The makers of POM Wonderful pomegranate juice are highlighting their $1.3 billion commitment to environmental sustainability with the unveiling of their Del Rey solar farm. At a news conference on Thursday, the company also announced it will start using 100% recycled plastic in Pom Wonderful's 16-ounce juice bottles. “These...
Study: 1 to 2 Million Tons of Us Plastic Trash Goes Astray
More than a million tons a year of America's plastic trash isn't ending up where it should. The equivalent of as many as 1,300 plastic grocery bags per person is landing in places such as oceans and roadways, according to a new study of U.S. plastic trash. In 2016 —...
Celebrities Back California Bill to Cut Single-Use Plastics
SACRAMENTO — A push to pass first-in-the-nation California proposals to limit single-use plastic containers and other items drew support from actor Jeff Goldblum on Wednesday. Environmental groups hail the proposal as a landmark attempt to cut down on 75% of waste from plastic items like takeout boxes, food containers and...
Pacific Bird Refuge Struggles as Ocean Garbage Patch Grows
MIDWAY ATOLL, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands — Flying into the uninhabited Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, Midway Atoll appears out of the vast blue Pacific as a tiny oasis of coral-fringed land with pristine white sand beaches that are teeming with life. But on the ground, there's a different scene: plastic, pollution and...
Legos Lying Around? Toy Maker Tests Way to Recycle Bricks
NEW YORK — Lego is looking to keep its plastic bricks out of the trash. The Danish toymaker is testing a way for customers to ship their unwanted bricks back and get them into the hands of other kids. It said Tuesday that customers in the U.S. can print out...
Dutch Inventor Says His Ocean Cleaning Boom Is Working
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — After a series of setbacks, a system for catching plastic floating in the Pacific between California and Hawaii is now working, its Dutch inventor said Wednesday. Boyan Slat, a university dropout who founded The Ocean Cleanup nonprofit, announced that the floating boom is skimming up waste...
Tired of Plastic Junk? Recycling Bills Propose Dramatic New Rules
As bills that take aim at plastic waste make their way through California’s legislature, the damage they intend to fix already is rippling through the state’s recycling economy. On Monday, rePlanet, a major collector of beverage bottles and cans, shut its 284 collection centers in California, citing lower subsidies from the...
Tired of Plastic Junk? Recycling Bills Propose Dramatic New Rules
As bills that take aim at plastic waste make their way through California’s legislature, the damage they intend to fix already is rippling through the state’s recycling economy. On Monday, rePlanet, a major collector of beverage bottles and cans, shut its 284 collection centers in California, citing lower subsidies from the...
California’s War on Plastic Pollution Targets Tiny Hotel Toiletries
Sarah Enemark of Contra Costa County says she doesn’t travel often, but when she does, she typically forgets to bring her own toiletries. So on a recent weekend, chatting outside the bustling lobby of the Hyatt Regency in Sacramento, she sang the praises of those tiny hotel room amenities that...
If You Recycled All Plastic Garbage, You Could Buy NFL, Apple & More
This year, I served on the judging panel for The Royal Statistical Society’s International Statistic of the Year. On Dec. 18, we announced the winner: 90.5 percent, the amount of plastic that has never been recycled. OK – but why is that such a big deal? Much like Oxford English...