The world is miserable at recycling plastics. Currently, just 10–15% of the plastic waste we generate annually is recycled — with the rest incinerated, buried in landfill or dumped as litter 1, 2. A ...

The developed world exports much of its plastic waste to countries such as Indonesia, which are ill equipped to deal with it. The scale of the plastic waste problem is almost too large to comprehend, ...

A new study shines a light on the enormous scale of uncollected rubbish and open burning of plastic waste in the first ever global plastics pollution inventory. Researchers used A.I. to model waste ...

The plastics industry has worked for decades to convince people and policymakers that recycling would keep waste out of landfills and the environment. Consumers sort their trash so plastic packaging ...

The global campaign to gain control of plastic waste is one of the fastest-growing environmental causes ever mounted. Yet it hasn’t been enough to make a dent in the growing tonnage of discarded ...

A new study determines that just four policies can reduce mismanaged plastic waste -- plastic that isn't recycled or properly disposed of and ends up as pollution -- by 91% and plastic-related ...

A family collect plastic waste on the shore inn Ocean Conservancy's clean up in the Norwegian Northern town of Skjervøy. Plastic bag bans in the U.S. have proven effective in reducing plastic litter ...

We don’t often think of our clothing as plastic, but much of it is. Polyester, nylon, acrylic and other synthetic fibers are commonplace in the blended fabrics we wear every day. As a result, textiles ...

It was a pleasant summer day along the waters off the coast of Guanacaste, Costa Rica when marine biologist Christine Figgener captured the heartrending video that sparked the movement to ban plastic ...

High-income countries have long sent their waste abroad to be thrown away or recycled — and an independent team of experts says they’re inundating the developing world with much more plastic than ...

is a senior science reporter covering energy and the environment with more than a decade of experience. She is also the host of Hell or High Water: When Disaster Hits Home, a podcast from Vox Media ...