11 May 2022
Scientists are calling for the production of new plastics to be capped in a bid to cut pollution and tackle the climate crisis. In March 2022, 175 countries unanimously agreed to adopt a global plastic treaty to stop plastic pollution. Not only is the treaty set to address the issue of plastic waste, but it will address the “full lifecycle of plastics,” from the extraction […]
23 Mar 2022
Tiny particles that rub off of tyres are likely harming freshwater and coastal estuary ecosystems. The first study, published in Chemosphere last month, found that exposure to tyre particles had harmful effects on organisms from coastal estuaries, while the second, published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials, found the same for freshwater organisms. Both studies grow out of […]
22 Mar 2022
Both the Welsh Government and Defra have made announcements regarding end-of-life fishing gear. Firstly, the Welsh Government is taking action against marine litter as it becomes the first UK nation to introduce a recycling scheme for fishing gear. A press release has stated that: ‘The first collection, which took place today on Global Recycling Day […]
03 Mar 2022
Scottish Water is calling for a ban on the sale of wet wipes which contain plastic. The company says it responds to 36,000 blockages each year with the vast majority featuring wet wipes. It comes as an advertising campaign is launched urging people not to flush wipes of any kind down the toilet. Scottish Water […]
24 Feb 2022
UK Government has moved to recognise the circular economy. But what happens if the ‘circles’ keep getting bigger? That is the fundamental problem based on many projections of the growth in plastic production – pick your graph from this lot. This is the Oil & Gas industries plan B. EcoWatch ‘Plastics quickly became popular for […]
10 Feb 2022
https://www.ciwem.org/news/tackling-sewage-borne-litter Guest blog by Dr Peter Matthews, past president of CIWEM and former chair of Natural Resources Wales Government is currently calling for evidence on commonly littered and problematic plastic items. In line with its stated commitment to eliminate avoidable plastic waste by 2042 it is consulting on bans on a range of single-use plastics. It wants […]
07 Feb 2022
There are a raft of high-level global ocean conferences taking place in 2022, some which have the potential for great significance in setting the future for global ocean management. Time will tell whether this comes to pass but all are worth watching over the coming months to determine if the outcomes will be transformational or […]
02 Feb 2022
Plastic Free Communities is a Surfers Against Sewage campaign to inspire, unite and empower communities to break free from single-use plastic and eliminate it at source. The campaign centres on a toolkit which focuses on achieving objectives in five areas: Working with the local council Encouraging local businesses to reduce single use plastic Signing up […]
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