Friday Round-Up: The Plastics

Plastic has been in the news a lot lately: from bans of single-use plastic bags in grocery stores, to the Great Pacific garbage patch. Here’s a round-up of recent stories related the ubiquitous polymer.

The Great Pacific garbage patch may one day be eliminated thanks to a huge trash-collecting system developed by a Netherlands-based non-profit. “Ocean Cleanup plans to build a fleet of these devices, and predicts it will be able to reduce the size of the patch by half every five years.

What will they do with all that recovered ocean plastic? Well some is being recycled into things like yoga mats, shoes and skateboards according to this NY Daily New article which highlights 11 top brands that make products from recycled ocean plastic.

One of the best things about staying in a hotel is collecting the mini bottles of shampoo, etc. Unfortunately, if your business trip or vacation takes place in sunny California, that will no longer be a perk of traveling. California governor Gavin Newsome just signed a bill banning hotels from offering mini toiletries into law.

Plastic straws have a hot topic in recent months. This New York style piece covers alternatives to sipping your beverage through what amounts to fodder for landfill or the Great Garbage Patch.

Finally, filed under “Inedible,” a recent study found we eat a credit card worth of plastic EVERY WEEK! That’s 5 grams or approximately 2,000 pieces of plastic. Ugh.

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