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A Green New Year | Earth Wise

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Every year, millions of people around the world make resolutions in hopes of sparking positive changes in the new year.  Popular resolutions include improving health and fitness, traveling more, spending less, and so on.  With the New Year just around the corner, here are seven resolutions we all could make that would collectively have a major impact on the planet: 

1) Eat less meat.  Resource-intensive animal-based foods like meat, dairy, and eggs are one of the chief contributors to climate change. 

2) Get a home energy audit.  It’s a great way to understand your home’s energy footprint and discover ways to improve the energy efficiency of your home. 

3) Buy local whenever possible.  Shopping locally supports the local economy and dramatically cuts down on the carbon emissions associated with shipping.

4) Carry reusable shopping bags on errands. While disposable shopping bags are convenient, they are difficult to recycle and are often thrown away. 

5) Air dry your laundry whenever possible.  Drying clothes outside or using an indoor drying rack can save money and energy.  Americans spend about $9 billion a year on electricity to dry clothing. 

6) Purchase used or pre-owned items.  The market for second-hand items is booming, making it possible to purchase pretty much anything you want at thrift stores or online. 

7) Bring a reusable water bottle everywhere.  According to the EPA, Americans throw away enough plastic bottles each year to circle the earth five times.  Carrying your own bottle helps reduce this waste and will save you money.

As we ring in the new year this weekend, let’s raise our glasses to a cleaner and greener 2023. 

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10 Sustainable New Year’s Resolutions!

New Year’s Resolutions

Photo, posted December 31, 2014, courtesy of Doug Anderson via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Whales Eating Plastic | Earth Wise

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Plastic waste has been accumulating in the world’s oceans in greater and greater quantities and much of it is in the form of microplastic particles.  Many kinds of whales – the largest creatures on Earth – feed by gulping up mouthfuls of krill and other tiny creatures and then straining the seawater through bristly filter structures called baleens.  As they do this, they are likely to be swallowing large amounts of plastic.

Scientists at Stanford University recently estimated just how much plastic whales are ingesting by tracking the foraging behavior of 65 humpback whales, 29 fin whales, and 126 blue whales in the Pacific Ocean.  Each of the whales was tagged with a camera, microphone, and GPS device suction-cupped to their back.

After accounting for the concentration of microplastics in parts of the Pacific Ocean, the researchers were able to estimate the amount of plastic the whales were consuming.  Humpback whales likely consume 4 million microplastic pieces each day, adding up to about 38 pounds of plastic waste.  Fin whales swallow an estimated 6 million pieces each – amounting to 57 pounds of plastic.  Blue whales, which are the largest creatures on Earth, eat an estimated 10 million microplastic pieces, or as much as 95 pounds of plastic waste each day.

Despite their enormous size, whales actually eat rather low on the food chain, which puts them close to where the plastic is in the water.   Krill eats plastic and whales eat the krill.   Many marine animals are at risk of eating microplastics, but whales are unique in that they can consume so much of it.  It is just one more way in which the ocean plastic situation is a global crisis.

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Blue Whales Swallowing 95 Pounds of Plastic Daily, Scientists Estimate

Photo, posted October 21, 2005, courtesy of Tobias Begemann via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Turning Plastic Into Protein | Earth Wise

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Our planet is choking on plastic.  According to the United Nations, 79% of the 6.3 billion tons of plastic produced every year accumulates in landfills.  Half of all plastic produced is actually designed to be used just once and thrown away.  But plastic is not only accumulating on land.  In fact, the world’s oceans are projected to contain more plastic by weight than fish by the year 2050.     

According to new research, solving the plastic waste issue could help address another prominent global issue: hunger.  A multidisciplinary team of engineers, chemists, and biologists led by researchers from Michigan Tech University has developed a process to break plastics down to be recycled into useful products, including edible protein powder.

The research team’s process converts plastic into compounds using heat and a reactor that deconstructs the material’s polymer chains. The oil-like substance is then fed to a community of oil-eating bacteria.  The bacteria grow rapidly on the oily diet, producing more bacterial cells composed of roughly 55% protein.  This majority-protein byproduct is then dried out and turned into an edible powder.   The end result doesn’t look like plastic at all.  In fact, it resembles a yeast byproduct that comes from brewing beer. 

This research is funded by an award from the US Department of Defense.  The DoD often deploys soldiers in areas where access to food is challenging.  Converting plastic to protein could be part of a solution to that problem. 

While eating something that began as plastic might take some getting used to, it could be part of the solution to both plastic pollution and global hunger.

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Turning Trash Into Treasure: The Plastic to Protein Powder Solution

Beat Plastic Pollution

Photo, posted February 2, 2022, courtesy of Ivan Radic via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Greening Halloween | Earth Wise

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According to the National Retail Federation, Halloween participation is expected to return to pre-pandemic levels this year.  Spending on Halloween festivities by the 69% of Americans who celebrate is expected to add up to $10.6 billion in 2022 – or more than $100 per person – reaching a new record high. 

Halloween generates a mind-boggling amount of waste.  Picture all the flimsy single-use costumes, plastic candy wrappers, mass-produced decorations, and so on.  Here are some tricks to treat you to a greener holiday.

Our first trick is to invest in quality costumes.  Mass-produced (and often single use) costumes leave the largest carbon footprint from Halloween.  They are often made from unsustainable materials, manufactured in countries with poor labor standards, and too many end up in landfills by mid-November. By renting, thrifting, swapping, or making your own costumes, many of the negative impacts of dressing up for the holiday can be avoided.

Our second trick is to invest in environmentally-friendly decorations and supplies.  For example, carve local pumpkins and save the seeds and flesh to eat later.  Make your own spooky decorations.  If you do buy decorations, ensure that they are durable and reusable.  And use a wicker basket, old bag, or pillowcase to trick-or-treat.

Our third trick is to pass out organic and fair trade candy.  Some of the largest candy manufacturers are major drivers of deforestation and species extinction around the globe due to their demand for sugar, palm oil, and cocoa beans.

If you’ve already spent your $100 this year, consider these changes for next year.  It’s never too late to become a superhero.

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Retail Holiday and Seasonal Trends: Halloween

Photo, posted October 14, 2007, courtesy of Brian via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Solar-Powered Desalination | Earth Wise

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About two-thirds of humanity is affected by water shortages.  In the developing world, many areas with water shortages also lack dependable sources of electricity.  Given this situation, there is widespread research on using solar heat to desalinate seawater.  To date, many approaches to this face problems with fouling of equipment with salt buildup.  Tackling this issue has proven to add complexity and expense to solar desalination techniques.

A team of researchers from MIT and China has recently developed a solution to the problem of salt accumulation that is more efficient than previous methods and is less expensive as well.

Previous attempts at solar desalination have relied on some sort of wick to draw saline water through the device.  These wicks are vulnerable to salt accumulation and are difficult to clean.  The MIT-Chinese team has developed a wick-free system instead.  It is a layered system with dark material at the top to absorb the sun’s heat, and then a thin layer of water that sits above a perforated layer of plastic material.  That layer sits atop a deep reservoir of salty water such as a tank or pond.  The researchers determined the optimal size for the holes in the perforated plastic.

The 2.5 millimeter holes are large enough to allow for convective circulation between the warmer upper layer of water above the perforated layer and the colder reservoir below.  That circulation naturally draws the salt from the thin layer above down into the much larger body of water below.

The system utilizes low-cost, easy to use materials.  The next step is to scale up the devices into a size that has practical applications.  According to the team, just a one-square-meter system could provide a family’s daily needs for drinking water.

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Solar-powered system offers a route to inexpensive desalination

Photo, posted February 13, 2017, courtesy of Jacob Vanderheyden via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

A Better Way To Recycle Plastic | Earth Wise

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The current state of plastic recycling is not very effective.  Plastic recycling is only able to replace 15-20% of the fossil-fuel-derived raw material needed to produce society’s demand for plastic.

Researchers at Chalmers University in Sweden have now demonstrated how the carbon content in mixed waste could be used to replace all of the fossil raw materials in the production of new plastic.  In principle, their technology could completely eliminate the climate impact of plastic materials.

According to the researchers, there are enough carbon atoms in waste to meet the needs of all global plastic production.

The Chalmers process is based on thermochemical technology and involves heating waste to 1100-1500 degrees Fahrenheit.  The waste is thereby vaporized and when hydrogen is added, becomes a carbon-based substance that can replace the fossil-fuel building blocks of plastic.  The method does not require sorting the waste materials.  Different types of waste, such as old plastic products and even paper cups, with or without food residues, can be fed into the recycling reactors.  The researchers are now developing the techniques required to utilize their recycling technology in the same factories in which plastic products are currently being made from fossil oil or gas.

The principle of the process is inspired by the natural carbon cycle in which plants break down into carbon dioxide when they wither and die, and then photosynthesis uses carbon dioxide and solar energy to grow new plants.

Producing new plastics would no longer require petroleum or other fossil fuels as raw materials.  If the energy needed to drive the recycling reactors is taken from renewable sources, plastics could become the basis of a sustainable and circular economy.

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Pioneering recycling turns mixed waste into premium plastics with no climate impact

Photo, posted August 10, 2013, courtesy of Lisa Risager via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Who Can Solve The Plastic Waste Problem? | Earth Wise

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Plastic packaging waste is a global problem.  It collects in the oceans, breaks down into microplastics, which are consumed by fish and in turn by people who eat the fish.  Only 14.5% of U.S. plastic waste is recycled.  Most of it ends up in landfills, where is remains undegraded for hundreds of years. 

A new international study explored the global patterns of plastic packaging waste.  The study found that three countries – the U.S., Brazil, and China – are the top suppliers of waste.  In terms of supply, the Americas generate 41% of the world’s production of plastic waste, Europe 24%, and Asia 21%.

That’s the plastics supply.  As far as the consumers actually creating waste are concerned, the Americas represent 36% of the world’s packaging consumption, Asia 26%, and Europe 23%.

Packaging high-protein food such as meat, fish, and dairy is a major contributor to the waste problem.  Plastic for this purpose is hard to replace and international exports exacerbate the problem, accounting for about 25% of plastic packaging waste.

International agreements typically focus on restrictions and fees on production.  But that mostly creates strong incentives to simply relocate polluting activities to developing countries, which is a zero-sum game.  There need to be incentives for consumers to reduce plastic use such as taxes on waste management, refunds on returning bottles, single-use plastic bans, and so on.

Who can solve the plastic waste problem?  Everyone along the supply chain as well as the final consumers have to be part of the solution for reducing plastic waste.

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Producers and consumers must share burden of global plastic packaging waste

Photo, posted March 29, 2022, courtesy of Ivan Radic via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Life In The Great Pacific Garbage Patch | Earth Wise

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The world’s oceans contain five gyres, which are large systems of circular currents created by global wind patterns and the Earth’s rotation.   Gyres act like gigantic whirlpools.  Anything that floats into one of them eventually ends up in the center.   Ever since floating plastic waste started entering the ocean, it has poured into these gyres and created so-called garbage patches.  The largest of these is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, located halfway between Hawaii and California.  According to the Ocean Cleanup Foundation, the Great Pacific Patch contains at least 79,000 tons of plastic.

A recent study has shown that the garbage patch is not just a place where drifting plastics aggregate; it is also a place where drifting animals aggregate.

It turns out that the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is absolutely teeming with life, primarily small surface-dwelling animals that are collectively known as neuston.  A ship surveying the garbage patch found that in some places, there were nearly as many neuston as there are pieces of plastic.

Typical creatures in the patch are blue dragon nudibranchs, Portuguese man-o-wars, anemones, sea snails, blue buttons (which are related to jellyfish) and hydrozoans.  It appears that these creatures are reproducing within the garbage patch.  Little is actually known about the life history and ecology of these creatures, so that studying the garbage patch is offering valuable insights to scientists.

Two nonprofit organizations are working to remove floating plastic from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.  Evidently, removing this existing pollution from the ocean is likely to have unexpected effects on the local ecosystem and is a source of at least some controversy.  One thing that isn’t controversial, however, is that we need to stop the flow of plastic into the ocean.

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The Ocean’s Biggest Garbage Pile Is Full of Floating Life

Photo, posted in April, 2012, courtesy of Steven Guerrisi via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Plastic Recycling Isn’t Working | Earth Wise

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A recent report from several environmental organizations shows that plastic recycling rates in the U.S. have actually declined in the last several years from about 8.7% of discarded plastic to less than 6%.   Meanwhile, since 1980, per capita plastic waste generation has increased 263%, totaling 218 pounds of plastic waste per person as of 2018.

Diminishing recycling rates don’t necessarily indicate a lack of interest by the public.  Plastic recycling is a complicated process.  There are multiple types of plastic that can’t be intermingled and there are no simple and sustainable ways to recycle many forms of plastic.   On top of that, the declining recycling rate also reflects the fact that we no longer can export our plastic waste to countries like China and Turkey, which have banned U.S. waste imports.

Recycling in general is a successful practice.  Paper recycling rates are around 66% as of 2020.  Cardboard recycling was at 88.8% in 2020, and metal recycling rates range from 27% to 76%, depending on the type of metal.  Glass recycling rates are a little over 30%.  Only plastic recycling has never reached 10%, even before shipping our waste overseas and declaring it to be recycled was going on.

According to environmental organizations focused on the global plastic problem, there is no circular economy of plastics.  Perhaps if truly biodegradable plastics became practical, economical, and widely utilized, the situation would be different.  As things stand, the only solution is to reduce the production, use, and disposal of plastics.

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Plastics Recycling ‘Does Not Work,’ Environmentalists Stress as U.S. Recycling Rates Drop to 5%

Photo, posted May 13, 2021, courtesy of Ivan Radic via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Atmospheric Plastic Polluting The Ocean | Earth Wise

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According to estimates, by 2040 there will likely be nearly 90 million tons of plastic pollution entering the environment each year.  Particles of plastic have been found in virtually all parts of our planet including the land, the water, and even the air.  Tiny plastic particles have been found in the Arctic, the Antarctic, and at the tops of the highest mountains.

A new study has shown that winds can carry plastic particles over great distances and in fact can bring them from their point of origin to the most remote places in a matter of days.   As a result, micro- and nanoplastics can penetrate the most remote and otherwise largely untouched regions of the planet

How does plastic get into the atmosphere?  Particles produced by tires and brakes in road traffic or ones in the exhaust gases from industrial processes rise into the atmosphere, where they are transported by winds.  There is also evidence that a substantial number of these particles are transported by the marine environment.  Microplastic from the coastal zone finds its way into the ocean through beach sand.  A combination of sea spray, wind, and waves forms air bubbles in the water containing microplastic.  When the bubbles burst, the particles find their way into the atmosphere.

Understanding the interactions between the atmosphere and ocean is important because the atmosphere turns out to be a major mechanism in depositing substantial amounts of plastic into a broad range of ecosystems.

The impact of plastic particles on ecosystems is not well understood.  Neither is the effect of plastic particles in the air upon human health.  In a recent British study, microplastic was detected in the lungs of 11 out of 13 living human beings.

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Micro- and nanoplastic from the atmosphere is polluting the ocean

Photo, posted April 25, 2016, courtesy of Bo Eide via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Capturing Carbon Dioxide With Plastic | Earth Wise

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The world is awash in both waste plastic and in carbon dioxide emissions.   Researchers at Rice University have discovered a chemical technique for making waste plastic into an effective carbon dioxide absorbent for industry.

Chemists at Rice reported in the journal ACS Nano that heating plastic waste in the presence of potassium acetate produces particles with nanometer-scale pores that trap carbon dioxide molecules.   According to the researchers, these particles could be used to remove CO2 from the flue gas streams of power plants.

Significant sources of CO2 emissions like power plant exhaust stacks could be fitted with this waste-plastic-derived material to absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide that would otherwise enter the atmosphere. 

The Rice University process is an enhancement to the current process of pyrolyzing waste plastic – that is, breaking it down in the presence of heat.  By pyrolyzing plastic in the presence of potassium acetate, porous particles are formed that can hold up to 18% of their own weight in carbon dioxide.

According to the researchers, the cost of capturing carbon from a power plant would be $21 a ton, which is far less expensive than existing energy-intensive processes used to pull carbon dioxide from natural gas feeds.

The sorbent material can be reused.  Heating it to about 167 degrees Fahrenheit releases trapped carbon dioxide from the pores and regenerates about 90% of the material’s binding sites.

The Rice process may represent a much better way to capture carbon dioxide from power plant exhaust stacks.  It could be a way to make use of one environmental problem – waste plastic – to deal with another one.

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Treated plastic waste good at grabbing carbon dioxide

Photo, posted April 19, 2021, courtesy of Ivan Radic via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Getting Rid Of Single-Use Plastics | Earth Wise

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Single-use plastics are used only once before they are recycled – or more likely – simply thrown away.  These are things like plastic bags, straws, coffee stirrers, soda and water bottles, and most food packaging.  They are primarily made from fossil fuel-based chemicals.

Since the 1950s, over 9 billion tons of plastics have been produced, and half of that has been in the past 15 years.  There are uses for plastic that are not only reasonable, but are even important, such as for surgical gloves.  But for the most part, single-use plastic is the poster child of our throwaway culture that is bad for the environment, for wildlife, and even for human health.

Many cities, states, and even countries are moving toward greatly limiting or outright banning single-use plastics.  A recent global survey indicates that the great majority of people around the world are with the program.

According to a 28-country survey from marketing firm Ipsos and the activist group Plastic Free July, three out of four people around the world agree with a ban on single-use plastics.  The poll of more than 20,000 people showed that in Latin America, China, and India, more than 80% agree that a ban should happen as soon as possible.  Unfortunately, Canada, the United States, and Japan were the least supportive countries.  In particular, only 40% of Japanese respondents favored a ban.

Ninety percent of respondents globally support an international treaty to combat plastic pollution and eighty percent said they personally want to buy products with as little plastic packaging as possible.  Unfortunately, people in wealthy countries, which produce the most plastic waste, are less likely to support a ban.  Those countries typically export their waste to the developing world.

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Three in Four People Worldwide Support a Ban on Single-Use Plastics

Photo, posted April 13, 2006, courtesy of Leonard J Matthews via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Humans And Microplastics | Earth Wise

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While plastic comes in all different shapes and sizes, those that are less than five millimeters in length are called microplastics.  Primary sources of microplastics include microfibers from clothing, microbeads, and plastic pellets (known as nurdles).  Secondary sources of microplastics come from larger plastic debris, like bottles and bags, that degrades into smaller bits over time. 

Microplastic pollution can be found everywhere on earth, from the top of the tallest mountains to the bottom of the deepest oceans.  Microplastics are in the food we eat, the water we drink, and the air we breathe. 

According to research recently published in the journal Exposure & Health, humans ingest an average of five grams of plastic particles per week. This is roughly equivalent to the weight of a credit card.  The plastic particles are trafficked in via food, such as seafood and salt in particular, as well as water.  In fact, those who rely on plastic bottled water for their drinking needs ingest an additional 1,700 plastic particles each week.   

Microplastics have also been detected in human blood for the first time.  According to new research recently published in the journal Environment International, scientists detected microplastics in nearly 80% of the people they tested. 

Half of the blood samples contained PET plastic, which is commonly used for drinking bottles.  One third of the blood samples contained polystyrene plastic, which is often used for food packaging.  One quarter of the blood samples contained polyethylene plastic, which is used to make things like shopping bags and detergent bottles. 

With plastic production predicted to double by 2040, more research is urgently needed to understand how ingesting microplastics affects human health.

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Health risk due to micro- and nanoplastics in food

Microplastics found in human blood for first time

Discovery and quantification of plastic particle pollution in human blood

Photo, posted November 3, 2012, courtesy of Laura via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Plastic-Eating Bugs | Earth Wise

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27-year-old Miley Cyrus and 30-year-old Liam Hemsworth divorced exactly one year ago, but still continue to remember each other quite often in conversations with reporters. Recently, Miley indulged in nostalgia once again. During a recording Miley Cyrus boyfriend list of the podcast Barstool Call Her Daddy, the singer said that her ex-husband was her first man. It happened almost 10 years before they got married. I didn’t have that with men until I was 16, but I ended up marrying this guy,

According to a new study, microbes in oceans and soils around the world are evolving to eat plastic.  The study by Chalmers University in Sweden was published recently in the journal Microbial Ecology.

The study is the first large-scale assessment of the plastic-degrading potential of bacteria.  There are 95 microbial enzymes already known to degrade plastic. 

The researchers looked for similar enzymes in environmental DNA samples taken from bacteria from 236 different locations around the world. They found that one in four of the organisms analyzed carried suitable enzymes.  Overall, they found many thousands of new enzymes.

The explosion of plastic production in the past 70 years has given microbes time to evolve to make use of plastic.  About 12,000 new enzymes were found in ocean samples and 18,000 in soil samples.  Nearly 60% of the new enzymes did not fit into any known enzyme classes, suggesting that these molecules degrade plastics in ways that were previously unknown.  The large number of enzymes in such a wide range of habitats is an indication of the scale of the problem of plastics in the environment.

The first bacterium that eats plastic was discovered in a Japanese waste dump in 2016.  Scientists tweaked that microbe in 2018 and managed to create an enzyme that was even better at breaking down plastic bottles.

The next step in research is to test the most promising enzyme candidates in the laboratory to investigate their properties and see how effective they can be in plastic degradation.  The hope is to be able to engineer microbial communities with targeted degrading functions for specific polymer types.

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Bugs across globe are evolving to eat plastic, study finds

Photo, posted June 19, 2013, courtesy of Alan Levine via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

The Hunt For Marine Plastic | Earth Wise

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Estimates are that about 10 million tons of plastic enter the ocean every year.  This is equivalent to a truckload of plastic being dumped into the sea every minute and the stuff is not easy to keep track of.  Some of it ends up in the  infamous ocean garbage patches.  But overall, researchers only know what happens to about 1% of it.

The European Space Agency has decided to find out whether it might be possible to detect and track floating plastic in the oceans using satellite monitoring.  Researchers have a variety of ideas about how best to do this and now the agency is testing some of those ideas.

The ESA maintains something called the Atlantic Basin Facility which is a 7000 square-foot tank equipped to simulate various types of waves and tidal currents.  It is the largest facility of its kind in the world.

Researchers place plastic in the basin consisting of typical items found at sea, such as bags, bottles, marine nets and ropes, plastic cutlery, and Styrofoam balls.  The plastic used in the study included material previously recovered from the sea through ocean cleanup campaigns.  Multiple research groups from European universities used specialized instrumentation to monitor the basin from above.  Techniques included radar remote sensing, something called GNSS reflectometry, and specialized optical instrumentation.

Initial results look promising in that under some circumstances teams received useable signals.  It will take further analysis to determine the ultimate utility of space-based monitoring of plastic entering the ocean.  Marine litter is a large and growing problem.  Figuring out where it all is and where it is going is a necessary part of any solution.

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Hunting for marine plastic

Photo, posted March 24, 2017, courtesy of Holly Richards/USFWS via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

The Great Christmas Tree Debate | Earth Wise

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Along with cookies and carols, the Christmas tree is a quintessential part of the holiday season for many people.  According to the American Christmas Tree Association, approximately 75% of Christmas trees in American homes this year will be artificial.  But are artificial trees really the better option for the planet?

The short answer is no.  But it’s more complicated than that.  Ultimately, the answer depends on a variety of factors.

If you decide to go with an artificial tree, you need to use it for a very long time. Studies suggest artificial trees would need to be reused anywhere from 8 to 20 years in order to be considered the more environmentally-friendly option. You should seek out trees manufactured from polyethylene plastic as it’s not as toxic as polyvinyl chloride plastic.  And since the majority of artificial trees are imported from China, look for a “Made in USA” label to reduce the carbon footprint.

If you decide to go for a live tree, shop local. This keeps the carbon footprint low and helps support the local economy in the process.  While some tree farms do spray, researchers say the use of pesticides in tree production is relatively low.  Live trees can also be composted or recycled afterwards.

It’s important to note that live Christmas trees can also be purchased with roots and planted after the holidays.  Some companies even allow you to rent live trees.  Each rented tree can be re-rented for up to seven years, after which it’ll be too large for in-home use and gets planted in its forever home. 

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Photo, posted December 17, 2017, courtesy of Alan Sandercock via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Takeout Food And Ocean Litter | Earth Wise

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The Covid-19 pandemic saw most of us making use of take-out or delivery services as our only access to restaurant food.  It was a valuable link to normal life.  But unfortunately, the packaging of takeout food is a major contributor to the global plastic waste problem that isn’t going to disappear just because people are returning to eating in restaurants.

A new analysis of more than 12 million items by UK researchers published in the journal Nature Sustainability has found that the majority of ocean litter collected around the world is in the form of takeout food items:  bags, wrappers, containers, straws and cutlery, aluminum cans, and plastic and glass bottles.  Eighty percent of all the items surveyed were made of plastic.

Wrappers and packaging tended to concentrate along coasts, gathering on the shore and the sea floor.  Takeout trash was rarer in the open ocean.  In those areas, fishing debris accounted for half of the litter.

The authors of the study argue that efforts to curb plastic waste should prioritize takeout food and beverage containers.  They recommend that avoidable takeout items, like single-use plastic bags, should be replaced with non-plastic and biodegradable materials.  The authors also recommended making plastic producers responsible for the collection and disposal of plastic products.

As of July 1, the European Union has banned the 10 most common plastic and Stryofoam products found on European beaches.  The EU is also establishing an active European market for recycled plastics based on the principles of extended producer responsibility.

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Takeout Food and Drink Containers Account for Bulk of Ocean Litter

Photo, posted September 14, 2009, courtesy of Susan White/USFWS via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Tracking Ocean Plastics | Earth Wise

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Plastic pollution in the oceans is a major problem.  An estimated 8 million tons of plastic trash enters the ocean every year.  Most of it is broken up by sun and waves into microplastics, which are tiny bits that ride currents for hundreds or thousands of miles.  All of this debris is harmful to marine ecosystems, and it is both challenging to track and very difficult to clean up.

University of Michigan researchers have developed a new technique for spotting and tracking ocean microplastics across the globe.  The approach relies on the Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System, or CYGNSS, which is a constellation of eight microsatellites launched in 2016 to monitor weather near large storm systems.  It turns out that the radar systems on CYGNSS that measure surface roughness to calculate the wind speed near the eyes of hurricanes can also be used to detect the presence of microplastics.

With the satellite measurements, the researchers have found that global microplastic concentrations tend to vary by season, peaking during the summer months.  For example, June and July are the peak months for the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.  The data also showed spikes in microplastic concentration at the mouth of China’s Yangtze River, long suspected to be a chief source of plastic pollution.  The researchers produced visualizations that show microplastic concentrations around the world.

The information provided by the new technique could help organizations that clean up microplastics to deploy ships and other resources more efficiently.  Data of single-point release of plastics, such as from rivers, may also be useful to UNESCO, which has sponsored a task force to find new ways to track the release of microplastics into the world’s waters.

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Ocean microplastics: First global view shows seasonal changes and sources

Photo, posted April 3, 2018, courtesy of Rey Perezoso via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Transparent Wood | Earth Wise

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In recent years, there have been efforts to change the nature of wood to give it new properties.  People have demonstrated so-called augmented wood with integrated electronics, energy storage capabilities, and other properties.  Several different groups of researchers have developed wood that is actually transparent.

In 2016, researchers at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm demonstrated transparent wood made by selectively extracting lignin – the substance that makes up the cell walls of wood -and replacing it with a polymer.  The result is a new material that is weatherproof, fairly fire resistant, stronger than wood, lighter than wood, and transparent.

When the lignin is removed from wood, the empty pores left behind need to be filled with something that restores the wood’s strength.  The early versions of transparent wood used polymethyl methacrylate – essentially acrylic plastic – for this purpose.  But that material is made from petroleum, so it is not an environmentally desirable approach.

Recently, the KTH researchers have successfully tested an eco-friendly alternative:  limonene acrylate, which is a monomer made from renewable citrus, such as peel waste that can be recycled from the orange juice industry.

There are many potential applications for transparent wood as a structural material.  These include load-bearing windows, skylights, and semi-transparent facades that are strong and thermally insulating and yet permit light to enter. 

Transparent wood would be a very attractive material for many applications in that it comes from renewable sources and offers excellent mechanical properties including strength, toughness, low density, and low thermal conductivity.

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Citrus derivative makes transparent wood 100 percent renewable

Photo, posted October 12, 2018, courtesy of Mussi Katz via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Infinitely Recyclable Plastic | Earth Wise

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The glut of plastics is one of the world’s most challenging environmental problems.  The average American generates over 200 pounds of plastic waste each year and most of that ends up in landfills.  Researchers around the globe continue to work on potential solutions to the plastic waste problem.

Two years ago, scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory announced the invention of a new plastic that could be an answer to the plastic waste problem.  The material is called polydiketoenamine or PDK and it differs from traditional plastics in a very important way:  it can be recycled indefinitely with no loss in quality because it can easily be broken down into its constituent component monomers and be used to make brand new plastic.

Only a small percentage of plastics are currently recycled.  When many plastics are melted down together, the polymers are mixed with a slew of incompatible additives, resulting in a new material with much lower quality than newly produced plastic.  As a result, less than 10% of plastic is recycled more than once.

Recently, the Berkeley Lab researchers released a study that shows what could be accomplished if manufacturers began using PDKs on a large scale.  They determined that PDK-based plastic could quickly become commercially competitive with conventional plastics and, furthermore, would get less expensive and more sustainable as time goes on.

PDK is starting to draw interest from companies needing to source plastic.  The best initial application for PDKs are markets where manufacturers have the most access to products at the end of their lifespans such as in the automobile industry and consumer electronics.  Making plastics part of a circular economy is a challenging task.

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The Future Looks Bright for Infinitely Recyclable Plastic

Photo, posted April 19, 2021, courtesy of Ivan Radic via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

WAMC Northeast Public Radio

WAMC/Northeast Public Radio is a regional public radio network serving parts of seven northeastern states (more...)