Thai consumers get creative with their shopping bag alternatives; Harry Potter stars team up to talk environmental activism; BPA alternatives may be as hazardous as BPAs; Vogue Italy commissions artists to illustrate their latest issue to reduce their carbon footprint; and more!
Thai shoppers such as เรน ทหารม้าโยโกฮาม่า get creative with their anti- plastic bags. From NBC News.
INITIATIVES
After the plastic bag ban in Thailand, Thai shoppers have created a game out of finding the most creative vessel for carrying groceries. From wheelbarrows to laundry hampers to suitcases, photos of these unique shopping methods have been taking social media by storm. Check out more on NBC News.
More than 500 B Corp companies have publicly committed to aiming for net zero by 2030. These include big names such as Patagonia, The Body Shop, The Guardian, Allbirds, and more. Read about it on Irish Tech News.
Coachella has partnered with reusable water bottle company Contigo to create an official Festival Water Bottle. This is aimed at cutting down on single-use plastics at the festival, and at setting an example for others around the world. Read more on SGB Media.
The Moscow Recycling Center recently had its first plastic film collection day, at which it collected 724 pounds of plastic film. This film will be combined with reclaimed wood to create composite decking materials. Read more on Moscow-Pullman Daily News.
Jakarta is the latest city to hop on the plastic ban bandwagon. The capital of Indonesia, a country listed as the second worst offender for polluting the world's oceans with plastic, will ban single-use plastic bags from its street markets and shopping malls from the middle of this year. Read more on Business of Fashion.
A temple in Thailand has begun turning recycled plastic bottles into robes. In addition to donating food and clothing to the monastery, Buddhists can now also donate plastic bottles for karmic credit. Read more on South China Morning Post.
A US$106 million fund dedicated to preventing plastic from entering Asian oceans has been launched in Singapore. The Circulate Capital Ocean Fund (CCOF) is the world’s first investment fund dedicated to addressing Asia’s plastic crisis. Read more from Asian Scientist Magazine.
Portugese wet-lease airline Hi Fly has removed all single-use plastic items from its fleet of aircraft, after successful pilots of plastic-free flights in 2018. Other airlines, such as Virgin Australia and Etihad, are also making efforts in this space. Read more on Edie.
A Manhattan Beach school district is replacing their campus’s plastic water bottles will canned water. Although the switch is more expensive, it is helping the school district to phase out single-use plastics, and they anticipate that as more people start using them, the cost will come down. Read more on the Daily Breeze.
Schools in Massachusetts’s North Shore are learning to make “eco-bricks” out of non-recyclable plastics. A local contractor is teaching students how to turn plastic bottles filled with other plastics into projects such as dog houses, tree houses, and benches. Read more on Wicked Local.
PACKAGING
UK meal kit retailer Gousto has developed a solution that will cut its plastic packaging in half. The solution was trialed in 2019 and saved over 100 tonnes of plastic last year - the equivalent of 238 million plastic straws. The new packaging is plastic-free and 100% recyclable. Read more on Packaging Europe.
An eyewear chain in Singapore has implemented a recycling program for contact lens blister packs. Users who return bags filled with at least 60 blisters to any Capital Optical branch can claim a S$5 voucher from the eyewear chain. Read more on Today.
Japanese confectionary maker Bourbon will begin offering Cornet Cookies to restaurants and other businesses as an alternative to plastic straws. The company has increased its product’s water resistance by adjusting the percentage of oil and fat in the dough. We know we’d be interested in trying it! Check it out on The Asahi Shimbun.
TECHNOLOGY
HP has unveiled a new laptop that is made of 80% recycled materials. Everything from the speakers to the keyboard has been considered, and the result is one of the most sustainable laptops ever made. Read more on Digital Trends.
Michelin has announced a new concept tire that is 3D printed from biodegradable materials. The tire’s web-like internal structure will increase its longevity, and its bio-based materials will reduce the environmental hazard that discarded, petroleum-based tires pose. Read more on Fast Company.
OTHER NEWS
Bad news: BPA-free plastics may still be detrimental to your health, as BPA alternatives may have similar health effects to those of BPAs. These alternative chemicals are starting to show up in food, house dust, blood and urine. Read more on CBC.
Great news: You can now recycle Swiffer Sweepers, Dusters, and WetJet refills through TerraCycle! Just send your discarded refills to TerraCycle and earn points that can be used for charity gifts or converted to cash and donated to the nonprofit, school or charitable organization of your choice. Read more on Waste360.
Two Harry Potter stars recently teamed up to discuss single-use plastic and environmental activism. Actress Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley) was recently a featured guest on ChickPeeps, the environmental podcast by actress Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood). Read about each of their activism efforts on Fansided, and check out the podcast episode on ChickPeeps.
In an effort to reduce its carbon footprint, Vogue Italia commissioned artists to illustrate its pages instead of staging photo shoots. The carbon footprint of photo shoots is very high, and the move marks the first time that any of Vogue‘s international magazines have published an issue without a photographic cover. Read more on Art Net.
Indonesia’s crackdown on imported foreign waste is upsetting some local economies, as many residents make their income by sorting and reselling recyclable trash. Often, villagers look for plastic and aluminum to sell to recycling firms. Tofu makers also buy waste to burn as fuel when making the soy-based food. Read more on Reuters.