SHEmazing!
follow us
more
 
HomeTagsPosts tagged with "plastic waste"

plastic waste

by

Sick of plastic packaging? You're not alone. 

Today, shoppers nationwide are planning to leave leave their unwanted plastic packaging at supermarket retailers as part of the Sick of Plastic campaign.

Organised by Friends of the Earth and VOICE Ireland, the campaign has received widespread public support.

The campaign’s online map shows events planned at supermarkets from Buncrana to Skibbereen and from Westport to Greystones.

They ask that people to shop as normal – and then take off the excess plastic packaging and leave it at the shop.

Supervalu, Tesco and Aldi have confirmed they will provide a place on the day for shoppers to recycle their unwanted packaging after payment.

'Supermarkets are in the privileged position to be able to influence brands and manufacturers to change their packaging to more benign materials, yet few Irish retailers have shown any intent to address the mounting seas of plastic surrounding our shores,' Head of Communications for Friends of the Earth, Dr. Cara Augustenborg said. 

'Shoppers have an opportunity to encourage supermarkets to play their part in ending to plastic pollution in Ireland, and we believe this will spur the change that is desperately needed to tackle this problem.'

Trending

by

Plastic waste is a massive issue for the environment, with tonnes of it entering our oceans and being dumped in landfills every day. 

Scientists have discovered that an enzyme exists that breaks down plastic components in a matter of days, and there is hope that it could be utilised to alleviate the global plastic disposal issue. 

'What we are hoping to do is use this enzyme to turn this plastic back into its original components, so we can literally recycle it back to plastic,'  Prof John McGeehan, at the University of Portsmouth, told The Guardian.

'It means we won’t need to dig up any more oil and, fundamentally, it should reduce the amount of plastic in the environment.'

The enzyme, described as a 'mutant' was born from the plastic landfills of Japan, where it was discovered. 

The enzyme digests the element polyethylene terephthalate, used in plastic bottles.

'There is strong potential to use enzyme technology to help with society's growing waste problem by breaking down some of the most commonly used plastics,' Oliver Jones, a chemistry expert at RMIT University in Melbourne told ABC.

We'll be sticking to our paper straws and reusable water bottles for now until this discovery is given the trial period it deserves.

Here's to hoping for a fully recyclable plastic future. 

Trending
© Copyright 2012-2024 - Shemazing.net. Déanta in Éirinn - Sheology.