers face $250m-a-year hit as rising demand drives up priceThe battle to reduce Europe’s plastic waste could become a quarter of a billion dollars more expensive every year as the cost of recycled plastic soars.In recent months, the price of recycled plastic flakes, used to make goods from soft drink bottles to glitter, has become more expensive than virgin plastic for the first...

Floating boom finally retains debris from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, creator saysA huge floating device designed by Dutch scientists to clean up an island of rubbish in the Pacific Ocean that is three times the size of France has successfully picked up plastic from the high seas for the first time.Boyan Slat, the creator of the Ocean Cleanup project, tweeted that the 600...

Amount is significantly higher than the estimated amount of microplastics particles consumed by a person in an entire yearTea drinkers could be getting more than they bargained for in their brew, as a new study has found that a single plastic tea bag can shed billions of particles of microplastics.The researchers from McGill University in Canada have found that when plastic tea bags are...

Study finds 800,000 extra fibres are shed than on standard washing machine settingDelicate wash cycles should be avoided whenever possible, according to scientists who found they can release hundreds of thousands more plastic microfibres into the environment than standard wash cycles.Researchers at Newcastle University ran tests with full-scale machines to show that a delicate wash, which uses up to twice as much water as...

Image of Elizabeth May manipulated to make it seem as if she was using a reusable cup and metal straw instead of a disposable cupCanada’s Green party has admitted to manipulating a photograph on its website to make it seem as if the party leader was using a reusable plastic cup and metal straw instead of a disposable paper cup.The image shows Elizabeth May,...

Plastic pollution has entered the fossil record, research showsPlastic pollution is being deposited into the fossil record, research has found, with contamination increasing exponentially since 1945.Scientists suggest the plastic layers could be used to mark the start of the Anthropocene, the proposed geological epoch in which human activities have come to dominate the planet. They say after the bronze and iron ages, the current...

Punjab joins regions where polythene bags are illegal and stiff fines take effect in Islamabad amid demands for alternativesPunjab has become the latest region in Pakistan to ban plastic bags, as the country battles to reduce single-use plastics that are damaging the environment.So far there is no date for implementation in Pakistan’s most populous state. The south-eastern province of Sindh has announced it will...

Experts find no proof minuscule particles are a threat to health but say more research is neededMicroplastics are increasingly found in drinking water, but there is no evidence so far that this poses a risk to humans, according to a new assessment by the World Health Organization.However, the United Nations body warned against complacency because more research is needed to fully understand how plastic...

I tried to re-enact my nanna’s depression-mindset, zero-waste home, but no victory over plastic went unpunishedMy “plastic-free” July began with an idea to retain every piece of plastic waste I consumed, and port it around over the month in a bag with me wherever I went.Had I stuck to this plan – despite deliberate and even desperate efforts to excise plastic waste from my...

The change, taking effect 20 August, is part of SFO’s plan to become a zero ‘waste-to-landfill’ facility by 2021The days of picking up a plastic bottle of water to stay hydrated during a long flight will soon be over for people flying out of San Francisco’s International Airport (SFO).The airport, which restricted the distribution of single-use plastic straws when the city law went into...

Judges overturn injunction won by plastic manufacturers after thin plastic bags were outlawedMalawi’s highest court has imposed a ban on plastic bags, a huge milestone for the government and environmental charities who beat off challenges from some of the country’s big manufacturers. The government imposed the ban on thin plastic bags in 2015, but the move was overturned by the high court after a...

It’s neat, easy – and a staggering £2bn global market. But as plastic grass takes over our cities, some say that it’s green only in colourIf your attention during the Women’s World Cup was on the pitch rather than the players, you might have noticed that the matches were all played on real grass. That was a hard-won change, made after the US team...