For an alternate viewpoint, see “Counterpoint: Single-Use Plastic Bans Make No Sense.” Plastics are woven into every aspect of our lives, but what was once the poster child for convenience is fast becoming a pariah product. The era of single-use plastic must[...]
For an alternate viewpoint, see “Point: Why We Should Ban Single-Use Plastics.” Nobody wants plastic pollution. That doesn’t mean poorly considered and heavy-handed governmental actions are the solution. This includes misguided single-use plastic bans (e.g., bans on plastic straws and single-use plastic[...]
Americans throw away more than a billion dollars’ worth of aluminum cans each year, a loss that now carries new weight as tariffs reshape the market. With imports suddenly more expensive, scrap has become the industry’s lifeline — cheaper, cleaner, and far[...]
Minot residents will soon get to decide for themselves whether to keep curbside recycling. On a 5-2 vote, the City Council approved ending the mandate starting next April, letting customers opt out while keeping the $2.60 monthly fee for those who stay[...]
That small triangle of arrows stamped on nearly every plastic container feels so familiar it’s easy to forget it hasn’t always been there. In fact, it only dates back to 1988, when the plastics industry introduced the resin identification code as a[...]
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Malaysia is closing its doors to U.S. plastic waste—and California, one of the top exporters, will feel the shift. Starting July 1, the country will block imports from nations that haven’t signed the Basel Convention, an international treaty on waste. The U.S.[...]
If litter bugs you -- as it does most people, don't you be the guilty one. Stash the trash in the litter basket at the beach. Keep America Beautiful. [...]Read More... from On This Day | Keeping America Beautiful is Your Job,[...]
This points up the beer can problem. Up to several years ago beer was sold package-style in bottles and the bottles were worth cash if you returned them to the beer parlor. Now [...]Read More... from On This Day | Beer Cans[...]
A new report from the Center for Climate Integrity is challenging the plastics industry’s latest promise: chemical recycling. While touted as a breakthrough that could make plastics infinitely reusable, the report argues the technology remains costly, inefficient, and largely unproven at scale.[...]
A complex accounting method used by plastic producers is under fire for overstating recycled content in products. Mondelez, maker of Triscuits, is using a system called “mass balance” to claim up to 50% of its packaging comes from recycled materials, even though[...]
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Plastic used to be a convenience. Now it’s a contaminant — not just in our oceans and landfills, but in our bodies and even our brains. This Earth Month, Grove Collaborative CEO Jeff Yurcisin makes a clear-eyed case: recycling isn’t saving us,[...]
Minot’s recycling program is doing better than expected, city officials say, with financial returns surpassing initial projections. At City-organized Neighborhood Meeting Thursday evening, residents toured the landfill and learned more about how the program works, including the steady demand for materials like[...]
Starting this year in Sweden, those with old clothing can’t just toss it in the trash. New national legislation requires all textiles to be recycled. It’s a step toward sustainability; the burden of which has been handed down to the municipalities to[...]
Nuance Alert: If you see the world in clear cases of right and wrong, black and white, us and them, you’re going to be confused by what you read next. I color myself fully for the environment. Climate change is real, human[...]
What does it make sense to recycle? That’s not an answer under control of municipalities with recycling programs, because it depends on what the MRFs (material recovery facilities) will accept. And the Minneapolis-based MRF Fargo sends their recycling to is no longer[...]
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Minot City Council took action on garbage and landfill rates on Monday night. The larger your bin, the larger your rate increase with increases of a dollar for the largest 95-gallon bins and 50 cents for smaller bins. Plus, we’re building a[...]