Plastic Published: 28 August 2019 Dossier We live in a world full of plastic - Plastic has become pervasive in our daily lives. It is in our food and drinking water, in our clothing and cosmetics, in our consumer articles and vehicles. But we are just beginning to understand the full extent of how plastic pollutes and contaminates our environment and bodies. Who is responsible and what are the effects on humans and nature? What are the solutions?In order to change course we need a sound understanding of the players, the extent and the implications of the plastic crisis. Our plastics dossier is a contribution to this cause.
History: Breakthrough in three letters Published: 31 October 2019 Plastic Atlas The first plastics imitated ivory and silk and attracted just a limited market. Things took off after World War II with the rise of PVC. Cheap plastics soon conquered the world. By Alexandra Caterbow and Olga Speranskaya
Zero Waste: Stopping the problem at the source Published: 4 November 2019 Plastic Atlas Recycling alone cannot solve the plastic crisis. New ideas are needed that tackle the roots of the problem. A growing movement is showing how that can work - and a few pioneering cities and towns are blazing the trail. By Esra Tat
Corporations: Blaming the consumer Published: 4 November 2019 Plastic Atlas Masters in lobbying, petrochemicals firms and plastic producers focus attention on waste management and recycling so they can evade their responsibility for the true problem: the growth in the volume of plastics being made. By Jane Patton
Climate Change: Not green, but greenhouse Published: 4 November 2019 Plastic Atlas Plastics are sometimes seen as environmentally friendlier than other materials - not least because of their light weight. But the plastics boom is pumping huge amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. By Steven Feit and Carroll Muffett
Plastic & Climate: The Hidden Costs of a Plastic Planet Published: 31 May 2019 The plastic pollution crisis is a significant and growing threat to the Earth’s climate. Greenhouse gas emissions from the plastic lifecycle threaten the ability of the global community to keep global temperature rise below 1.5°C. pdf
Plastic Atlas Published: 21 October 2019 Dossier The Plastic Atlas - find all infographics, videos and selected contributions in our online dossier.
A new Global Biodiversity Framework …for what and for whom? Published: 7 May 2019 Analysis Nearly a decade after the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) set the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, evidence shows that the actions undertaken to implement them have not been sufficient. What should a new Global Biodiversity Framework look like? By Gadir Lavadenz
A New Paradigm for Plastics Published: 28 March 2019 By focusing environmental and public-health debates on the issue of waste-management, plastics producers have managed to conceal the elephant in the room. By Lili Fuhr and Jane Patton
Tyranny of the Minority Slows International Progress on Addressing Plastic Pollution Published: 15 March 2019 At the 4th session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-4), member states of the UN Environment Programme failed to meet expectations to confront the ever-growing plastic-pollution crisis threatening our waterways, ecosystems, and health.
