Tag: plastic pollution

New app helps young people turn tide on plastic pollution

Stuart Mitchell

Beneath the picturesque turquoise waters of Trinidad and Tobago, plastic pollution is wreaking havoc on marine ecosystems. Every year, more than 88,600 tonnes of plastic waste is deposited into the ocean around the Caribbean nation, harming marine life and ultimately impacting human health. “Plastic is everywhere. And plastic is overwhelming us,” says Sarah Sobrian, a 28-year-old environmental campaigner and member of RSC, a technology non-profit. A new app is aiming to help young people in Trinidad and Tobago, along with other small-island developing states, counter the damage done by plastic…

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Friends of the Earth, Keep Britain Tidy and City to Sea urge Government to set concrete targets to tackle plastic pollution

Stuart Mitchell

Friends of the Earth, Keep Britain Tidy and City to Sea have joined forces to urge the Government to set legally binding targets to reduce plastic pollution. The call comes in an open letter to Environment Secretary George Eustice MP published today that describes the piecemeal banning of plastic straws and cutlery as the just “first steps” towards tackling plastic pollution. The letter comes as the Defra consultation for banning some of the most polluting single-use plastic items, such as cutlery, plates and polystyrene containers, closes. In the letter, the…

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WRAP and Innovate UK launch £1.7 million grant to cut plastic pollution

Stuart Mitchell

Sustainability charity WRAP and Innovate UK have launched a major new UK fund to reduce the impact of plastics on the environment in India, Chile, Kenya and South Africa. The International Circular Plastics Flagship Projects competition is a £1.7 million fund designed to address the problem of plastics pollution in these key nations. Applicants can apply for funding ranging from £50,000 to £250,000 that demonstrate solutions that respond to specific targets under the plastics pacts of each nation, and that will ultimately help reduce plastic pollution in: Asia Africa Latin…

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£1.7 million grant to cut plastic pollution in India, Chile, Kenya and South Africa

Stuart Mitchell

Last month sustainability charity WRAP and UKRI launch a major new UK fund to support projects to reduce the impact of plastics on the environment in India, Chile, Kenya and South Africa. The International Circular Plastics Flagship Projects Competition is a £1.7 million fund designed to address the problem of plastics pollution in these key nations. Applicants can apply for funding ranging from £50,000 up to £250,000 that demonstrate solutions which respond to specific targets under the Plastics Pacts of each nation, and which will ultimately help reduce plastic pollution…

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New Upstream Innovation guide offers practical solutions to the plastic pollution crisis

Stuart Mitchell

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation have published Upstream Innovation: A guide to packaging solutions, a practical guide to eliminating plastic pollution through circular economy solutions. Packed with practical guidance and real-world examples, this handbook has been designed for anyone directly or indirectly influencing the packaging that is put around a product. By focusing more of their efforts on upstream innovation – at the design stage of a product rather than just downstream efforts such as recycling – businesses can prevent waste from ever being created in the first place. The guide…

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