More than half of Dollar Store products contain toxins that can hurt you
new report finds that 54% of all the products tested at Dollar Stores contain hazardous chemicals linked to cancer, learning disabilities and serious illnesses.
plastic pollution
Boxed Water, the natural step to weaning ourselves from plastic bottles
With Covid times and one-time use more in demand, Americans consume 70 billion plastic water bottles each year on planes, at offices, at resorts, at school, at home –– only 8% of the U.S.’s plastic waste is recycled. Boxed Water is Better, a company that proposes an interim solution is better for the planet.
Banana leaves replace plastic packaging in Asian markets
A Thai supermarket in Chiangmai has devised a brilliant alternative to plastic produce packaging, turning to natural banana leaves and raffia to bundle vegetables. Shoppers immediately responded, posting pictures of the aesthetically pleasing and sustainable wrappers on social media.
Why you should never flush your contact lenses
New research presented by the American Chemical Society at their August meeting warned of the damage disposable contact lenses cause after they’re flushed down our home plumbing, a daily habit of many of the 45 million Americans who wear them. Those flimsy, flexible lenses easily pass through sewage treatment plant filters. Sinking to the bottom of rivers and oceans, the impacts […]
France’s new ban on plastic throwaways should be extended globally
France has passed a new law that bans cups, cutlery, plates, and takeaway containers made from plastic. It’s The part of the nation’s Energy Transition for Green Growth Act, which will also carry out a ban on plastic bags in grocery shops and markets beginning in July. The law comes into effect in 2020. French President […]
Remote Saudi beach gets a makeover: would you book a beach holiday there?
This year’s World Environment Day (WED) put a high beam on illegal trade of wildlife. Event sponsor, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), called on everyone to “go wild for life” and take action to help safeguard species under threat. In Saudi Arabia, a team of environmentalists and corporate volunteers took to a beach along […]
Lebanon’s drowning in its own waste!
Want a peek into a dystopian future? This is an update on the garbage crisis in Lebanon, which is largely attributed to a corrupted political system, but it’s also a cautionary tale about uncontrolled consumerism and environmental arrogance that could happen in nearly every free market zip code.
“The Largest Cleanup In History” – will Boyan Slat’s Ocean Cleanup Array scour plastic from the seas?
World Oceans Day is June 8th – here’s someone who could be it’s Grand Marshall. Two years back, Green Prophet ran a story about a Dutch engineering student who devised a way to siphon off the gargantuan plastic garbage patches (called gyres) growing unchecked in our seas. Then-19-year-old Boyan Slat claimed his floating “Ocean Cleanup Array”, developed with classmate Tan Nguyen, […]
Halloween goes green with fantastic DIY costumes you can recycle (PHOTOS)
Halloween landed on a Friday this year, meaning your “I have to work tomorrow” excuse for not dressing up becomes as flimsy as a ghost. So, with a few hours to prep before tonight’s parties begin, how do you devise a spooktacular costume without buying more polyester (most likely shipped over from China) to crap […]
Jordan bans plastic bags, joining Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE
The Jordan Food and Drug Administration (JFDA) announced plans to ban the use of plastic bags starting next year. The ruling also applies to plastic containers that come in direct contact with food products (think take-away and deli counter sales).
San Francisco’s plastic ban sends seismic wave around the world
Look West, Middle East – for a failsafe way to ween off one-use plastic bottles! Banning plastics is the best first step to eliminating this poisonous prodrome of modern civilization. Last March, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to pass a bottle-banning ordinance – quickly signed into law by Mayor Edwin M. Lee […]
No plastics safe? Industry hides frightening evidence on BPA-free baby bottles
A new investigation by Mother Jones magazine revealed that chemicals used to replace controversial plastic additive bisphenol-A – commonly called BPA – may be just as dangerous to your health, if not worse.
Solar-battery eco-boats clean up stinky Sharjah lagoons
The Middle East’s first solar-powered boats set sail in Sharjah last month, each able to extract up 500 pounds of floating debris from the city’s lagoons. This new fleet joins the existing “green machines” used by Bee’ah, a leading Middle East waste management company.
5 reasons to go “no poo” and ditch shampoo
A new trend is sweeping across America: scores of people are ditching shampoo for more earth and hair-friendly alternatives – including nothing at all. But would this work in the Middle East? Would the lovely ladies of Lebanon ever give up their luscious shiny locks? Turns out, they wouldn’t have to. Check out five reasons […]
Ruslan Khasanov’s Microbeads “Psychedelic” Soap Are Polluting Our Seas
A photographic series entitled Pacific Light captures a spellbinding dance that begins when ink, paint and soap collide. Watch stunning color combinations puddle and swirl. Visual artist Ruslan Khasanov snapped gorgeous photos, but his video and GIFs (short for Graphic Interchange Format, a form of computer image that moves as soundless animation) are spectacular.
Young Egyptian Designers Use Fashion to Change Our Plastic Habits
Young Egyptians Yara Yassin and Rania Rafie are embarking on a business that makes bags from bags – innovative handbags sewn from throwaway plastic. It’s not a gimmick, a serious environmental message underpins the venture. The freshly minted design school grads share a heightened awareness of modern consumerism, and hope to spread the word that […]
Jordan’s Grassroots Efforts to Manage Municipal Trash
The city of Amman in Jordan where I live is experiencing a deteriorating level of municipal services, most notably in garbage collection and public space cleaning. The hills of the city are heaped with trash, and the problem extends to other towns and across the countryside. Even Jordan’s natural jewels are tarnished.
Ocean’s Garbage Patches Cleanup Tackled by Teen Boyan Slat
Nineteen-year-old Boyan Slat plans to clean the ocean, whereas most teenagers can’t even tidy their rooms. The aerospace engineering student devised a method to siphon off plastic garbage patches bulging in our seas.
Jordan Talks Plastic Waste: Action Wanted!
Random dumping and burning of plastic garbage, which constitutes a fifth of the Kingdom’s solid waste, are negatively affecting the environment and public health, said a Jordanian official.
Flying Carpet of Sea Plastic Among YAP Istanbul Modern Finalists
The Sea of Marmara is swamped with plastic pollution and other byproducts of our rampant consumerism, but according to ONZ Architects, the issue is “swept under the carpet” and most residents of Istanbul faced with continued development look the other way. The designers’ strategy to encourage a new awareness involves sweeping that carpet right back out […]
You Don’t Need That Plastic Bag – A New Campaign in Jordan
‘Balash Kees’ is a new campaign launched by UNESCO Amman to help reduce the use of plastic bags in Jordan Walk around Jordan and you’ll realise pretty quickly that the country has a huge plastic bag and litter problem. Cheap black plastic bags are literally everywhere and they are a real eyesore. No more so […]
BPA is One of Hundreds of Endocrine Disrupters
Eliminating BPA from baby bottles is just one step towards eliminating our exposure to harmful, noxious chemicals. Score one small victory for consumer groups and ecosexuals everywhere: The United State’s ban on bisphenol-A or BPA is a small step towards ending our romance with toxins. That’s the good news. The downside is that this ruling by […]
Egyptian Brothers Design a Clever Separator for Gulf Recyclables
Egyptian brothers Mostafa and Mohamed Nassar have designed a clever two-meter tall waste separator that aims to make recycling in Abu Dhabi and the other Emirates “as easy as pressing a button,” The National reports.Providers of steel solutions for construction, oil and gas industries and manufacturing plants, the Abu-Dhabi-raised pair believe that collecting recyclables can be […]
Throwaway Passover Dishes to Fill Landfills
The One Time Use Store is great; but what happens to all the throwaway dishes after Passover? The Jewish festival of Passover or Pesach is one in which most people in Israel and Jewish people around the world spend much time in preparation, especially house cleaning and disposing of unwanted items, and over eating highly caloric […]
David de Rothschild’s Plastiki
A National Geographic “emerging explorer,” David de Rothschild talks to Green Prophet about plastic, and how adventures inspire change and action. We wrote about the trip from San Fran to Sydney in a boat made from thousands of plastic bottles. And we reviewed the Plastiki book. Now we bring it all together in this exclusive […]