
News from Plastics in the Environment
Latest news and updates from the Plastics in the Environment special interest group.
The Story of Plastic Q&A Panel
30 May 2020
- SIG members Judy Lee, Rosalind Malcolm and Kayleigh Wyles took part on a Q&A panel following a showing of the documentary: ‘The Story of Plastic’ (2020, Discovery network).
Guest Editor on a Special Issue on Microplastics - Call for Papers
29 May 2020
- Fate in wastewater treatment plant and impact on biology, processes and materials. https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-water-process-engineering/call-for-papers/special-issue-on-microplastics-fate-in-wastewater-treatment
Are global food packaging brands really committed to ditching single-use plastic?
9 October 2019
- As the world’s relationship with plastic is being radically redefined, academics at the University of Surrey investigate bold new food packaging pledges made by some of the world’s most prominent brands – and question whether these pledges will translate into measurable actions.
- The report, presented at the RECOUP Plastics Recycling and Resources Conference 2019, evaluates the extent to which businesses in the food and drink packaging industry – which accounts for approximately 40 per cent of plastics produced – are responding to legal and societal drivers to change their approach to single-use plastics.
- Surrey academics have analysed the plastic-related public communications from Carlsberg Group, Nestlé, Aldi, Marks and Spencer, Iceland, Quorn, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Müller, Princes, Kraft Heinz and Waitrose.
Read more (PDF)
Car tyres create tonnes of plastic pollution
26 November 2018
- A new report by Friends of the Earth has revealed that as much as 19,000 tonnes of microplastic pollution could be entering UK waterways every year from vehicle tyres
- Microplastics can absorb and concentrate toxic pollutants from seawater, making them poisonous to animals
- Friends of the Earth is advising a number of measures to combat car tyre pollution and calls for the government to plan for a reduction to zero plastic pollution by 2042
Only one third of UK’s plastic food packaging is recyclable, study finds
4 August 2018
- The Local Government Association (LGA) has completed recent analysis which indicates that two-thirds of all plastic food container waste is still being incinerated or thrown into landfill
- The LGA recommends a ban on the use of low-grade plastic in order to increase recycling
- Separation of plastic parts at materials recovery facilities should be improved to assist manufacturers in creating high-quality recyclable products.
Science Minister announces £20m Plastics Research and Innovation Fund
18 June 2018
- The new fund aims to explore new ideas and innovations that can encourage changes in the UK's plastics manufacturing and consumption patterns
- The Plastics and Research Innovation Fund (PRIF) will be managed by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
- The PRIF aims to engage scientists and innovators to help achieve a more circular economic and sustainable approach to plastics for the UK.
All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on the Prevention of Plastic Waste established
January 2018
- The focus of the APPG is ‘to monitor the progress of the 25-year Environment Plan in relation to plastic waste; to raise issues relating to the impact of plastic waste on our environment and to provide a cross-party forum to work towards the minimisation of plastic waste’.