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…
Watch 7:03
Tiny Easter Island deals with giant trash problem
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…
A massive plastic cleanup project provokes hope and skepticism
While The Ocean Cleanup has been hailed as one solution for ocean plastic pollution, some researchers have expressed concern.
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…
Around the world, waves of plastic are washing ashore and clogging landfills. Even though plastic pollution is now one of the largest environmental threats facing humans and animals, our appetite for the virtually indestructible material keeps growing. Amna Nawaz and…
Humans produce 420 million tons of plastic annually, most of which lands in the environment. With these two innovations, plastic could have a useful second life.
