Quick Dips
Curated topical articles on the Blue Economy

Our waste is valuable: how one company is creating a circular economy for plastics

Emmanuel Ladent, World Economic Forum Plastics & Pollution

With Carbios’s solution, we finally found a biological way to reuse plastic waste.

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Mangroves and Coral Reefs Yield Positive Return on Investment for Flood Protection, Study Finds

Cristen Hemingway Jaynes Plastics & Pollution

Researchers have found that mangroves and coral reefs can be cost-effective in reducing coastal flooding.

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Plastitar: mix of tar and microplastics is new form of pollution, say scientists

Ashifa Kassam, The Guardian Plastics & Pollution

Researchers in Canary Islands coin term for new type of marine pollution they say could be leaking toxic chemicals into oceans.

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World Oceans Day: Biden Admin Announces National Parks’ Plastic Phaseout, New Marine Sanctuary

Olivia Rosane, EcoWatch Plastics & Pollution

The Biden administration announced new steps to protect the nation’s oceans in honor of both National Ocean Month and World Ocean Day.

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Which priorities should a global plastic pollution treaty focus on? 5 leaders weigh in

Kristin Hughes, World Economic Forum Plastics & Pollution

Here is what five leaders believe are the priorities and perspectives a global treaty on plastic pollution offers.

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Lampposts, rings, cameras: over 25,000 pounds of junk cleared from Lake Tahoe

Katharine Gammon, The Guardian Plastics & Pollution

The cleanup was undertaken by a California non-profit which hired scuba divers to clean the top 25ft of the lake.

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Corals and Sea Anemones Turn Sunscreen into Toxins—Understanding How Could Help Save Coral Reefs

Djordje Vuckovic & Bill Mitch, The Scientist Plastics & Pollution

Researchers have long suspected that an ingredient in sunscreen called oxybenzone was harming corals, but no one knew how. A new study shows how corals turn oxybenzone into a sunlight-activated toxin.

Read more → (6 minute read)


U.S. plastic recycling rate drops to close to 5%

Valerie Volcovici, Reuters Plastics & Pollution

The decline coincides with a sharp drop in plastic waste exports, which had counted as recycled plastic.

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How liberating ocean data will equip companies to avoid illegally caught seafood in their supply chains

Center for Ocean Solutions, Stanford Plastics & Pollution

A new report outlines how ocean data transparency can enable companies to avoid produce from illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and instead choose sustainable and ethical products throughout their supply chains.

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Fish on drugs: cocktail of medications is ‘contaminating ocean food chain’

Salomé Gómez-Upegui, The Guardian Fisheries & Aquaculture Plastics & Pollution

Study in Florida finds ‘widespread’ traces of a total of 58 medications including heart drugs, opioids, antidepressants and antifungals in increasingly rare bonefish and their prey.

Read more → (7 minute read)


Can brands make reusable packaging more attractive than single-use plastic? NFTs could be the answer

Emma Samson, World Economic Forum Plastics & Pollution

The reusable packaging market could be a $10 billion opportunity to eliminate single-use plastic.

Read more → (5 minute read)


Disease-causing parasites can hitch a ride on plastics and potentially spread through the sea, new research suggests

Karen Shapiro & Emma Zhang, The Conversation Plastics & Pollution

Typically when people hear about plastic pollution, they might envision seabirds with bellies full of trash or sea turtles with plastic straws in their noses.

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Sunscreen chemicals accumulating in Mediterranean seagrass, finds study

Safi Bugel, The Guardian Plastics & Pollution

UV filters absorbed by Posidonia oceanica may have damaging effects on ecosystems, scientists warn.

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Revealed: ships may dump oil up to 3,000 times a year in Europe’s waters

Paddison, L. et al., The Guardian Plastics & Pollution Shipping & Ports

Collaborative investigation shows ships regularly discharge ‘bilge’ water illegally instead of treating it, with toxic effect on marine life.

Read more → (6 minute read)


Here's why paint microplastic emissions must be at the top of the global environmental agenda

Declan McAdams & Torleiv Njaa, World Economic Forum Plastics & Pollution

Paint is a major source of microplastics in the ocean, although the scale of the issue has only recently been highlighted.

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This is how to ensure sustainable alternatives to plastic

Karuna Rana, World Economic Forum Plastics & Pollution

Plastic pollution has become one of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time, with marine plastics being the most recognizable problem linked to the use of plastic.

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Oil spill at sea: who will pay for Peru’s worst environmental disaster?

Dan Collyns, The Guardian Plastics & Pollution

As the state, the refinery and tanker owners play the blame game, damage to the region’s ecosystems continues to spread.

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Historic day in the campaign to beat plastic pollution

UN Environment Programme Plastics & Pollution

Nations commit to develop a legally binding agreement.

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The Plastic in Paint Is Massively Polluting the Ocean

Jeremy Miller for The Sierra Club Plastics & Pollution

According to an estimate from the World Economic Forum, the number of microplastics that find their way to the ocean every year by way of paint flaking from steel surfaces is equivalent to the plastic of 150 to 225 billion empty plastic bottles.

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Plastic pollution is growing relentlessly as waste management and recycling fall short, says OECD

OECD Plastics & Pollution

The world is producing twice as much plastic waste as two decades ago, with the bulk of it ending up in landfill, incinerated or leaking into the environment, and only 9% successfully recycled, according to a new OECD report.

Read more → (4 minute read)