We’ve talked about plastic bag bans in the United States (specifically, in L.A., Seattle, and D.C.), but plastic bags are frequently even more of a problem in developing countries. Starting November 23, Delhi, India’s second biggest city, will introduce a complete ban on the storage, sale, and manufacture of plastic bags, film, and packaging. Only [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Plastic’
India’s Capital Territory to Introduce “Blanket Ban” on Plastic Bags
November 1st, 2012 
Chris DeArmond 
Posted in Behavior, News, Policy 
Tags: Chris DeArmond, Environment, Plastic, Pollution, Waste 
No Comments »Energy Independence? Not without Renewables
October 28th, 2012 Eric Wilson 
As part of the debates last week and the energy policies of the two candidates for president, the notion of energy independence has crept into the discussion once dominated by the economy. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney vows energy independence by 2020. As pointed out in a recent article by NPR, President Obama also touts [...]
L.A.’s Plastic Bag Ban: A Win or Loss for the Environment?
July 5th, 2012 Chris DeArmond Los Angeles recently became California’s 48th city/county (and the largest in the nation) to approve banning plastic bags at retail checkouts, joining other cities including Washington, D.C. and Seattle. The ban, which is ultimately designed to encourage wider adoption of reusable bags, requires retailers to charge customers 10 cents for each paper bag they use. [...]
Posted in Behavior, Conservation, News, Sustainability Tags: Chemicals, Chris DeArmond, Environment, Los Angeles, Plastic No Comments »Japan Has World’s Highest Plastic Bottle Recycling Rate; Puts the U.S. to Shame
February 15th, 2012 Justin Manger Quick, off the top of your head what percentage of plastic bottles do you think the U.S. collects for recycling? 50%? Nah, Europe doesn’t even reach that, coming in at 48.3%. For the U.S., try more like 30% (29.1% to be exact), according to a report released by the Council for PET Bottle Recycling. Japan, on [...]
Posted in Behavior, Green Economy, Japan, Justin Manger, News, Policy, Recylcing, Sustainability Tags: Environment, Plastic No Comments »Book Review: Elizabeth Royte’s Bottlemania
January 16th, 2012 Eric Wilson Bottlemania marks the second book that I’ve read (and now reviewed) written by Elizabeth Royte. Much like Garbage Land, Royte’s first book I read, Bottlemania has a fluid narrative. Royte does a wonderful job of weaving the story of one town’s relationship with bottled water into a larger discussion of the resource turned commodity. In [...]
Posted in Eric Wilson, Reviews Tags: Book Review, Elizabeth Royte, EPA, Plastic, Water No Comments »Seattle Joins Washington DC in Banning Plastic Bags
January 4th, 2012 Eric Wilson Effective in July 2012, plastic bags will be banned in Seattle. This marks the latest in a series of plastic bag bans. Last year California attempted to pass a statewide ban, but to no avail. However, Washington DC has had a ban in place for a few years now. For a list of the pros [...]
Posted in Conservation, Eric Wilson, News Tags: California, Landfill, Plastic, Washington DC No Comments »Pepsi and Coke Aim for Viable 100% Plant-Based Bottles
December 21st, 2011 Eric Wilson Following up on yesterday’s mention of the advances by Coca-Cola in Japan, a recent New York Times article describes the latest efforts by both Coke and Pepsi to use 100% plant based bottles. In reading Bottlemania by Elizabeth Royte (the book review is coming soon, I am almost finished), the battle over which beverage company [...]
Five Friday Facts: The Rise of Bottled Water
November 25th, 2011 Eric Wilson The following set of facts come from Elizabeth Royte’s Bottlemania. This is the third set of facts that have been used for the Five Friday Facts. Click here for the first one. For the second set, click here. According to restaurant consultant Clark Wolf, the restaurant industry revenue from bottled water sales is between $200 [...]
Posted in Eric Wilson, Five Friday Facts, Recylcing Tags: Beer, Elizabeth Royte, Plastic, Water No Comments »Five Friday Facts: The Bottled Water Industry
November 11th, 2011 Eric Wilson The following set of facts come from Elizabeth Royte’s Bottlemania. This is the second set of facts that have been used for the Five Friday Facts. Click here for the previous one. Between 1990 and 1997, U.S. sales of bottled water shot from $115 million to $4 billion. They grew another 170% between 1997 and [...]
Posted in Eric Wilson, Five Friday Facts, Recylcing Tags: Elizabeth Royte, EPA, Plastic, Water No Comments »Four Friday Facts: Drinking Water
May 13th, 2011 Eric Wilson In yesterday’s post about the EZH2O water dispenser from Elkay comes the following facts about drinking water. According to Food & Water Watch, more than 17 million barrels of oil — enough to fuel one million cars for a year– are needed to produce the plastic water bottles sold in the United States annually. – [...]
