Green Column: Raising Awareness of Plastic Waste

There are 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic trash in the world’s oceans, and each year, 8 million tons of plastic are added to the count. That’s equivalent to one municipal garbage truck pulling up to the beach and dumping its contents every minute. Though the oceans seem vast enough to stomach a lot of plastic, the level of waste is starting to reach a crisis point: According to a new report by the Ocean Conservancy, in partnership with the McKinsey Center for Business and Environment, by 2025, the ocean could contain one ton of plastic for every three tons of finfish.

San José (United States) (AFP) - Shoddy waste management and littering across the globe likely added eight million metric tons (17.6 billion pounds) of plastic to the ocean in 2010, posing significant dangers to marine life, scientists said Thursday.

AdidasAdidas and Parley for the Oceans, an organization dedicated to reducing plastic waste in oceans, have collaborated to create a 3D-printed shoe made out of recycled ocean plastic.

Miami (AFP) - Most seabirds have already eaten plastic in the oceans, and scientists projected Monday that 99 percent will have done so by 2050.Plastics are pervasive in the world's waters due to pollution, and birds -- including albatrosses, penguins and gulls -- can mistake brightly colored bottle tops or other fragments for food. 

Turmoil and global conflict, at many times in history, have had a way of coalescing people around a common goal propelling nations to accomplish feats never before imaginable.  As an example, World War II transformed America from a largely isolated nation into a global military and manufacturing powerhouse.

Researchers have developed a low-temperature process converting plastic waste into liquid fuel as a way to re-use discarded plastic bags and other products.  The most common waste we all see worldwide is the standard polymer, low-density polyethylene (LDPE), which is used to make many types of containers, medical and laboratory equipment, computer components and, of course, the ubiquitous plastic bags.Plastic Bag Beach.Recycling efforts are in place in many parts of the world, but much of the polyethylene waste ends up in landfills, dispersed…