Eating canned soup for five days raised the BPA in people’s urine more than tenfold
Food and drink cans have a thin plastic lining. In a 2011 Harvard trial, people who ate one can of soup a day had…
Policymakers
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Black plastic kitchenware and food trays can contain flame retardants from recycled electronics
A 2024 study found banned flame retardants from old electronics in black plastic utensils, food trays and toys. Its health risk estimate was later…
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A floating marina bin caught 0.18 kg of litter in a month
The only independent field test of a Seabin found it caught 0.18 kg of litter in 750 hours in a Plymouth marina, along with…
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The European Union plastics levy: €0.80 for every kilogram of plastic packaging not recycled
Since 2021, each European Union country pays €0.80 per kg of plastic packaging waste it does not recycle into the European Union budget. The…
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Going plastic-free in Noosa cost cafés more, but paid back A$4.33 to the community for every dollar
An economic study of Noosa’s Plastic Free Places program found cafés paid about A$6,847 a year more for non-plastic items, while the community gained…
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Reusable anaesthetic equipment cut costs 46% in a Melbourne study, but emissions rose
A peer-reviewed study from Western Health in Melbourne found reusable anaesthetic equipment would cost A$32,033 a year less than single-use for a six-theatre hospital,…
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Plastic pollution lawsuits could cost companies more than US$20 billion in the US alone
The Minderoo Foundation’s analysis estimates expected liabilities from plastic-related litigation in the United States from 2022 to 2030 at more than US$20 billion, with…
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Plastic carries a hidden US$75 billion yearly cost for consumer-goods companies
A UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and Trucost study put the natural-capital cost of plastic used by the consumer-goods sector at US$75 billion a year,…
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Cutting plastic use is the cheapest route to less pollution; swapping materials is the most expensive
Breaking the Plastic Wave, the most detailed global model of plastic pollution, found that reducing plastic is the most attractive option economically, often a…
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Returnable bottles cost 6–10% less than single-use once reuse runs at scale
Ellen MacArthur Foundation modelling with Systemiq and Eunomia found returnable drink and personal-care bottles cheaper per use than single-use in a shared, national system,…