Plastic
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Recycling crisis
How the NSW plastic strategy could change your daily takeaway coffee
Forcing cafes to accept reusable cups, banning the release of helium balloons and phasing out plastic lollipop sticks are among ideas the government is considering.
- by Caitlin Fitzsimmons
Latest
‘Insidious pollutant’: The microplastic hotspots in Sydney Harbour revealed
Manly Cove is one of the worst hotspots in Australia, with every square metre of sand containing more than a thousand tiny particles of plastic.
- by Caitlin Fitzsimmons
Human brain tissue made up of 0.5 per cent microplastics, study reveals
The shocked scientist behind the finding said soaring rates of plastics in the body may be the “dark matter” force driving dementia rates and falling fertility.
- by Angus Dalton
‘We can no longer limp along’: Plans for plastic packaging shakeup
More than a year after the collapse of REDcycle, Australian industry and government can’t agree on how to collect our sea of soft plastics, let alone what to do with it.
- by Bianca Hall and Caitlin Fitzsimmons
The common food packaging ingredient linked to autism
Prenatal exposure to BPA plastic chemicals has been linked with an increased likelihood of children developing autism.
- by Caitlin Fitzsimmons
Dominic Ryan, Sydney’s modern-day milkman, has a plan to end plastic
It looks like a scene from decades ago: a man delivering glass bottles filled with milk to the doorsteps of Sydney homes early in the morning.
- by Mary Ward
The push to revive soft plastic recycling in Australia is quietly under way
Two years after REDCycle’s collapse, a pilot program is operating in 12 supermarkets – but one recycling executive says the big chains need to own their waste.
- by Adam Carey
‘I’ve still got my mother-in-law’s Mixmaster’: Inside Sydney’s dying breed of repair shops
As tinkers and cobblers dwindle in number, and goods are easier to replace than repair, some businesses are bucking the trend.
- by Julie Power
More than 170 countries want to reduce plastic globally. A handful are stalling
Australia is attempting to help a global push to end plastic pollution before it outweighs the biomass of the world’s fish by the year 2050. But other countries have different ambitions.
- by Mike Foley
The tiny killer linked to heart attack, stroke and death
A world-first study has identified a factor that leads to a 4½-times greater risk of heart attack, stroke and death – and exposure is unavoidable.
- by Angus Dalton
NSW, Victoria ‘laggards’ as WA races ahead in banning plastic coffee cups
While Western Australian imposed a ban on single-use coffee cups on Friday, eastern states are being accused of dragging their feet on reducing plastic waste.
- by Nick O'Malley and Hamish Hastie