Health authorities say reusable packaging poses no more risk of spreading coronavirus than single-use packaging, but the plastics industry is still trying to use COVID-19 to derail progress on reducing single-use plastics. Taking aim at single-use plastics June 12, 2020 will mark a year since the European Parliament and the European Council adopted the Single-Use Plastics Directive (SUPD), a landmark...

Health authorities say reusable packaging poses no more risk of spreading coronavirus than single-use packaging, but the plastics industry is still trying to use COVID-19 to derail progress on reducing single-use plastics. Taking aim at single-use plastics June 12, 2020 will mark a year since the European Parliament and the European Council adopted the Single-Use Plastics Directive (SUPD), a landmark...

Two experts explain why, when it comes to Europe's upcoming Single-Use Plastics Directive, the devil is in the details of defining "plastic."

This article originally appeared in the May 2019 issue of Resource Recycling. Subscribe today for access to all print content. In 2018, Collins Dictionary named “single-use” its word of the year, and it’s not difficult to understand why. Efforts to reduce marine litter and eliminate plastic waste were some of the key themes of 2018. And in fact the European Union Parliament...

Single-use plastics are everywhere, with most of us regularly relying on the convenience of products such as plastic bags, straws, utensils, takeaway coffee cups, food packaging and water bottles. But it’s also becoming clear we have made, used and disposed of too many. According to one recent academic analysis, only 9 percent of all plastic ever created has been recycled,...

Experts explain the significant changes on the horizon after a major vote last week to ban many single-use plastic items and impose recycling requirements on others.

There's no denying it; the world is experiencing a plastic waste crisis and it's growing - but so is public awareness and action. In June 2018, as part of its "Planet or Plastic?" initiative, National Geographic magazine devoted a special cover to plastic pollution, and since then, the issue of plastic discards has received more attention from the media, public...

Long resistant to their role in deposit programs, some retailers are beginning to warm up to bottle and can redemptions as they realize the marketing and sales advantages.