Watch 4:42
How innovation and small steps can help us solve The Plastic Problem
On Wednesday night, PBS will air a one-hour special report, “The Plastic Problem,” that examines how our global dependence on plastic has created one of the biggest environmental threats to our planet. Amna Nawaz hosts the program, and she joins…
Watch 5:42
This San Francisco art exhibit takes another look at trash
In San Francisco, art enthusiasts recently gathered for an exhibition of unusual pieces, in which every material used came from the nearby city dump. The works represented the culmination of an artist residency at Recology, San Francisco’s waste and recycling…
What to do with all of your holiday trash
Many Americans will toss their mountainous pile of holiday waste into the recycling bin, which can do more harm than good. Here's how to properly dispose of holiday wrappings, decorations and Christmas lights.
Watch 8:07
Loss of Chinese export market drives new ideas for repurposing recyclables
China’s decision to buy less recyclable material from the U.S. has prompted major questions about how we handle waste in America. What will we do with our abundance of plastic bottles and pizza boxes, if exporting them is no longer…
Easter Island off the coast of Chile has a major trash problem. It’s near what’s known as a “trash vortex” in the middle of the South Pacific and floating waste is constantly washing ashore. Local officials estimate the growing population…
Until this year, China had been America's -- and the world's -- number one recycling market. But China has shut its doors to plastic waste, which could result by 2030 in more than 100 million tons of trash with nowhere…
In the 70 years that plastic has been around, humans have created 9 billion tons of it -- most of which still exists. Are the existing strategies for tackling plastic pollution -- namely reusing and recycling -- really making any…
About one-third of all the food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted, according to the United Nations. But several years ago, South Korea instituted a law that requires residents to separate food waste from other garbage and imposes…
As consumers call for more sustainable products, companies are experimenting with ways to meet the growing demand for recycled clothing while maintaining their bottom lines.
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