Press Releases
Photo Credit: Scripps Institution of Oceanography
NEW STUDY FINDS MICROPLASTIC THROUGHOUT MONTEREY BAY
June 5, 2019 - A newly-published study in Scientific Reports shows that plastic debris less than 5 millimeters across, known as microplastic, is common from the surface to the seafloor. It may also be entering marine food webs, both at the surface and in the deep. Finally, the study suggests that most of this microplastic is coming from consumer products.
EXPLOSION IN PLASTIC POLLUTION POST-WORLD WAR II SEEN IN MARINE SEDIMENTS
September 4, 2019 - The amount of plastic fragments in Santa Barbara Basin sediments has been increasing exponentially since the end of World War II, according to a study by researchers from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego.
The sharp increase matches a rise in the rate of plastic production worldwide and a surge in California’s coastal population during the same time period. The research team, sifting through nearly 200 years of sediments, noted that since the 1940s the amount of microscopic plastics has doubled about every 15 years.
MICROPLASTICS: A MACRO PROBLEM
February 14, 2020 - Despite the breadth of research on this topic, scientists stress that we still have much to learn about the effects of microplastics on the environment, and ultimately us. Given headlines claiming that there will soon be more plastic in the ocean than fish, it’s research that the scientific community, and society at large, is eager to explore.
The United States’ contribution of plastic waste to land and ocean
October 30, 2020 - In 2010, an estimated 5 to 13 million metric tons (Mt) of plastic waste entered the ocean from both developing countries with insufficient solid waste infrastructure and high-income countries with very high waste generation. Accounting for these contributions, the amount of plastic waste generated in the United States estimated to enter the coastal environment in 2016 was up to five times larger than that estimated for 2010, rendering the United States’ contribution among the highest in the world.
Photo Credit: Danielle DiIullo, Louisiana Sea Grant College Program
Researchers Study the Impacts of Plastic in the Ocean
August 11, 2017 - More than 5 million tons of plastic enter the ocean every year. Light weight, durable and massively produced worldwide, are some of the reasons why plastic comprises a large part of all debris found in the ocean. While research and documentation of plastic debris in the world’s oceans and surrounding waterways has increased over the past decade, LSU Department Oceanography & Coastal Sciences, College of the Coast & Environment Professor Mark Benfield and colleagues are the first to survey the amount and type of plastic in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
Photo Credit: Loop
Brand interest in reuse rising, but it still accounts for less than 2% of plastic packaging market
November 20, 2020 - While this year’s Global Commitment 2020 Progress Report from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation reveals rising interest in companies moving from single-use packaging toward reuse models, this approach is still a small part of circular economy initiatives.
Photo Credit: Industry Dive/Waste Dive
Urgency around climate change, plastics ramps up circular economy interest in US
November 19, 2020 - The circular economy has gone from being more of a buzzword to a tangible business model in the U.S. over recent years, with a substantial uptick in investment and interest.
Closed Loop Partners and its Center for the Circular Economy is among the groups that have been tracking this shift, and facilitating efforts to scale up related business models. The group recently released a report entitled "The Circular Shift: Four Key Drivers of Circularity in North America" to assess progress so far and look at what may be coming next.