#plastic
Wanneer pakt onze overheid nou eens door? Zo komen we er niet.
Uitstoot stikstof moet in sommige gebieden 70 tot 80 procent omlaag
NRC
Stikstofreductie Het kabinet berekende hoe hard de stikstofuitstoot moet krimpen. Het op grote schaal uitkopen van boeren lijkt onvermijdelijk. (...)
Rond gebieden zoals de Gelderse Vallei en de Peel in Brabant moet de uitstoot met 70 tot 80 procent omlaag. Zulke percentages zijn volgens deskundigen onhaalbaar zonder op grote schaal boeren uit te kopen, iets wat zeer gevoelig ligt in de sector. (...)
Het ministerie van LNV zegt in de strategie niet hoe de doelen bereikt moeten worden. (...)
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Plasticbranche haalt milieudoelen niet
NRC
Onderzoek - De plasticindustrie haalt doelen voor CO2-reductie en afvalvermindering niet, blijkt uit onderzoek van denktank Systemiq.
Overheden en plasticindustrie doen te weinig om de klimaatdoelen van Parijs te halen. Ook de reductie van plasticafval gaat niet snel genoeg. Dat blijkt uit een onafhankelijke studie van denktank Systemiq in opdracht van de Europese plasticindustrie. Volgens Systemiq zijn veel dwingender maatregelen en investeringen nodig. (...)
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Tags: #nederlands #nederland #milieu #afval #plastic #plastic_afval #plasticafval #plasticindustrie #verpakking #verpakkingsindustrie #klimaat #klimaatverandering #klimaatcrisis #klimaatdoelen #broeikaseffect #uitstoot #stikstof #landbouw #boeren #natuur #natuurbescherming #natuurbehoud #natuurgebied
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I love my coffee and chocolate, but look at all that plastic. Yes, it could go into a landfill, but food grade plastic is amazingly easy and safe to recycle. And I have plans to build my own extrusion machine for turning this into valuable filament or convert to photo sensitive SLA 3D printing. 30 years ago. I maintained a massive 400 horsepower 8" Davis Standard PVC production machine and want to build a smaller household version for various non toxic food grade plastics. The big extruders I used to maintain and repair made the plastic wires and cables are found in many homes, businesses, and utility companies. Now I'm bringing this experience home. The neat thing is the easiest plastic can be made from corn. This is polypropylene, which is far higher temperature and durable, but it can be worked at home too, with minimal effort or safety risk
Are microbes the future of recycling? It’s complicated | Ars Technica
Yeah, it's very energy intensive, costly and it's unclear how it scales.
The solution is to reduce plastic, especially the wide variety of variants mixed together is problematic.
#plastic
https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/04/are-microbes-the-future-of-recycling-its-complicated/
Doppelgänger creates polystyrene substitute from plastic-eating mealworms
Charlotte Böhning and Mary Lempres of design duo Doppelgänger have developed a bioplastic version of polystyrene foam that is made from the exoskeleton of mealworms and breaks down in soil in a couple of weeks.
The material, called Chitofoam, is shock-absorbent, water-resistant and can be formed into cups, foam peanuts and other packaging, much like its fossil-based counterpart.
Doppelgänger created the bioplastic to offer a backyard-compostable alternative to traditional expanded polystyrene (EPS).
Chitofoam can be turned into cups (top image) and packaging materials (above)
Regular EPS, of which Styrofoam is the most well-known brand, is difficult and uneconomical to recycle, meaning it ends up occupying around 30 per cent of the space in our landfills.
"At the end of its short life, polystyrene is not accepted by recycling centres and is undesired by landfills," Lempres told Dezeen. "It is a problematic plastic with no second life that affects future generations, our environment and our future earth."
While polystyrene is made from petroleum-based styrene, which the World Health Organisation has deemed a "probable carcinogen," Chitofoam is derived from a biopolymer called chitin, which mealworms use to build their strong yet pliable exoskeleton.
It can also be formed into packaging peanuts, much like traditional polystyrene
Doppelgänger says the bioplastic foam could be made from any mealworm – the larval form of the mealworm beetle – or other insect or crustacean with a chitin-rich shell, such as lobsters and beetles.
Böhning and Lempres made their version from the mealworms living in their own homemade biodigester, which the industrial design students developed to dispose of the polystyrene modelling foam and packaging used in their studio.
This harnesses mealworms' natural ability to digest and break down polystyrene using their gut bacteria, which was documented by researchers from Stanford University in 2015.
Mealworms can safely digest polystyrene plastic
"It started off quite simply as a tank with 1,000 mealworms in which we put our waste foam, a material that is unfortunately abundant in design school," Böhning said. "It has gradually grown to include tiered-drawers and many more worms."
"The mealworms can help divert polystyrene waste from landfills and natural environments," she continued. "They can safely and efficiently digest the polystyrene foam with no ill effects on their own health."
With Chitofoam, Doppelgänger aims to show that the little bugs could be used not just to degrade existing polystyrene waste but also to create a bioplastic alternative to it.
Doppelgänger has modelled the packaging on the shape of coral
Once the mealworms have reached the end of their life, the designers collect them from the biodigester and extract the chitin from their exoskeletons by treating them with an alkaline solution, in a process known as deacetylation.
This powdered chitin derivative called chitosan is then dissolved in citric acid, mixed with a waste-derived biopolymer that the studio is keeping under wraps until its patent application has been granted.
Vigorous shaking ultimately gives the mixture its characteristic foamy consistency, which Doppelgänger says is more flexible and elastic than traditional expanded polystyrene while having natural antifungal and antimicrobial properties.
[ 
Read:
The Dezeen guide to bio-based materials in architecture, design and interiors
](https://www.dezeen.com/2021/12/09/dezeen-guide-biomaterials-architecture-design-interiors/)
Chitofoam can be cast or injection-moulded into shape, much like Styrofoam, but Böhning and Lempres are currently still testing whether the material has the same thermal insulation properties that would allow it to be used to store hot foods and drinks.
As Chitofoam is a thermoplastic it can be melted down and reformed into new products, or placed in soil where it decomposes in two to three weeks.
Doppelgänger says the material has a "high biocompatibility and very low toxicity". But some experts have raised concerns about whether the acidity of bioplastics could throw off the ph balance of soil and water.
The material has shock-absorbent properties thanks to its foamy texture
Chitofoam is one of six projects shortlisted for this year's Lexus Design Award, with the winner set to be decided later this spring.
Until then, Doppelgänger is working to further progress the project with the help of a £19,000 budget and guidance from a group of four mentors including designer Sabine Marcelis and Yosuke Hayano of Beijing architecture firm MAD.
The studio's plan is to develop a food product from the protein-rich, plastic-eating mealworms, which would then be packaged in the mealworm bioplastic.
The material could be used as a substitute to traditional polystyrene packaging
"Mealworm farming has been highlighted in recent years as an environmentally sustainable solution to malnutrition, particularly in developing rural economies," the studio said.
"Growing edible mealworms is affordable, low-resource and space-efficient. The resultant food source is twice as protein-efficient as beef with zero methane emissions."
In this way, the designers say the mealworms could eventually help to tackle two sustainable development goals at the same time, providing food security and fighting pollution.
Chitin can also be turned into a bioplastic film
Early studies have shown that mealworms that have digested polystyrene can still be used to feed other animals, but more research is necessary on whether they could safely be eaten by humans and whether they could be used to break down plastics at a mass scale.
As the mealworms digest the polystyrene, around half of the fossil carbon that was stored in the plastic is also emitted into the atmosphere as CO2, which could contribute to global warming.
The chitin found in their exoskeletons has been much more widely studied and already turned into a range of different materials including a leather alternative and a bioplastic film.
The post Doppelgänger creates polystyrene substitute from plastic-eating mealworms appeared first on Dezeen.
#all #design #materials #products #technology #plastic #insects #packaging #bioplastic #recycling #polystyrene #doppelgänger
UN gives green light to "historic" global treaty to end plastic waste
World leaders from 175 countries have agreed to draw up a legally binding UN treaty that will regulate plastic production and pollution on an international scale for the first time.
Passed at the UN Environment Assembly in Nairobi, Kenya, using a recycled plastic gavel, the resolution will see nations hash out a set of universal rules and targets to end plastic waste "from source to sea" – much like the Paris Agreement did for carbon emissions.
"This is the most significant environmental multilateral deal since the Paris accord," said Inger Andersen, director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).
"It is an insurance policy for this generation and future ones, so they may live with plastic and not be doomed by it."
"I can't believe it's actually happened," the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's communications manager for plastic Iulia Strat told Dezeen.
"In the midst of all the grimness that we're seeing in the world, it's really such great news."
Treaty will cover whole lifecycle of plastics
To date, the world has generated more than seven billion tonnes of plastic waste. Of this, only nine per cent has been recycled.
Another 12 per cent has been incinerated, releasing the fossil fuels it contains into the atmosphere and contributing to global warming.
But the vast majority, around 79 per cent of all the plastic ever produced, is currently piling up in landfills and polluting the environment, harming marine life and breaking down into microplastics that have found their way into everything from Arctic ice to the placenta of unborn babies.
How exactly the UNEP treaty, which the organisation says marks a "historic day in the campaign to beat plastic pollution," will tackle these issues is set to be nailed down by a dedicated Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee over the next two years. The aim is to produce a draft by the end of 2024.
But the resolution agreed at the UN Environment Assembly already mandates that the final agreement will need to regulate not just waste collection and recycling, but also the design and production of plastics in order to minimise the pollution caused at every stage of the lifecycle.
This whole-life approach was supported by a number of companies including Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Nestlé and Unilever, which surveys have regularly found to be the world's worst plastic polluters.
[ 
Read:
Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Nestlé named world's worst plastic polluters for third year running
](https://www.dezeen.com/2020/12/08/coca-cola-pepsi-nestle-plastic-pollution-break-free-from/)
But a number of major chemical and plastics manufacturers lobbied against the resolution and advocated instead for an alternative proposal from the government of Japan, which would have focused solely on tackling plastic waste in oceans without restricting production.
"Receiving the recognition that this problem needs to be addressed across the whole plastics value chain is a victory for groups and communities who have been confronting the plastic industry's transgressions and false narratives for years," said Von Hernandez, global coordinator of the Break Free From Plastic initiative.
"I'm personally so happy to see that we don't just have a treaty that focuses downstream," Ellen MacArthur Foundation's Strat agreed.
"After all these years of work, the fact that we're seeing specific attention given to product and packaging design and how we can design out waste from the beginning is really massive."
"Plastic pollution doesn't care about borders"
For the first time, the resolution also formally recognises the crucial role that waste pickers play in the plastics economy through the collection, sorting and recycling of waste.
"To be honest, that they're even included in the conversation is a big step," Strat said. "It means they will have a voice at the table with the other stakeholders, with the policymakers and the businesses."
The only other global treaty introduced to tackle plastic pollution to date focused solely on limiting the amount of waste that can be dumped on developing countries.
A number of nations including the UK, Kenya and India, as well as the EU, have already started individually regulating single-use plastic items. But Strat says a new, global treaty will ensure "everyone sings from the same hymn sheet".
"Plastic pollution doesn't care about borders," she said. "So you can be a perfect country with a perfect plan to tackle plastic pollution but still be open the waste from another country because it's all connected."
The top image byHeiko Prigge shows the Spoon Archaeology exhibition at the 2021 London Design Biennale.
The post UN gives green light to "historic" global treaty to end plastic waste appeared first on Dezeen.
● NEWS ● #RTE #Environment #plastics ☞ Stopping #Africa becoming a dumping ground for #plastic https://www.rte.ie/news/newslens/2022/0227/1283272-plastic-pollution-africa/
#Plastic summit could be most important green deal since #ParisAccords, says #UN | #Environment | The Guardian
We need a strong global treaty to help curb the plastic pollution crisis
#Plastic #SingleUse #Pollution #Treaty #Oceans #Waterways #Crisis #Greenpeace #Petition
"Next week, we have an historic opportunity. We have the chance to drastically reduce plastic waste through the adoption of a global plastics treaty at the upcoming United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) meeting. But we need your help.
Starting February 28th, the UNEA will meet in Nairobi, Kenya to discuss a mandate to open negotiations for an international, legally-binding treaty on plastic. This means that plastic pollution will be globally regulated and everybody will have to comply.
We’re asking our amazing supporters to sign the petition calling on the NZ Government to support a strong global plastics treaty. Will you help us seize this rare opportunity for change?
The movement pushing for lasting solutions to the plastic pollution crisis is gaining speed! A few days ago, weeks before Global Plastics Treaty discussions, Coca-Cola announced it will make at least 25% of its packaging reusable by 2030.
Is this enough? No: we need Coke to do more by committing to 50% reusable packaging by 2030 and other big brands like Pepsi, Unilever and Nestlé must follow suit.
Things are changing – just not fast enough to match the scale of the crisis. That’s why we need a legally binding global treaty. A strong treaty means keeping oil and gas in the ground. It means big brands switching to refill and reuse systems. It means working in solidarity with frontline communities. It means better air and climate.
To truly tackle this global crisis, we need a solution that matches the scale of the problem. A commitment between nations is what we need to stop plastic pollution at its source and save the planet. A global treaty is the solution.
Please talk to your friends and whānau about signing the petition today. Let’s stand together to ensure that we encourage the NZ Government to support a strong global plastics treaty.
As always, thanks for taking the time to read this email and your ongoing support.
Ngā mihi,
Juressa and the Greenpeace Aotearoa whānau"