microplastics Archives - Northwest Public Broadcasting

Foam dock floats, laundry filters, hotel shampoo amongst newest bids to reduce plastic pollution

By Tom Banse January 12, 2023

This decaying plastic litter on the beach at Newport, Oregon, is on its way to becoming microplastic pollution

Everywhere they look, Pacific Northwest scientists find teeny-tiny plastic pollution. Broken down particles are in our water, falling out of the air, in salmon, shellfish and in our own bodies. Scientists, environmental advocates and Democratic lawmakers in Olympia and Salem have seen enough to make them seek more regulations.Read More

Scientists Gather To Study Risks Of Microplastic Pollution In Northwest Waters

By NWPB News February 24, 2020

Microplastic fibers, like this one from an Oregon river, are less than 5mm and often show up in vivid color under the microscope. CREDIT: TODD SONFLIETH / OPB

This week, a group of five-dozen microplastics researchers from major universities, government agencies, tribes, aquariums, environmental groups and even water sanitation districts across the U.S. West is gathering in Bremerton, Washington, to tackle the issue.Read More

Scientists Discover Microplastics In Northwest Oysters And Clams

By Erin Ross November 13, 2019

Several studies have shown that microplastics, which are tiny pieces of plastic that make up other larger plastic items, can make their way into fish, crustaceans, clams, oysters and ultimately into us, the people that eat them. Read More

Don’t Want Plastic With Your Seafood? Neither Do Otters And Orcas In Northwest Waters

By Tom Banse October 2, 2019

OSU masters student Katherine Lasdin separates the innards of a donated rockfish at the Port of Newport, Oregon, for later analysis to see if it ingested microplastics. CREDIT: TOM BANSE/N3

Plastics in the ocean food chain has become a hot topic for local scientists, for similar reasons city and state policy makers and activists are debating plastic bag bans and how to reduce plastic straw and bottled water usage. All are concerned that the world's oceans are awash in plastic trash and fibers.Read More

U.S. Recycling Industry Is Struggling To Figure Out A Future Without China

By NPR News August 21, 2019

Collected material, including plastic, is baled at TerraCycle. Courtesy of TerraCycle

The U.S. used to send a lot of its plastic waste to China to get recycled. But last year, China put the kibosh on imports of the world's waste. The policy, called National Sword, freaked out people in the U.S. — a huge market for plastic waste had just dried up. Where was it all going to go now?Read More

Plastics Or People? At Least 1 Of Them Has To Change To Clean Up Our Mess

By NPR News July 31, 2019

Plastic bags wash up as part of the litter on beaches around the world. CREDIT: REUTERS/RICARDO ROJAS

As consumers rebel against plastic waste, there's a growing question: Do we invent something people can toss without harming the environment or do we change people by giving them a chance to reuse?Read More

Plastic Has A Big Carbon Footprint — But That Isn’t The Whole Story

By NPR News July 9, 2019

By one estimate, emissions from producing and incinerating plastics could amount to 56 gigatons of carbon — almost 50 times the annual emissions of all of the coal power plants in the U.S. — between now and 2050. CREDIT: KOJI SASAHARA/AP

Plastic waste gets a lot of attention when photos of dead whales with stomachs full of plastic bags hit the news. Pieces of plastic also litter cities, and tiny plastic particles are even floating in the air.Read More

Replacing Plastic: Can Bacteria Help Us Break The Habit?

By NPR News June 17, 2019

Anne Schauer-Gimenez (from left) Allison Pieja and Molly Morse of Mango Materials stand next to the biopolymer fermenter at a sewage treatment plant next to San Francisco Bay. The fermenter feeds bacteria the methane they need to produce a biological form of plastic. CREDIT: CHRIS JOYCE/NPR

If civilizations are remembered for what they leave behind, our time might be labeled the Plastic Age. Plastic can endure for centuries. It's everywhere, even in our clothes, from polyester leisure suits to fleece jackets. A Silicon Valley startup is trying to get the plastic out of clothing and put something else in: biopolymers.Read More

Where Will Your Plastic Trash Go Now That China Doesn’t Want It?

By NPR News March 13, 2019

The U.S. used to ship about 7 million tons of plastic trash to China a year, where much of it was recycled into raw materials. Then came the Chinese crackdown of 2018. CREDIT: Olivia Sun/NPR

For years, America sold millions of tons of used yogurt cups, juice containers, shampoo bottles and other kinds of plastic trash to China to be recycled into new products. But last year the Chinese government dropped a bombshell on the world recycling business: They cut back almost all imports of trash. And now a lot of that plastic gets shipped to other countries that Read More

Commentary: 4 Ways To Reduce Plastics And Other Single-Use Disposables In Your Kitchen

By NPR News March 11, 2019

Last year, the author set about reducing her reliance on single-use disposables in the kitchen. Above are some of the tools she has adopted for food storage: a heavy-duty reusable silicone zip-top bag, bamboo towels, silicone disks that slip over the ends of cut pieces of fruits and vegetables, and beeswax-covered fabrics. CREDIT: Kristen Hartke for NPR

The 40 days of Lent, which began last week, are a time when many Christians around the world decide to voluntarily give up bad habits or luxuries. This year, it might be time we all consider how to give up – or at least reduce – our reliance on disposable products.Read More