plastic 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

COVID-19 Has Resurrected Single-Use Plastics. Are They Back To Stay?

By NWPB News July 26, 2020

File photo. Washington and Oregon lawmakers are considering statewide bans on single-use plastic bags in grocery stores. CREDIT: JULIA REIHS/KUT

COVID-19 is changing how the U.S. disposes of waste. It is also threatening hard-fought victories that restricted or eliminated single-use disposable items, especially plastic, in cities and towns across the nation.Read More

Coronavirus Fears Prompt Suspensions Of Bans On Single-Use Plastic Bags

By NPR News April 13, 2020

Rick Wittenmyer shops for groceries at the West Side Market, Friday, April 10, 2020, in Cleveland. There were fewer shoppers this year before the Easter holiday than in previous years due to the coronavirus. CREDIT: Tony Dejak/AP

Manufacturers, lawmakers and grocery store workers say the reusable bags could transmit the virus, but according to scientists there aren't enough studies to know whether that's true.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

Turning Pollution Into Art With A Purpose On The Oregon Coast

By NPR News December 5, 2019

Angela Haseltine Pozzi founded Washed Ashore in 2010. The nonprofit turns plastics taken from Oregon's beaches into eye-opening sculptures of threatened marine life. CREDIT: Kirk Siegler/NPR

This particular stretch of the Oregon coastline is famous for being pristine and wild. But train your eyes down a little closer to the beach and sand as Angela Haseltine Pozzi so often does, and even here you'll find bits of plastic.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

Plastic’s New Threat: Indestructible Rafts For Ocean-Crossing Invasive Species

By NWPB News August 2, 2019

Marine organisms like these gooseneck barnacles are crossing the Pacific Ocean to North America by hitching rides on floating debris composed of man-made materials — mostly plastic. Courtesy of Russ Lewis

The 2011 earthquake and tsunami that ravaged Fukushima, Japan, also triggered tsunami warnings for our coastlines here in the Pacific Northwest. And while the resulting waves did not turn out to be catastrophic when they reached our local shores, those same forces delivered a wake-up call.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

Canada Wants To Ban Single-Use Plastics. Would It Make A Difference?

By PBS Newshour June 13, 2019

A Canadian ban on single-use plastics products could go into effect as early as 2021. CREDIT: COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES DEPARTMENT PUBLIC WORKS

From Vancouver to Halifax, plastic plates, plastic bags and plastic straws may be on their way out. But a possible country-wide prohibition on certain single-use plastic products may not address the spread of the most insidious plastic litter, some scientists say.Read More

Organic Farming Has A Plastic Problem. One Solution Is Controversial

By NPR News June 7, 2019

Lettuce sprouts amid rows of plastic covering the ground at One Straw Farm, an organic operation north of Baltimore. Although conventional farmers also use plastic mulch, organic produce farms like One Straw rely on the material even more because they must avoid chemical weed killers, which are banned in organic farming. CREDIT: LISA ELAINE HELD/NPR

Plastic is under attack these days for the environmental problems it causes. But sustainability-minded shoppers might not be aware that many organic farmers — like their conventional farming neighbors — also rely on plastic. It's spread over the ground as a form of mulch to suppress weeds, conserve water and aid plant growth.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

Lawmakers Consider Statewide Plastic Bag Bans In Washington And Oregon

By Cassandra Profita February 19, 2019

Lawmakers in both Washington and Oregon are considering bills that would ban single-use plastic bags statewide to reduce plastic pollution.Read More

Your Questions About Plastic Waste, Answered

By NPR News February 8, 2019

Around the globe, people are searching for ways to reduce plastic waste. Above: Dampalit, a fishing community in Manila Bay, can't keep up with a constant influx of trash. CREDIT: JES AZNAR/NPR

How can I find out if my plastic waste is really being recycled What makes some plastic recyclable and some not? Here are answers from the NPR correspondents working on "The Plastic Tide" series.Read More