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Can India's 5,000-year-old disposable clay teacups compete with single-use plastic?

Zero waste lifestyle: 10 practical tips to get started

Eat right, exercise, get adequate sleep, manage your stress, avoid smoking and limit alcohol — these are some of the recommendations men receive to maintain a healthy <keyword id="20687206" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sperm-count" source="keywords">sperm count</keyword>. But what if, even after following all this advice, the sperm count gets affected due to the nature of the world we live in? A new study has discovered <keyword id="19970180" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="microplastics" source="keywords">microplastics</keyword> in <keyword id="21759251" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="human-testicles" source="Orion">human testicles</keyword>, raising concerns about their potential link to <keyword id="21759246" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="declining-sperm-counts" source="keywords">declining sperm counts</keyword> in men. Researchers tested 23 human testes and 47 testes from pet dogs. After dissolving the tissue samples and analysing the plastic remnants, they found <keyword id="21759247" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="microplastic-pollution" source="keywords">microplastic pollution</keyword> in every single sample! The human <keyword id="21742117" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="testicles" source="keywords">testicles</keyword> exhibited a plastic concentration nearly three times higher than that found in dog testes: 330 micrograms per gram of tissue compared to 123 micrograms. Polyethylene, commonly used in plastic bags and bottles, was the most prevalent microplastic found, followed by PVC. PVC is known to release chemicals that interfere with spermatogenesis and contains substances that disrupt the endocrine system, which produces and regulates hormones crucial for numerous bodily functions, including growth, metabolism and reproduction. Furthermore, the human testes analysed were obtained from postmortems conducted in 2016, with the men aged between 16 and 88 at the time of their deaths. Given the increased <keyword id="19970182" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="plastic-pollution" source="keywords">plastic pollution</keyword> since then, researchers are particularly concerned about its impact on younger generations. While the preserved human testicles couldn’t have their sperm counts measured, the dog testes—obtained from veterinary neutering operations—were assessable. Findings showed lower sperm counts in samples with higher PVC contamination. While this shows a correlation, further research is needed to definitively prove that microplastics cause declining sperm counts. In addition to testicles, microplastics have also recently been found in human blood, placentas and breast milk, indicating widespread contamination of human bodies. Laboratory studies have shown that microplastics can damage human cells. Moreover, these particles might lodge in tissues and cause inflammation, while the chemicals in plastics could be harmful as well. In March, doctors warned of life-threatening effects, noting a significantly increased risk of stroke, heart attack, and early death in people with contaminated blood vessels. Microplastics have already polluted the entire planet, from the summit of Mount Everest to the deepest oceans. Therefore, their presence in the innermost parts of the human body, while alarming, is not entirely surprising. The challenge now is to contain this damage and prevent it from worsening, which is easier said than done given the pervasive role of plastic in the modern way of life. The study was published in the journal Toxicological Sciences and can be accessed <a href="https://academic.oup.com/toxsci/advance-article/doi/10.1093/toxsci/kfae060/7673133">here</a>.

Plastic testes: Scientists analyse human testicles, find microplastics in every single one of them!

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A few states and some countries are passing laws to combat plastic waste.</li><li><keyword id="11892889" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="california" source="Orion">California</keyword> is the fourth US state that will make companies pay for packaging waste.</li></ul>The first half of 2022 has seen a wave of new policies cracking down on <keyword id="12318689" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="plastic-pollution" source="Orion">plastic pollution</keyword> in the US and countries like <keyword id="6356687" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="canada" source="Orion">Canada</keyword> and <keyword id="11892747" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword>. In recent weeks, California became the fourth state that will force companies to pay for cleaning up packaging waste, while Canada and India have banned the production and import of certain <keyword id="14446315" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="single-use-plastic" source="Orion">single-use plastic</keyword> products. Advocates say the momentum feels like a turning point in the global fight to eliminate the eight million metric tons of plastic waste <a href="https://www.unep.org/interactives/beat-plastic-pollution/">that flows into oceans each year</a>. According to the United Nations, this is the equivalent of dumping a garbage truck every minute. The vast majority of plastic never gets recycled and ends up in landfills, in incinerators, or as litter on land and in waterways. The US <a href="https://nap.nationalacademies.org/read/26132/chapter/1">is the world's largest contributor</a> to the problem despite representing <a href="https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/us-population/">less than 5% of the global population</a>."The public is increasingly making the connection between plastic and so many other issues, which is expanding the coalition of groups and individuals who care deeply about this," Anja Brandon, a US plastics-policy analyst at the nonprofit Ocean Conservancy, said. "That, in turn, is expanding the number of policymakers who recognize plastic pollution as critically important." Brandon said those connections include how plastic is made from the fossil fuels that drive the climate crisis. Local governments in the US often build plastic-manufacturing plants, landfills, and incinerators <a href="https://blogs.newschool.edu/news/2022/05/tishman-environment-and-design-centers-work-reveals-most-incinerators-pollute-low-income-and-communities-of-color-and-worsen-climate-change/">in marginalized communities</a>, which then disproportionately expose these communities to pollution. Researchers are also discovering tiny particles of plastic — known as microplastics — <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/microplastics-detected-in-human-blood-180979826/">in human blood</a> and stool, raising questions about potential health effects.The <keyword id="11896309" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="sustainability" source="Orion">sustainability</keyword> push has led some big brands and plastic makers to promise to make more recyclable or compostable packaging and to channel money toward local infrastructure so producers can get their materials back and reuse them. "We're investing in new technology to make sure the percent of recycled content in packaging increases and designing things to be lighter," Jen Ronk, the senior sustainability manager at Dow North America Packaging &amp; Specialty Plastics, said. The company <a href="http://www.businessfor2030.org/dow">also pledged to spend more than $1 billion</a> on efforts to manage plastic waste. Here's a rundown of the latest action: <h2>California</h2>On June 30, California Gov. Gavin Newsom <a href="https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB54">signed the most aggressive restrictions</a> on plastic in the country into law. By 2032, producers must use 25% less plastic in packaging for items like shampoo, food containers, and cups. Ocean Conservancy estimates that this provision alone will <a href="https://oceanconservancy.org/news/sb54-california-righting-ship-leading-u-s-ocean-plastic-pollution-crisis/">reduce plastic production by 23 million tons</a>, or 26 times the weight of the Golden Gate Bridge. By the same date, at least 65% of plastic must be recycled, a major jump from the <a href="https://sd26.senate.ca.gov/index.php/news/press-release/senator-allen-introduces-bill-phase-out-unsustainable-single-use-plastics">less than 15% that is recycled today</a>. "We know that to reduce the plastic-pollution crisis, we have to make less in the first place and reuse more through a circular economy," Brandon said, adding that the <keyword id="14446313" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="california-law" source="Orion">California law</keyword> is the first to address both sides of that equation. Plastic makers will pay $5 billion into a state fund to mitigate the environmental and health impacts of pollution from their products, as well. The industry will pay for collecting, sorting, and recycling waste through a fee on packaging, which will shift the burden away from taxpayers who now fund municipal-waste management. That policy, known as extended-producer responsibility, has picked up steam over the last year as Maine, Oregon, and most recently <keyword id="11918419" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="colorado" source="Orion">Colorado</keyword>, passed similar legislation. <h2>Colorado </h2>In June, the state passed its own extended-producer responsibility law that <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/colorado-to-tax-bottles-and-packaging-for-recycling-2022-6">slaps a fee on packaging such as bottles, food wrappers, and cardboard</a> to help fund recycling and keep waste out of landfills. Colorado's statewide <a href="https://cdphe.colorado.gov/colorado-recycling-totals">recycling rate for all materials is 15%</a>, less than half the national average of 32%. The law itself doesn't set mandatory recycling targets, but brands and packaging makers have to develop some for 2030 after they form a nonprofit to run the new recycling program.The law got rare public endorsements from big business, including Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Walmart. They joined forces with environmental groups like Recycle Colorado, the World Wildlife Fund, and the Sierra Club. <h2>Canada</h2><a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/managing-reducing-waste/reduce-plastic-waste/single-use-plastic-guidance.html">On June 22, the government announced</a> it would ban companies from making and importing certain single-use plastics by the end of the year as part of a sweeping effort to fight pollution and the climate crisis.Most plastic grocery bags, silverware, and straws fall under the ban, with a few exceptions for medical needs. According to the government, Canadians throw away more than 3 million tons of plastic waste every year and the country only recycles about 9% of it. "Companies don't make Canada-specific packaging or US-state specific packaging," Brandon said. "They are trying to maximize efficiency in a globalized supply chain, so these policies will have far-reaching ripple effects."<h2>India </h2>On July 1, India's government announced a ban on single-use plastics covering 19 items that are most likely to wind up as litter, such as straws, cups, and some disposable bags. The ban makes it illegal to make or import these products.According to <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/07/01/1109476072/india-plastics-ban-begins">the Associated Press</a>, thousands of other plastic items aren't covered, though the federal government has set recycling targets for manufacturers. According to its federal pollution watchdog, India generated more than 4.1 million metric tons of plastic waste in 2020. This decade the country is also trying to reduce the amount of greenhouse-gas emissions per unit of gross domestic product — known as carbon intensity — by 45%. Curbing plastic manufacturing can help India meet that target, said advocates of the ban.

Fighting our plastic problem: Bans and recycling mandates gain steam in the US and abroad

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Amazon said nearly all deliveries in North America no longer have plastic air pillows inside.</li><li>This change avoids 15 billion air pillows a year, Amazon's biggest plastic reduction effort yet.</li></ul>Nearly all Amazon deliveries in North America no longer include plastic air pillows, the e-commerce giant said on Thursday.Amazon said the change would avoid some 15 billion air pillows — the company's largest reduction in plastic packaging to date. Instead, Amazon is using a paper filler made from 100% recycled material that customers can recycle at home as part of a broader effort to eventually eliminate all plastic packaging from North American fulfillment centers. Amazon already met that goal in Europe this year.The switch to recycled paper comes as <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-global-plastic-pollution-treaty-under-scrutiny-2024-4">companies and governments are under pressure</a> to phase out single-use plastics that are piling up in landfills and contributing to the climate crisis. The vast majority of plastics are made from oil and gas, can't be recycled, and degrade into tiny particles that leach into the air and environment. Scientists have found those microplastics in human blood along with organs including the liver, heart, lungs, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/microplastics-found-in-human-testicles-what-to-do-2024-5">most recently testicles</a>, but the effects on our health are still being studied.For years, Oceana, a nonprofit that advocates for protecting oceans, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazons-plastic-air-packets-boxes-circle-the-planet-2022-12">has criticized Amazon's ballooning plastic</a> footprint as the company ships billions of packages around the world. Matt Littlejohn, Oceana's senior vice president, told Business Insider that eliminating air pillows indicated Amazon was serious about its plastic-reduction efforts in North America and that it was welcome news for oceans. Plastic air pillows are made with a film <a target="_blank" href="https://affiliate.insider.com?amazonTrackingID=bi-auto-70463-20&amp;h=c38415b31a84dfb5aa56a438e162cc317827951d6b626391c4e894a25633a2fd&amp;postID=66736386b38735ca9df50ca4&amp;postSlug=amazon-cutting-single-use-plastic-shipping-packaging-paper-recycling-2024-6&amp;site=bi&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nature.com%2Farticles%2Fs41893-021-00720-8">that's commonly found littering marine areas</a>.Oceana recently <a target="_blank" href="https://oceana.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2024/04/Amazons-United-States-of-Plastic-Oceana-Report-April-2024_reducedsize-1.pdf">estimated that Amazon generated</a> more than 94,000 metric tons of plastic-packaging waste in the US alone in 2022, a 9.6% increase over the previous year. That's enough to circle the Earth more than 200 times in the form of air pillows, Oceana said.Amazon disputes Oceana's figures and <a target="_blank" href="https://sustainability.aboutamazon.com/2022-sustainability-report.pdf">reported a lower amount of plastic packaging across</a> its global operations in 2022: Nearly 86,000 metric tons, an 11.6% decrease from the previous year.Oceana said its estimates were higher than Amazon's because the company hadn't accounted for orders sent by third-party sellers. Those independent sellers account for <a target="_blank" href="https://sell.amazon.com/sell?ld=SEUSSOAGOOG-sitelink-guide-D&amp;tag=googhydr-20&amp;hvadid=664128654868&amp;hvpos=&amp;hvexid=&amp;hvnetw=g&amp;hvrand=11107216929719429337&amp;hvpone=&amp;hvptwo=&amp;hvqmt=e&amp;hvdev=c&amp;hvdvcmdl=&amp;hvlocint=&amp;hvlocphy=9007526&amp;hvtargid=kwd-297084214751&amp;ref=pd_sl_2vge9q2e84_b&amp;ld=SEUSSOAGOOG-BFBA12122B-CLK-D&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQjw4MSzBhC8ARIsAPFOuyXwoFqkDpXAG0SpyouCS4LjcgY7qHDkeWaOK2XItdtbw5ohJv0188UaAtm2EALw_wcB%5C">more than 60% of Amazon's sales</a>. Amazon's plastic-packaging data reflects orders shipped through its own fulfillment centers — which some independent sellers opt for — and through its grocery business. The data also isn't broken down by country."The first thing for us is to really test and learn and then scale what we can control within our own facilities," Pat Linder, Amazon's vice president of mechatronics and sustainable packaging, told BI. "That's been our focus."Linder pointed to an Amazon fulfillment center in Cleveland that last year became the first to eliminate plastic delivery packaging and replace it with paper that's curbside recyclable. The effort involved rebuilding existing machines that were using plastic to package products. Additionally, As well as being more sustainable, the recyclable paper is better at protecting orders from damage, Linder said.He added that Amazon would disclose the impact of these changes on the company's plastic use in a future sustainability report.That report is also set to detail Amazon's broader climate strategy. The company aims to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2040 while boosting sales and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-data-energy-centers-water-energy-land-2023-10">building more data centers</a> that demand vast amounts of electricity.In 2022, Amazon's carbon footprint dropped by 0.4% from the previous year, although it was still higher than in 2019, the first year Amazon reported its emissions.

Amazon is trying to eliminate plastic that doesn't get recycled. It's actually making some progress.       

America has long had a plastic problem. It's an urgent question — what do we do with the 40 million tons of plastic waste we produce annually? One year of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/disposable-face-mask-waste-toxic-poison-water-nanoplastics-pollution-health-2022-2">plastic waste</a> is roughly enough to smother the entirety of Manhattan a meter deep, and it has to go somewhere. For years, the answer was simple: Make a lot of it, dump most of it in the landfill, and make the rest of it someone else's problem — the US regularly exported 7 million tons a year to China alone. Some of it was melted into lesser plastic; the rest was incinerated or buried.But then, in 2018, China cut off plastic imports.Now, America is coming to terms with a hard truth: Plastic was never designed to be recycled and there's no profitable way to recycle 91% of it. The environmental impacts have been disastrous. About 430 million tons of plastic are produced globally every year, accounting for 14% of global oil demand. The refinement of plastic alone emits up to 235 million tons of greenhouse gases a year. Most of that plastic breaks down into <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/microplastics-risks-heart-attack-stroke-study-2024-3">microplastics</a> that make their way into the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/expert-how-i-keep-baby-family-safe-toxic-plastic-microplastics-2023-1">air, rain, and our bodies</a>. Almost 95% of America's water supply contains plastic fibers.While the US, the UK, and other European countries responded to China's ban by sending their waste to places like Thailand and Malaysia, those countries then followed China in cutting off waste imports. The message was clear: The Global South would no longer be a dumping ground for the West.<div type="image" title="A scavenger drinks water while collecting plastic waste to sell to a recycling center at a landfill in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia in March 2024" height="3333" width="5000" msid="109561992" hostid="261"></div>America is now scrambling to find alternatives. One approach peddled by oil corporations like Chevron and Exxon has been to turn plastic into crude oil, which they say extends the life of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/north-americas-largest-waste-hauler-investing-in-a-plastic-recycler-2022-9">plastic that would've otherwise ended up in a landfill</a>. As these companies look to replace projected lost revenue from the phasing out of fossil fuels, they're lobbying to blanket the country with 150 plants that specialize in pyrolysis, a form of chemical recycling that melts plastic down into crude oil to be used for fuel and petrochemicals, as well as to make lesser-quality plastics. While advocates champion these facilities for breaking down hard-to-recycle plastics that other <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-recycling-startups-aluminum-plastic-valuable-materials-2024-4">recyclers toss aside</a>, critics condemn them for emitting toxic particles, relying heavily on government subsidies, and acting as a greenwashed alternative to addressing <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/plastic-recycled-into-bricks-ivory-coast-conceptos-plasticos-2023-2">the plastic problem</a>.As they're pitched as an innovation set to bring us a "circular economy" of plastic that allows us to stop making new plastic and just reuse what we have, marketing for pyrolysis and recycling overlooks a glaring fact: Plastic production doubles every 15 to 20 years.This isn't sustainable, Tim Miller, a vice president at the Ohio plastic-recycling center Royal Paper Stock, told me, adding: "But I don't know how to stop it." Pyrolysis is another sign of America's plastic paralysis.In the years after World War II, plastic flooded the marketplace as a cheap alternative to otherwise scarce and finite materials. It was hailed as a democratic harbinger of a new, utopian age of capitalism, fueling the subsequent decades of cheap consumerism that became synonymous with the American dream."The continuous flow of oil fueled not just cars but an entire culture based on the consumption of new products made of plastics," Susan Freinkel wrote in her book "Plastic: A Toxic Love Story."Plastic went from being practically nonexistent in 1940 to being consumed at a rate of 30 pounds a person each year by 1960. Just as quickly, it became a target of environmental movements protesting litter, garbage-filled oceans, and landfills brimming with plastic. Oil and chemical companies responded by looking into whether recycling was realistic or, more importantly, profitable. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.npr.org/2020/09/11/897692090/how-big-oil-misled-the-public-into-believing-plastic-would-be-recycled">It wasn't</a>. So companies shifted the blame for the pollution onto consumers. The "Crying Indian" commercial, funded by beverage and packaging corporations, aired in 1971, showing a Native American character crying at the sight of litter.The messaging worked. As companies expanded plastic into every facet of life, recycling became the due diligence needed to sustain our hyperconsumption. We didn't worry about plastic bottles because the recycling truck carried them off to a new life. Companies like Coca-Cola and Nestlé slapped "100% recycled" and "100% recyclable" labels on their packaging to appear sustainable. Just last year, the Plastics Industry Association launched a million-dollar ad campaign, "Recycling Is Real," claiming that it's "not only real, but feasible and economical."While recycling is real, the vast majority of plastic isn't recycled, mostly due to how expensive it is to clean and sort it effectively. A 2022 report by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development found only 9% of all plastic ever produced had been recycled; 72% ended up in landfills or the environment. Unlike aluminum or glass, the plastic that can be recycled rarely results in replacing one recycled water bottle with another.<div type="image" title="Recycling sorters at Recologys Recycle Central sort out pieces of flimsy and film plastic destined for landfill in 2019 in San Francisco" height="4480" width="6720" msid="109561996" hostid="261"></div>Instead, it's a process of downcycling — turning plastic into lesser plastics like plant containers or bins before they are relegated to a landfill. By downcycling a tiny portion of plastic waste, companies can genuinely reuse a relatively small share of plastic, while convincing consumers that the industry has created a circular economy of infinitely recycled plastic. Never mind that products advertised as being made from recycled plastic are made almost entirely out of new plastic or that almost all the 300 pounds of plastic every American consumes each year (10 times as much as in 1960) ends up in a landfill, in the ocean, or incinerated.Larry Thomas, a former president of what's now called the Plastics Industry Association, told NPR in 2020: "If the public thinks that recycling is working, then they are not going to be as concerned about the environment." And if they aren't worried about the impact of plastic on the environment, they won't threaten the plastics industry.Since 2018, the fossil-fuel and plastics industries have faced two harsh realities: Oil is being phased out in favor of clean, renewable energy, and plastic waste can no longer be exported to developing nations in the South. To replace their fuel losses, oil companies are going all in on plastic. The International Energy Agency predicted in 2018 that petrochemical products like plastic would outpace trucks, aviation, and shipping in oil demand by 2050. In a recent report, ExxonMobil predicted that petrochemicals used largely for plastics and fertilizer would account for nearly all of the oil industry's growth by 2050, replacing industrial fuel demand, which is projected to decrease. To keep expanding plastic production, however, it needs to look sustainable.<div type="image" title="A Good Year sign in Akron, Ohio" height="960" width="1200" msid="109562000" hostid="261"></div>Akron, Ohio, which hosts about one-quarter of the country's polymer companies, is ground zero for this push. Designated by the Biden administration as the only "tech hub" in Ohio, the city has received tens of millions of dollars from the CHIPS Act, which it hopes to use to create a circular economy around plastic.In 2012, Alterra Energy opened America's first large-scale plastic-pyrolysis facility. According to its website, Alterra converts "plastics back into their original building blocks to produce new plastics and other valuable products." The crude oil produced by the Akron facility is shipped to petrochemical companies around the globe to be purified and made into new plastics. But it's unclear how effective this process is.A study published in 2023 by researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory found that the economic and environmental impact of turning pyrolysis oil back into plastic was actually far worse than it was to make brand-new plastic. As a result, they said, pyrolysis oil is "typically reintegrated into the petrochemical industry where only a small fraction is used for closed-loop recycling."<div type="image" title="The Alterra Energy facility in Akron, Ohio" height="960" width="1200" msid="109562003" hostid="261"></div>"It has had, let's say, limited success," Miller, the Royal Paper Stock vice president, said about pyrolysis. "No one yet in the United States that I know of is just cranking in plastic and pumping out oil." He pointed to a pyrolysis facility in Oregon that just announced it would shut down after tens of millions of dollars in losses.Residents in Akron are split on the impacts of the Alterra facility. On the one hand, pyrolysis melts plastic to be reused instead of sending it to the landfill or incinerator. On the other, it emits cancerous pollutants such as mercury, benzene, and arsenic, and props up the very fossil-fuel companies that are driving the climate crisis.<div type="image" title="Kelley Sayre in front of her garage in Akron, Ohio" height="1500" width="1200" msid="109562007" hostid="261"></div>"Akron's going for 'the green city on the hill,'" Kelley Sayre, a fourth-generation Akron resident, told me, "but it's really 'the greenwashing city.'"Vicky Abou-Ghalioum, the lead petrochemicals organizer of Buckeye Environmental Network, has been working with Akron residents concerned about the environmental and health impacts of chemical recycling, but it's proved challenging in a city ruled by polymers. "People are afraid to talk about plastic," she told me. Her organization has been pushing the EPA to address the influx of planned pyrolysis facilities in Ohio, arguing that they're bad for the environment and people, and aren't even profitable.In a statement to Business Insider, Alterra Energy said its Akron facility is profitable and diverts over 100,000 pounds of plastic each day from landfills. "We operate in a heavily regulated industry and are in compliance with those requirements," the company said in response to concerns about toxic emissions. It also said one of its customers uses Alterra's oil product exclusively for making new plastic.Despite the problems of pyrolysis, many manufacturers hail it as a sustainable miracle. Companies such as Eastman Chemical Co. see chemical recycling as the solution to recycling or composting 50% of their plastic packaging by 2025, and the American Chemistry Council claims the growing industry is necessary for fostering what it calls "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.americanchemistry.com/chemistry-in-america/news-trends/press-release/2022/america-s-plastic-makers-encourage-congressional-focus-on-advanced-recycling-to-achieve-circularity">plastics circularity</a>." But these companies face an uphill battle. Former Mayor Mike Bloomberg of New York City launched an $85 million campaign in 2022 to stop over 120 proposed petrochemical facilities. "Petrochemical plants poison our air and water — killing Americans and harming the health of entire communities," Bloomberg said in a statement.In the plastic-recycling industry, pyrolysis is seen as a well funded but failing experiment. A 2023 <a target="_blank" href="https://www.beyondplastics.org/publications/chemical-recycling">report</a> by Beyond Plastics and the International Pollutants Elimination Network found that the 11 pyrolysis facilities in operation in the US required massive public subsidies, most couldn't operate at full capacity, and only two of the plants sold the crude oil to be used exclusively for plastic production. Most of it was sold to make fuels and chemicals. Based on their findings, they argued that pyrolysis was ultimately "a public relations distraction to prevent plastic regulation and prop up the profits of the petrochemical/plastics industry."Though the conundrum of plastic grows more dire by the day, there are signs of hope. In early <a target="_blank" href="https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/historic-day-campaign-beat-plastic-pollution-nations-commit-develop">2022</a>, the UN adopted a resolution that could send shock waves throughout the entire plastic-disposing world. Heads of state, environment ministers, and UN representatives agreed to end all plastic pollution with a legally binding international plastic treaty to be officially adopted later this year. "Plastic pollution has grown into an epidemic," Espen Barth Eide, Norway's then-minister for climate and the environment, said in the announcement. "With today's resolution we are officially on track for a cure."The resolution would establish an agreement addressing plastic at every level, from production to recycling, in an attempt to reduce plastic pollution worldwide. Organizations such as the international coalition Break Free From Plastic have said that cutting the production of plastic has to be on the table. "The oil and gas industry sees plastic as its primary growth market and is investing billions of dollars in new and expanded facilities," the organization wrote in a 2022 statement. The group recommended bans on single-use plastics, a plastic tax, and regulations that prioritize plastics that can be recycled."Reduction in the production of plastic is entirely possible," Abou-Ghalioum of Buckeye Environmental Network told me. She pointed to the more than 500 cities and 12 states that have banned plastic bags, reducing the number of bags used by the billions. "It's talked about how we rely on plastic for so many things, and it just feels like a marketing ploy to make us reluctant to shift away from it," she said. "We had everything we ever needed before plastic."The tough reality is that the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.sustainabilitybynumbers.com/p/landfill-plastic-area">9.5 billion tons of plastic</a> with us will be here for hundreds of years. But how many millions of more tons are added will be determined by the types of solutions we arrive at today.<a target="_blank" rel="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/taylor-dorrell">Taylor Dorrell</a> is a writer and photographer based in Columbus, Ohio.

China stopped taking our plastic. Now America is drowning in it. 

<ul class="summary-list"><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/canadian-super-pigs-wild-hogs-could-spread-us-2023-11">Feral pigs</a> cause billions of dollars in damage to properties and agriculture across the US.</li><li>The US has struggled to control the feral pig population, which is between 6 and 9 million.</li></ul>Across the US, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wild-boars-feral-hogs-menacing-cities-photos-2019-8">hogs are damaging</a> lawns, sprinkler systems, golf courses, and crops. The agricultural destruction alone is <a target="_blank" href="https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/hubs/southwest/topic/feral-swine-bomb">estimated</a> at $2.5 billion a year.Case in point, earlier this year, a video doorbell recorded footage of a pack of wild pigs rooting around a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/feral-hogs-tear-up-property-descend-on-city-in-corona-california-2021-11">suburban lawn</a> in San Antonio, Texas. It was the second time in a few weeks that hogs had ripped up grass in the neighborhood, according to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2024/01/01/video-wild-hogs-inflict-damage-on-far-west-side-neighborhood/">KSAT</a>, a local news station.In addition to doing lots of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wild-pigs-in-america-facts-damages-helicopters-si-report-2020-1">property damage</a>, the pigs also carry disease, breed quickly, are difficult to trap, and can be aggressive toward humans, feral pig expert Jack Mayer told Business Insider.The US has been trying to keep the feral pig population — estimated to be between 6 and 9 million — in check for over a decade. A handful of states have seen success, but others, like Texas, Florida, and Georgia, are struggling.For Mayer, a research scientist with the Savannah River National Laboratory, it's an uphill, ongoing battle. "They're very secretive," he said. And "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wild-boar-rescued-two-piglets-from-a-trap-2021-9">they're smart</a>, so they're tough to control."<h2 id="12cbda38-3d8e-4f95-86c8-d5feb4cdd8af">Feral pigs will eat almost anything</h2><div type="image" title="A man in a black jacket spreads pig feed near a fence in the woods" height="1500" width="2250" msid="111492705" hostid="261" sizebytes="743050"></div>Pigs didn't arrive in North America until the 1500s, so they're not a native species. By the mid-1600s, they were already a nuisance, destroying property and menacing children, <a target="_blank" href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/creatures-of-empire-9780195304466">according to</a> one New England colonist in 1658.In the centuries since, not much has slowed the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/canadian-super-pigs-likely-to-invade-us-dakotas-montana-minnesota-2024-5">wild pig population</a> from expanding. A single sow can have as many as 10 piglets, <a target="_blank" href="https://dnr.illinois.gov/conservation/wildlife/feralswine.html">sometimes</a> twice a year. The feral hogs' genes are often a mix of wild boar and domestic pig.Even formerly domestic pigs can quickly adapt to life in the wild. "For whatever reason, domestic pigs go wilder quicker than any other species of domestic livestock that we have," Mayer said.Out in the wild, these omnivorous animals don't rely on humans to feed them. And <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/feral-hog-over-400-pounds-san-antonio-golf-course-captured-2019-9">they're not picky</a>. Mayer has seen feral hogs forage at landfills and feed on diapers, rubber bands, and plastic. In 2019, Louisiana researchers <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nola.com/news/environment/whats-inside-a-feral-hogs-stomach-you-name-it/article_7970e24e-2443-11ea-a1cb-8fd30c0206c3.html">found</a> dozens of native species, from acorns to salamanders to turtles, in their stomachs.While they're often a bit leaner than their domesticated relatives, the feral pigs can still get to be 250 pounds, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.aphis.usda.gov/operational-wildlife-activities/feral-swine/identification">according to the USDA</a>. This means as they move about in urban and suburban areas, they can cause traffic accidents, Mayer said.Deadly interactions between <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/woman-killed-by-feral-hogs-outside-home-in-texas-2019-11">humans and pigs</a> are very rare in the US. Worldwide, though, Mayer found that feral hogs killed 172 people between 2000 and 2019.Most of the attacks are defensive, he said, and happen when, "for whatever reason, they feel threatened." The hogs have sharp teeth and tusks and can run fast.<div type="image" title="A man in shorts, a tank top, and hat walks by a muddy area in the middle of grass" height="1500" width="2250" msid="111492704" hostid="261" sizebytes="1126300"></div>They're also vectors for dozens of diseases and parasites found in their feces, fluids, and <a target="_blank" href="https://feralhogs.tamu.edu/parasite-borne-diseases/">undercooked</a> meat. One of Mayer's biggest worries is that they could spread African swine fever to domestic animals. Humans can't catch the disease, but it's deadly for pigs.Asian countries have <a target="_blank" href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2022.844209/full">slaughtered</a> millions of pigs to try and stop the outbreak of the virus. European countries are taking similar measures.If the virus arrives in North America, "it's going to spread, and it's going to be ugly," Mayer said.<h2 id="c3c744f6-f29a-49b0-ac16-6e733fb9c674">A losing battle to control the wild pig population</h2>Because hogs reproduce so quickly, some states <a target="_blank" href="https://dnr.illinois.gov/conservation/wildlife/feralswine.html">estimate</a> that they would need to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bill-cassidy-says-people-need-ar-15s-kill-feral-pigs-2022-5">reduce the population</a> size by 60% to 70% each year to keep the numbers from growing.Currently, many states trap and euthanize pigs. In 2011, Texas passed the "pork-chopper bill," which allows <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mark-zuckerberg-hunts-wild-boars-feral-hogs-bow-arrow-2020-1">feral hog hunting</a> from helicopters. But <a target="_blank" href="https://woub.org/2024/06/16/ohio-house-passes-bill-allowing-landowners-to-shoot-feral-pigs-without-license-2/">Ohio</a> and Kentucky are currently working on banning pig hunting. Some experts believe it can actually make the problem worse, since hunted pigs tend to become more secretive and harder to trap.Texas and Oklahoma recently announced they'll begin using a substance with warfarin, similar to rat poison, to help control their feral hog populations.<div type="image" title="Two feral pigs in the Florida Everglades" height="1500" width="2250" msid="111492706" hostid="261" sizebytes="288110"></div>"This is going to be potentially another tool in the toolbox," Mayer said, "but the people in the US never have really warmed up to the use of poisons for any kind of wildlife." It's a move many have opposed in the past because of its potential effects on wildlife that eat poisoned animals, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.texasmonthly.com/travel/texas-feral-hog-problem-swine-country/">Texas Monthly</a> reported in 2023.Mayer said another factor that makes controlling wild hogs difficult is that the entire country is a mosaic of different methods. And not everyone wants them gone, he said."You've got some people that love them, some people that hate them," he said, "and because of that, I don't think we're ever going to get rid of them."

Dangerous feral hogs that destroy lawns and eat plastic are growing across the US, and states can't kill them fast enough

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Amazon used nearly 86,000 tons of single-use plastic packaging last year, an 11.6% drop.</li><li>The company is using more materials like paper as part of its sustainability efforts.</li></ul>Now part of your Amazon delivery: less plastic.The <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://affiliate.insider.com?h=9d6cff22feb867210c6ed04e4e5e540fd423969d25162da7144665ba133fa0bd&amp;postID=64b82f9f323712730ff6298d&amp;site=bi&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fsustainability.aboutamazon.com%2F2022-sustainability-report.pdf">e-commerce giant said</a> it used nearly 86,000 tons of single-use plastic to send orders to customers around the globe last year. That's 11.6% less than in 2021. Amazon is also ditching its blue and white padded plastic mailers in favor of easier-to-recycle paper packaging.The numbers on plastic, released Tuesday, came in <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://affiliate.insider.com?h=00a097cd330a065216cafacf9a2617c5a115e6165c0721da4aeca6f598b77965&amp;postID=64b82f9f323712730ff6298d&amp;site=bi&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fsustainability.aboutamazon.com%2F2022-report%23waste-and-packaging">Amazon's latest sustainability report</a> that tracks the company's progress toward its climate and social goals. Amazon aims to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2040 — even as the company plans to boost sales — by powering its operations with renewable energy, shifting to electric delivery vehicles, using recyclable packaging, and minimizing waste, among other initiatives.Amazon didn't start reporting how much plastic is used in the billions of packages it ships until <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://affiliate.insider.com?h=e79540b1c70606b724dda0d4b74c3a93cd7453daffd29fbfebe0813be5f16e83&amp;postID=64b82f9f323712730ff6298d&amp;site=bi&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.aboutamazon.com%2Fnews%2Fsustainability%2Fhow-amazon-is-reducing-packaging">December 2022</a>. That followed years of pressure from <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.asyousow.org/press-releases/2023/6/8/investors-amazon-plastic-action-walmart">environmental groups and investors</a> concerned about a growing amount of plastic pollution <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/programs/geh/geh_newsletter/2021/2/articles/new_study_finds_ocean_pollution_a_threat_to_human_health.cfm">threatening oceans, wildlife, and people's health</a>. Only about <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.oecd.org/environment/plastic-pollution-is-growing-relentlessly-as-waste-management-and-recycling-fall-short.htm">9% of the world's plastic gets recycled</a>; much of the rest piles up in landfills, is burned, or leaches into waterways.Matt Littlejohn, senior vice president of the conservation group Oceana, said Amazon's latest progress and commitment to phase out plastic-padded mailers is a "real win" and will mean less waste ends up in the world's seas."We will monitor Amazon's developments going forward to ensure the company continues to disclose a shrinking plastic packaging footprint," Littlejohn <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://oceana.org/press-releases/good-news-for-the-oceans-amazon-single-use-plastic-packaging-declines-by-over-11-in-one-year/">said in a statement</a>.Oceana for several years has tried to put numbers on how much plastic Amazon is using. The company has described those estimates as inaccurate and exaggerated. Oceana's <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://oceana.org/press-releases/report-amazons-plastic-packaging-waste-jumped-18-to-709-million-pounds-in-2021/">analysis for 2021</a> found Amazon used about 709 million pounds of plastic packaging — some 355,000 tons.Oceana said its estimates are higher than Amazon's data because the company doesn't account for orders sent by third-party sellers. Amazon's data reflects orders shipped through its own fulfillment centers and through its grocery business.Amazon said it used less plastic in 2022 by expanding packaging made with recyclable paper across the US, Canada, and Europe. The company also eliminated plastic air pillows in Europe and Australia.The company's overall carbon footprint slipped by 0.4% from 2021 to 2022, although it was still higher than in 2019, the first year for which Amazon reported its emissions. Amazon emitted 71 million metric tons of carbon dioxide last year. In 2019, emissions came to 51 million metric tons.

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