The Guardian reports, 24th August 2016: Cosmetics companies must be banned from using plastic microbeads in scrubs, toothpaste and beauty products because of the marine pollution they are causing, say a group of MPs. Members of the Environmental Audit Committee have called for a ban within 18 months after hearing that trillions of tiny pieces […]
» Plastics
- Microbead plastics should be banned, say MPs
- Microplastics may be harming reproduction in fish, says study
- EU Parliament petitions the Commission to ban microbead plastics
- Campaigners launch UK-focused petition and proposals to rid the ocean of microplastics
- How Ocean Pollution Affects Humans
- Oyster reproduction affected adversely by micro-plastics
- OSPAR organises conference to tackle microplastics in the seas
- Ocean seabed a host to waste plastic and this is potentially a serious hazard, says study
- California to ban microbead plastic in order to protect marine life
- Ocean plastic is the new DDT, warns Canadian scientist
- Study finds 9 out of 10 seabirds have plastic in their gut
- SW MEP and Cornish campaigners meet EU Commissioner to lobby over waste plastics
- Microplastics are moving up the ocean food chain
- US bid to remove microbead plastics from the oceans
- Micro-plastics a major problem for the oceans, says report
- 5 to 12 million tonnes of waste plastic entering the oceans each year
- Stemming the presence of plastic bags in the oceans
- Marinet Member produces leaflet which highlights the problem of plastic bags
- Funding available for scheme to clean plastic from the oceans
- Pioneer of the study of waste plastic in the oceans says the situation is growing worse
Sciencedaily.com reports, 2nd June 2016: In a new study, published in Science, researchers from Uppsala University found that larval fish exposed to microplastic particles during development displayed changed behaviours and stunted growth which lead to greatly increased mortality rates. The researchers discovered that larval perch that had access to microplastic particles only ate plastic and […]
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A small group of MEPs, see below, has drawn up a parliamentary petition aimed at the EU Commission which seeks to ban the use of microbead plastics in commercial products. Microbead plastics, which are too small to be seen by the naked eye, are now regularly used in commercial products such as toothpastes, shampoos and […]
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April 2016, Greenpeace reports on UK ngo campaign and petition to the Prime Minister to prohibit the use of microplastics in UK cosmetic and health products : “Washed your face with an exfoliating face scrub recently? Brushed your teeth with some smooth mint toothpaste? Unfortunately then, you may have unknowingly used a product containing gross, […]
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With the oceans covering over 72% of the world’s surface and providing 70% of the oxygen we breathe and 97% of our water supply, without the oceans mankind would not exist today. The ocean is the most beautiful, diverse and mysterious environment on the planet however; everyday our oceans are under attack from pollution caused […]
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Sciencemag.org reports, 1st February 2016: Increasingly, these molluscs are exposed to tiny pieces of plastic the same size as oysters’ preferred planktonplankton Plankton is a generic term for a wide variety of the smallest yet most important organisms form that drift in our oceans. They can exist in larger forms of more than 20cm as […]
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The Oslo Paris Commission (OSPAROSPAR Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic made up of representatives of the Governments of the 15 signatory nations.) reports, 9th December 2015: Small fragments of plastic (microplastics) are so prevalent in the North East Atlantic that it is now critical that sectors come together […]
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The Guardian, 17th December 2014, reports: Scientists believe they have solved the mystery of where tens of thousands of tonnes of missing tiny pieces of plastic are ending up — and the answer lies in the mud and sand on the ocean floor. Researchers have previously been puzzled by why they found much less plastic […]
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The Guardian, 12th October 2015, reports: California’s governor, Jerry Brown, has signed legislation requiring California to phase out the use of microscopic exfoliating beads in personal care products sold in the state starting in 2020 to protect fish and wildlife. The tiny plastic beads found in soap, toothpaste and body washes are so small that […]
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CBC News reports, 11th September 2014: A prominent Canadian marine biologist has warned of a second “silent spring” — this time in the world’s oceans — due to the vast amount of plastic that has entered marine ecosystems in the last half-century. In 1962, Rachel Carson helped launch the modern environmental movement with her book, […]
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The Guardian reports, 1st September 2015: As many as nine out of 10 of the world’s seabirds are likely to have pieces of plastic in their guts, a new study estimates. An Australian team of scientists who have studied birds and marine debris found that far more seabirds were affected than the previous estimate of […]
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Clare Moody, Labour MEP for SW England, reports July 2015: Discarded plastic has devastating effects on our marine environment, but changing waste into a resource could help limit the damage. Earlier this month, I joined constituents from Cornwall, in the west of my region, for a meeting with European environment, maritime affairs and fisheries commissioner […]
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The Vancouver Sun reports, 30th June 2015: “A new study from the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre suggests microplastic particles could pose a serious risk of physical harm to the fish and marine animals that consume them. Plastic fibres and particles in West Coast waters are being consumed and passed up the food chain by […]
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PlanetExperts.com reports, 28th June 2015: “Last week the California State Assembly passed California’s microbead ban, AB 888, with bipartisan support. Co-sponsored by the 5 Gyresgyre A circular pattern of currents in an ocean Institute, AB 888 would phase out plastic microbeads from consumer care products, stopping a major contributor of plastic pollution. This vital bill […]
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The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) reports, 27th April 2015: “Micro-plastics — tiny pieces of plastic or fibres which may act as a pathway for persistent, bio accumulating and toxic substances entering the food chain — are increasingly being found in the oceans and may prove to be as harmful to marine life as more obvious, […]
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The Ecologist reports, 4th April 2015: “An unimaginably large volume of plastic debris is reaching the world’s oceans every year, write Britta Denise Hardesty & Chris Wilcox — and it’s set for a ten-fold increase over the next decade, adding to the already terrible toll on marine life from turtles to seals, sea birds and […]
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Sarah Baulch on Isonomia, 27th March 2015, observes: “True horror lies not in crumbling Gothic graveyards or the trappings of midnight movies but in the disturbing implications of mundane things. Having spent years researching the impacts of marine debris and long hours looking at pictures of creatures with plastic clogging their stomachs, now when I […]
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Marinet Member, New Forest Friends of the Earth, has produced an information and campaigning leaflet on the dangers to marine wildlife and the ecosystems of the oceans from the ordinary plastic bag. We may wish to make use of this leaflet, and to view it visit https://www.marinet.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/PLASTIC-BAGS-really-so-bad.pdf
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Bloomberg Businessweek reports, 16th September 2014: “Dutch wunderkind Boyan Slat turned 20 this year. He also closed on $2 million in crowdfunding to build clean up contraptions designed to intercept and remove plastic refuse from the ocean. The world’s oceans contain millions of tons of garbage, much of it plastic debris that collects in gyresgyre […]
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The Independent reports, 27th August, 2014: ” The world’s leading expert on the poisoning of the oceans said he was “utterly shocked” at the increase in plastic floating on the sea in the past five years and warned that it potentially posed a bigger threat to the planet than climate change. Charles J Moore, a […]
