plastic

The owner of Holiday Inn and InterContinental Hotels announced Tuesday that it will switch to bulk-size bathroom amenities across the hotel group.

So Long, Mini Shampoos: Holiday Inn's Owner Switching To Bulk Sizes To Cut Waste

4:01pm July 30, 2019

by Merrit Kennedy

InterContinental Hotels Group says its hotels use some 200 million little toiletries every year. It plans to switch from tiny plastic sample sizes to bulk-sized bathroom amenities by the end of 2021.

Anne Schauer-Gimenez (from left) Allison Pieja and Molly Morse of Mango Materials stand next to the biopolymer fermenter at a sewage treatment plant next to San Francisco Bay. The fermenter feeds bacteria the methane they need to produce a biological form

Replacing Plastic: Can Bacteria Help Us Break The Habit?

11:06am June 17, 2019

by Christopher Joyce

Entrepreneurs are eager to find substitutes for plastic that naturally degrade. One option is a "natural" plastic made by microbes and then eaten by them. But the process is still in the early days.

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Are Plastic Bag Bans Garbage?

2:29pm April 09, 2019

by Greg Rosalsky

A national movement to ban plastic bags is gaining steam, but these restrictions may actually hurt the environment more than help it. Human nature, hard truths, and what kind of bag to use anyway?

Darrell Blatchley, environmentalist and director of D' Bone Collector Museum, shows plastic waste found in the stomach of a Cuvier's beaked whale near the Philippine city of Davao.

Stomach Of Dead Whale Contained 'Nothing But Nonstop Plastic'

6:55pm March 18, 2019

by Dalia Mortada

In the Philippines, marine biologist Darrell Blatchley recovered the body of a young whale that showed signs of emaciation and dehydration due to the 88 pounds of plastic it had ingested.

Around the globe, people are searching for ways to reduce plastic waste. Above: Dampalit, a fishing community in Manila Bay, can't keep up with a constant influx of trash.

Your Questions About Plastic Waste, Answered

4:46pm February 08, 2019

How can I find out if my plastic waste is really being recycled What makes some plastic recyclable and some not? Here are answers from the NPR correspondents working on "The Plastic Tide" series.

Dutch innovator Boyan Slat poses for a portrait next to the anchors of his plastic collecting system in 2017. The trash collection device deployed to corral plastic litter floating is not capturing any garbage.

Environment

Creator Of Floating Garbage Collector Struggling To Capture Plastic In Pacific

9:48am December 18, 2018

by Francesca Paris

A young innovator wants to remove all the plastic from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. But his invention, a long floating boom, is moving too slowly to hold the trash it collects.

A government research project to assess the safety of BPA is beginning to show results.

Government Study Of BPA Backs Its Safety, But Doesn't Settle Debate

6:15pm September 13, 2018

by Jon Hamilton

The plastic additive BPA got a clean bill of health in a two-year government study involving thousands of rats. But scientists worried about BPA's risks say the study has flaws.

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Microplastics found along Lake Ontario by Rochman's team

Beer, Drinking Water And Fish: Tiny Plastic Is Everywhere

11:41pm August 20, 2018

by Christopher Joyce

Plastic trash less than 5 millimeters long is in the things we eat and drink, and the air we breathe. Scientists are just beginning to study where it comes from and how it might affect our health.

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China Has Refused To Recycle The West's Plastics. What Now?

6:57pm June 28, 2018

by Sara Kiley Watson

So where will all those bottles and bags end up? A new study looks at what's happening.

As awareness grows about the environmental toll of single-use plastics, retailers and regulators alike are finding ways to decrease their use. And straws have become a prime target.

Last Straw For Plastic Straws? Cities, Restaurants Move To Toss These Sippers

8:34pm May 31, 2018

by Sara Kiley Watson

As awareness grows about the environmental toll of single-use plastics, U.S. retailers and regulators alike are finding ways to decrease their use. And straws have become a prime target.