More than 1.5 billion masks believed to have entered oceans in 2020 [Thedenverchannel.com, 24 December 2020]

Title:

More than 1.5 billion masks believed to have entered oceans in 2020

Author:

Amanda Brandeis

Published:

Thedenverchannel.com, 24 December 2020

https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/national/more-than-1-5-billion-masks-believed-to-have-entered-oceans-in-2020

From the article:

 SAN DIEGO, Calif. — For months, we’ve seen face masks in places they shouldn’t be: storm drains, streets, beaches and parks.  

 

Now, we’re learning just how many could be flooding our oceans.  

 

“Once plastic enters the marine environment, it’s very difficult to move," said Dr. Teale Phelps Bondaroff, director of research for OceansAsia.

Is It Possible To Turn Plastic Waste Into Affordable Housing?

Title: 

Is It Possible To Turn Plastic Waste Into Affordable Housing?

Author:

Lilly Cao

Published:

ArchDaily, 26 October 2020

https://www.archdaily.com/950213/is-it-possible-to-turn-plastic-waste-into-affordable-housing

From the article:

As concerns over pollution and global warming escalate, other humanitarian issues, notably homelessness, remain equally pressing. According to the United Nations Human Settlements Program, 1.6 billion people around the world live in inadequate housing, and available data suggests that over 100 million people have no housing at all. In Sub-Saharan Africa alone, the immediate need for low-cost housing is 160 million units and is expected to increase to 350 million by 2050. Moreover, COVID-19 has only exacerbated this issue of homelessness and the houseless have been especially vulnerable to contracting the disease. Thus, on World Habitat Day earlier this month, UN-Habitat launched a partnership with the Norwegian startup Othalo to combat both issues—plastic pollution and homeless—at once.

WEBINAR hosted by University of Birmingham, United Kingdom (Wednesday, 21 October 2020) - The Plastic Lifecycle

Title:

The Plastic Lifecycle

[Part of The Plastics Problem Webinar Series]

 

Focus:

This webinar will explore the global picture of how and why we use plastic and what we have done to date. It will seek to answer questions such as: What is the historical legacy of our plastic waste? What happens to plastic and associated additives after they become waste? How does plastic pollution impact the environment? How does the use, reuse and disposal of plastics vary around the world?

 

Hosted by:

University of Birmingham

Date:

Wednesday, 21 October 2020

Time:

12:30-13:30 (UK time)

Platform:

Zoom

For more information & to register:

https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/events/events/plastic-lifecycle.aspx

Cardiff University research - Scientists predict the size of plastics animals can eat

Title:
Scientists predict the size of plastics animals can eat

By:
Cardiff University

Published:
Phys.org, 27 March 2020

From the article:
"A team of scientists at Cardiff University has, for the first time, developed a way of predicting the size of plastics different animals are likely to ingest."

To read this article:
https://phys.org/news/2020-03-scientists-size-plastics-animals.html

For decades, scientists puzzled over the plastic ‘missing’ from our oceans – but now it’s been found (Short Article in The Conversation, 12 March 2020)

Title:
For decades, scientists puzzled over the plastic ‘missing’ from our oceans – but now it’s been found

Author:
Britta Denise Hardesty & Chris Wilcox

Published:
The Conversation, 12 March 2020

From the article:
"You’ve probably heard that our oceans have become a plastic soup. But in fact, of all the plastic that enters Earth’s oceans each year, just 1% has been observed floating on the surface. So where is the rest of it?"

To read this article:
https://theconversation.com/for-decades-scientists-puzzled-over-the-plastic-missing-from-our-oceans-but-now-its-been-found-133434

For more information, see the scholarly article:
Olivelli, A. [et al.]. (20 February 2020). Coastal margins and backshores represent a major sink for marine debris: insights from a continental-scale analysis. IOP Publishing Ltd. Available: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ab7836