waste

The UK Is Sending It’s Plastic Waste To Asia, Often Illegally

Baled plastic bottles waiting to be recycled at a UK recycling facility.
The UK exported more of its plastic packaging waste abroad for recycling in 2016 than in any of the three years previously, according to a new analysis by Energydesk.
The data comes as industry insiders warn that waste sent abroad may be incinerated or buried rather than being recycled.

Environmentalist Wears Trash to Open the Public’s Eyes

For the past several weeks, an environmentalist by the name of Rob Greenfield has been walking around New York City with 42 pounds of trash and counting strapped to his body. [1]
Normally, Greenfield is as friendly to the earth as he possibly can be. But for one month, he has committed to behaving like the average American and generating about 4.5 pounds of trash per day.

Starbucks Testing Recyclable Cups in the UK to Tackle Waste

The nearest Starbucks to me is nearly an hour away – which is strange, I know. The only time I darken the door of one is when I have to talk business, or I’m meeting a friend. I might purchase a cup of coffee from Starbucks 3 times a year.
My 3 cups don’t even represent a fraction of the 4 billion disposable cups that Starbucks goes through in a year. Yup, that’s right – 4 billion. Some 2.5 billion of those cups hold coffees sold in the UK. The cups are made of paper, but they’re rarely recycled or composted because they’re lined with plastic.