Marine protected areas are supposed to be safe havens for coral reefs, seagrass, fish nurseries and coastal wildlife. But a new global study suggests that many of them are protected in name only.

Research from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the University of Queensland, published in Ocean & Coastal Management, found that nearly three out of four marine protected areas (MPAs) worldwide are exposed to sewage pollution. In the tropical ocean regions most vital for coral reefs and marine biodiversity, the situation is even worse: between 87 percent and 92 percent of protected areas are contaminated, often at pollution levels ten times higher than nearby unprotected waters.

The study evaluated more than 16,000 marine protected areas globally, and the findings land at an uncomfortable moment. Governments around the world have committed to protecting 30 percent of the ocean by 2030, under the international “30 by 30” biodiversity target.

But protecting lines on a map means little if polluted wastewater keeps pouring in from land.

Wastewater: used water from homes, businesses and sewage systems, carries nutrients, pathogens and chemicals into rivers and oceans. Those pollutants can fuel harmful algal blooms, weaken coral reefs, damage seagrass meadows and threaten marine wildlife. Scientists have already linked wastewater pollution to coral reef decline around the world and even Alzheimer’s-like brain disease in dolphins.

And this is not just a marine issue. Polluted water is also a human health crisis, contributing to diseases such as cholera and typhoid fever and causing an estimated 1.4 million deaths each year, alongside billions in economic losses.

“What we found was striking,” said lead author David E. Carrasco Rivera, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Queensland. “In region after region, the areas set aside for conservation were actually receiving more pollution than the areas with no protection at all.”

The researchers closely analyzed 1,855 coastal MPAs in six tropical regions, including East Africa, the Indian Ocean, the Coral Triangle, Mesoamerica and the Caribbean, Australasia and Melanesia, and the Middle East and North Africa.

“Even a perfectly managed marine protected area will fail if wastewater keeps flowing in from upstream,” said Dr. Amelia Wenger, WCS Global Water Pollution Lead.

The message is simple: ocean conservation cannot stop at the shoreline. If governments want marine protected areas to actually protect marine life, they need to invest in sewage treatment, land-based pollution control, and smarter coastal planning, before “protected” becomes another empty word.

The question begs to be answered: can private people protect land better than poorly-run government bodies? And ask yourself when you are staying at a tropical resort or visit a nature paradise? Where is all my plastic and poop going?

The post Most of the world’s marine protected areas are polluted by sewage appeared first on Green Prophet.

A few weeks ago, I took my son Gabriel to the edge of the sand dunes in Michmoret, a peaceful pocket of the Israeli Mediterranean coast a half hour drive from Tel Aviv. We weren’t there to sunbathe or surf, but to meet a man who has dedicated his life to turtles—at first the ancient ones who still roam the Indian Ocean’s most sacred atoll and injured survivors stranded ashore in a Mediterranean Sea increasingly shaped by war, overfishing, plastics, and politics.

This is the story of Dr. Yaniv Levy, founder of Israel’s Sea Turtle Rescue Center—the world’s only government-supported turtle hospital and breeding center unlike any in the world. But to understand why his work matters, you have to go back nearly 30 years, to another coastline altogether: Aldabra Atoll, part of the Seychelles, one of the last untouched Edens left on Earth.

“My Heart Is Still There”

Levy’s journey began in the mid-1990s. He was 26 and nursing invisible wounds and finding solace underwater—onboard a dive boat in the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. For three years he lived and worked on the boat, as a deck-hand, first mate and a dive instructor and guide, spending many months navigating between remote islands of the Seychelles, mainly in Assomption Island and the Aldabra Atoll.

Aldabra is no ordinary coral ring island. Home to giant tortoises, flightless rails, sacred ibis, and staggering numbers of green and hawksbill turtles, it is so pristine that boats are prohibited from entering its lagoon, and a 40 km radius around it. Access comes only through Assomption Island, a now-threatened outpost with a tiny airstrip, where wealthy tourists fly from Mahe before sailing two hours to what Levy calls “holy land.”

“I kissed the ground,” he recalls. “It is one of the most untouched places in the world… maybe one of the five last places of Eden.”

But Eden is under siege.

Today, Qatari developers with alleged terror-funding links are eyeing Assomption for luxury tourism, a move Levy fears will devastate Aldabra by turning its logistical lifeline into a backdoor for exploitation. Green Prophet was contacted by the developer’s PR company but they have not returned with any answers to our questions. It’s been 2 weeks.

“They will kill Aldabra. No questions asked,” says Levy. “It is one of the most preserved areas of the world.”

“You Are a Scientist”

While in the Seychelles, Levy met Roselle Chapman, a British biologist who would become both his mentor and his love. It was she—and her supervisor, the renowned Seychelles-based turtle researcher Dr. Jeanne Mortimer—who first taught him to track, study, and live among turtles.

“She looked at my maps, my drawings, my charts… and said, ‘You are a researcher.’ That changed my life.”

Levy would spend up to 10 days at a time on Aldabra, and over all every visit for two to three months. Sleeping on the boat or near nesting beaches, diving with manta rays and sharks. He remembers it as “the best diving I ever had.”

His dates with Chapman? “They were at turtle nesting sites.”

From Paradise Lost to Hospital Founder

The boat company in the Seychelles went bankrupt–– the original plan was sailing to Micronesia with a documentary crew with only a brief stopover for drydock and maintenance before heading to Micronesia. He found himself in Ashkelon, Israel and started his Marine Biology undergrad degree in Michmoret as Roselle predicted he should, and then, a turtle washed up.

“It was a loggerhead with a hook deep in its throat,” he recalls. A vet removed the necrotic tissue, and Levy—now reporting the case to the authorities as required by law—caught the attention of Ze’ev Kulur, Israel’s chief turtle biologist on behalf of the National Nature and Parks Authority at the time.

He saved the turtle.

After demonstrating his experience in Israel and on Aldabra, Levy was encouraged to launch a formal turtle rescue initiative. In 1999, he founded what would become the only government-supported turtle hospital in the world—a marine rehabilitation facility with research credentials, surgical suites, and even prosthetic limbs and buoyancy stabilizers designed in-house.

“They are lifers,” Levy says of his breeding turtles, about 30 of them in a large pool swimming together. “They’ve only lived in captivity. I don’t believe they can adapt to live in the wild, but their being here in captivity is with a cause for their whole population, they will reproduce and their hatchlings will return to sea and revive the almost extinct population.”

His 30 baby turtle “children”, now over 20 years old, are given names like Moana, Stitch, and Pocahontas. “I call my human kids my second batch,” he says.

Sea Turtles Have No Borders

Levy has treated over 2,000 sea turtles from Israel, Gaza, and beyond. He sees victims of boat strikes, plastic entanglement, and most disturbingly, war and fishing trauma.

“The booms and the bangs… the turtles suffer,” he says. Explosions in Egypt’s Bardawil Lake, where fishermen still use blast fishing, are particularly devastating. “Soft tissue trauma, inner ear injuries. Shockwave trauma.”

He’s tracked turtles rehabilitated in Michmoret—16 tagged individuals—and most of them returned to these dangerous waters. He’s also seen evidence of dynamite fishing in Lebanon, confirming earlier reports by Green Prophet.

In countries nearby, suspicious people sometimes trap or catch birds, turtles and animals tagged by Israel, calling them spies of the Mossad. They are often, sadly, killed. 

According to Levy, turtle injuries are not always visible. Some are so weak they can no longer float or dive. For these cases, Levy has invented floating slings that suspend turtles partially in water, allowing them to heal without exhausting themselves.

Plastic straws, he says, are a red herring. “The real problem is the polypropylene feed sacks—20kg bags used in livestock farming. Turtles get caught in them and lose fins and many die. That straw video from Costa Rica? It’s not really true about the straws, and maybe he tried the best he could, but what’s killing turtles at sea is something else, Levy tells Green Prophet.

He’s written research papers on this phenomenon, citing feed bags for livestock from Eastern European countries that have made it to the sea. 

A Message from Eden

Levy’s work is both clinical and spiritual. A veterinarian scientist with a PhD, he’s published research on turtle rehabilitation and consults globally on marine conservation. But when asked about fear—of being alone on Aldabra, for instance—his answer is revealing:

“I’m more afraid of people than of animals.”

Though his collaboration with Gaza has decreased—some residents now eat turtles out of protein desperation—he emphasizes empathy. “I don’t judge. I understand.”

He also stresses the regional unity among turtle workers. “Despite the conflict, we work with our Arab neighbors. People who work with turtles are… cool.”

The Israel Sea Turtle Rescue Center will open its breeding program to the public in September, offering hands-on education for children and adults. More than 600 volunteers already help guard nesting sites, relocate eggs to hatcheries, and release baby turtles back to sea.

“This is not just conservation,” Levy says. “It’s about showing that turtles have no borders.”

Assomption Island may seem far away—just a dot on a maritime chart near Mahe—but its fate is linked to our own. The ecological encroachment by luxury developers and the silent suffering of sea turtles in war zones should alarm anyone who cares about nature’s last strongholds.

Sign up for hatching tours and more at the Israel Sea Turtle Rescue Center.

? Learn more: Israel Sea Turtle Rescue Center
? Related: Green Prophet on Seychelles island development threatens Aldabra Atoll
? Take Action: Stop development at Assomption Island. Support the campaign at friendsofaldabra.org

The post Yaniv Levy’s Lifelong Quest to Protect Sea Turtles in a Time of War and Greed appeared first on Green Prophet.

A recent scientific study has found that some people have up to a crayon’s worth of plastic in their brains. How is it getting there? A 2023 study revealed that human sweat can extract toxic chemicals from microplastics, potentially making them available for absorption through the skin. This discovery raises serious concerns about the synthetic materials we wear every day like yoga pants and synthetic underwear.

Researchers at the University of Birmingham tested common plastic microfibers in a lab using synthetic sweat. Their findings, published in Environmental Science and Technology, showed that brominated flame retardants—chemicals commonly used to enhance plastic performance—leached out of the microplastics upon contact with sweat. These chemicals, previously linked to neurotoxicity, reproductive harm, and cancer in animal studies, could now pose direct risks to human health.

Polyethylene microplastics were found to release the highest levels of these toxic additives. Alarmingly, our skin is in constant contact with microplastics—not only from clothing but also from dust, plastic aligners for our teeth, cosmetics, and even the air we breathe.

Related: a new study says some of us have a crayon worth of plastics in our brain

Dr. Mohamed Abdallah, a lead researcher on the study, emphasized that human sweat contains oily components that accelerate the leaching process, making these chemicals more readily available for skin absorption. With microplastics already widespread in our environment, the clothing we choose matters more than ever.

“Because toxic flame-retardant chemicals are hydrophobic, it wasn’t clear if they would leach out of the microplastic to human sweat. However, human sweat is a complex mixture that contains oily components known as sebum, which facilitated the leaching of toxic chemicals from microplastics, rendering them available for absorption through the skin.

“With this new evidence, policy makers need to seriously consider the risks of microplastics and human contact with them on a regular basis. We will be continuing to research how these chemicals that can be leached through contact with sweat may be absorbed by human skin on a daily basis.”

Fast Fashion’s Hidden Risk

Synthetic clothing, often made from polyester, nylon, and acrylic, sheds microplastics with every wash and wear. Now, evidence suggests that these plastic fibers could be releasing harmful chemicals directly onto our skin—especially when we sweat.

The study also found that antiperspirants and foundation increased the bioaccessibility of certain toxic chemicals, making it even easier for them to enter the body. Smaller microplastic particles (0.45mm) doubled the rate at which these chemicals leached out compared to larger particles (4mm), suggesting that prolonged exposure to plastic-based fabrics could worsen the risks.

Related: plastics in your teabags

Natural fibers like organic cotton for clothing and bedding, hemp, and wood-based fabrics such as Tencel and modal offer a safer, breathable alternative to synthetic materials. These fabrics don’t shed microplastics, don’t contain toxic flame retardants, and allow your skin to breathe without the risk of chemical exposure.

As evidence grows about the dangers of microplastic exposure, it’s time to rethink the fabrics we wear daily. Choosing natural fibers isn’t just an eco-friendly decision—it’s a choice for better health.

Love our findings? We have a whole series of microplastics risks, worries and solutions here

The post Your Sweat is Unlocking Toxins in Plastic—Here’s Why Natural Fibers Matter appeared first on Green Prophet.

When old food packaging, discarded children’s toys and other mismanaged plastic waste break down into microplastics, they become even harder to clean up from oceans and waterways.

These tiny bits of plastic also attract bacteria, including those that cause disease. In a study in ACS Nano, researchers describe swarms of microscale robots (microrobots) that captured bits of plastic and bacteria from water. Afterward, the bots were decontaminated and reused.

The size of microplastics, which measure 5 millimeters or less, adds another dimension to the plastic pollution problem because animals can eat them, potentially being harmed or passing the particles into the food chain that ends with humans.

So far, the health effects for people and micrplastics are not fully understood. However, microplastics themselves aren’t the only concern. These pieces attract bacteria, including pathogens, which can also be ingested. To remove microbes and plastic from water simultaneously, Martin Pumera and colleagues turned to microscale robotic systems, comprised of many small components that work collaboratively, mimicking natural swarms, like schools of fish.

To construct the bots, the team linked strands of a positively charged polymer to magnetic microparticles, which only move when exposed to a magnetic field. The polymer strands, which radiate from the surface of the beads, attract both plastics and microbes. And the finished products — the individual robots — measured 2.8 micrometers in diameter. When exposed to a rotating magnetic field, the robots swarmed together.

By adjusting the number of robots that self-organized into flat clusters, the researchers found that they could alter the swarm’s movement and speed.

In lab experiments, the team replicated microplastics and bacteria in the environment by adding fluorescent polystyrene beads (1 micrometer-wide) and actively swimming Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria, which can cause pneumonia and other infections, to a water tank.

Next, the researchers added microrobots to the tank and exposed them to a rotating magnetic field for 30 minutes, switching it on and off every 10 seconds. A robot concentration of 7.5 milligrams per milliliter, the densest of four concentrations tested, captured approximately 80% of the bacteria.

Meanwhile, at this same concentration, the number of free plastic beads also gradually dropped, as they were drawn to the microrobots. Afterward, the researchers collected the robots with a permanent magnet and used ultrasound to detach the bacteria clinging to them. They then exposed the removed microbes to ultraviolet radiation, completing the disinfection. When reused, the decontaminated robots still picked up plastic and microbes, albeit smaller amounts of both.

This microrobotic system provides a promising approach for ridding water of plastic and bacteria, the researchers note.

The post These micro robots clean up microplastics appeared first on Green Prophet.

A new microscopic technique zeroes in on the poorly explored world of nanoplastics, which can pass into blood, cells, and your brain

Now, using newly refined technology, researchers have entered a whole new plastic world: the poorly known realm of nanoplastics, which are the spawn of microplastics that have broken down even further. For the first time, they counted and identified these minute particles in bottled water. They found that on average, a liter contained some 240,000 detectable plastic fragments—10 to 100 times greater than previous estimates, which were based mainly on larger sizes.

The study by researchers at Columbia University Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, and Columbia Mailman School of Public Health was just published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The researchers say that nanoplastics are so tiny that, unlike microplastics, they can pass through the intestines and lungs directly into the bloodstream and travel from there to organs including the heart and brain. They can invade individual cells, and cross through the placenta to the bodies of unborn babies. Medical scientists are racing to study the possible effects on a wide variety of biological systems.

“Previously this was just a dark area, uncharted. Toxicity studies were just guessing what’s in there,” said study coauthor Beizhan Yan, an environmental chemist at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. “This opens a window where we can look into a world that was not exposed to us before.”

What are nanoplastics?

Microplastics are defined as fragments ranging from 5 millimeters (less than a quarter inch) down to 1 micrometer, which is 1 millionth of a meter, or 1/25,000th of an inch. (A human hair is about 70 micrometers across.) Nanoplastics, which are particles below 1 micrometer, are measured in billionths of a meter.

Plastics in bottled water became a public issue largely after a 2018 study detected an average of 325 particles per liter; later studies multiplied that number many times over. Scientists suspected there were even more than they had counted, but good estimates stopped at sizes below 1 micrometer—the boundary of the nano world.

“People developed methods to see nano particles, but they didn’t know what they were looking at,” said the new study’s lead author, Naixin Qian, a Columbia graduate student in chemistry. She noted that previous studies could provide bulk estimates of nano mass, but for the most part could not count individual particles, nor identify which were plastics or something else.

The new study uses a technique called stimulated Raman scattering microscopy, which was co-invented by study coauthor Wei Min, a Columbia biophysicist. This involves probing samples with two simultaneous lasers that are tuned to make specific molecules resonate. Targeting seven common plastics, the researchers created a data-driven algorithm to interpret the results. “It is one thing to detect, but another to know what you are detecting,” said Min.

The researchers tested three popular brands of bottled water sold in the United States (they declined to name which ones), analyzing plastic particles down to just 100 nanometers in size. They spotted 110,000 to 370,000 particles in each liter, 90% of which were nanoplastics; the rest were microplastics. They also determined which of the seven specific plastics they were, and charted their shapes—qualities that could be valuable in biomedical research.

One common one was polyethylene terephthalate or PET. This was not surprising, since that is what many water bottles are made of. (It is also used for bottled sodas, sports drinks and condiments such as ketchup and mayonnaise.) It probably gets into the water as bits slough off when the bottle is squeezed or gets exposed to heat. One recent study suggests that many particles enter the water when you repeatedly open or close the cap, and tiny bits abrade.

However, PET was outnumbered by polyamide, a type of nylon. Ironically, said Beizhan Yan, that probably comes from plastic filters used to supposedly purify the water before it is bottled. Other common plastics the researchers found: polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride and polymethyl methacrylate, all used in various industrial processes.

A somewhat disturbing thought: the seven plastic types the researchers searched for accounted for only about 10% of all the nanoparticles they found in samples; they have no idea what the rest are. If they are all nanoplastics, that means they could number in the tens of millions per liter. But they could be almost anything, “indicating the complicated particle composition inside the seemingly simple water sample,” the authors write. “The common existence of natural organic matter certainly requires prudent distinguishment.”

The researchers are already reaching beyond bottled water. “There is a huge world of nanoplastics to be studied,” said Min. He noted that by mass, nanoplastics comprise far less than microplastics, but “it’s not size that matters. It’s the numbers, because the smaller things are, the more easily they can get inside us.”

Among other things, the team plans to look at tap water, which also has been shown to contain microplastics, though far less than bottled water The researchers are now studying microplastics and nanoplastics generated when people do laundry, which end up in wastewater—so far, by a count of millions per 10-pound load, coming off synthetic materials that comprise many items of clothing.

The post You are drinking nanoplastics in your bottled mineral water appeared first on Green Prophet.

 It’s a whale of an idea. A biodegradable plastic that returns to the earth with a little bit of help.

Stella McCartney runway models… start your engines. A new biodegradable plastic is about to hit the fashion world. If you’ve ever been to the beach in Tel Aviv after a rainstorm you will notice the effects of plastics and micro-plastics rolling around in the sea. Storm sewers spit all manner of plastics out from the city sewers and among the detritus are unmatched plastic flip-flips and Crocks. Lost and floating flip-flops are such a problem in the Seychelles that a research team has come in to study the nightmare for the local fishermen.

Those who want to help the plastic problem offer a few solutions: 

1. Don’t buy plastic at all. But we want flip-flops. They are so handy and comfortable.
2. Buy second-hand products, but this doesn’t really work with flip-flops and slides which are personal items.
3. Make products recyclable, yet we know recycling doesn’t really work with the current state of plastics.
4. Make plastic products 100% from natural items and make them biodegradable. It’s a challenge making a “plastic” from plants or minerals that doesn’t degrade when you are using it or when it gets wet.

An Israeli-Italian company, Balena, may have made our plastic dreams come true but they are hush about the source of raw materials, leaving us with cinnamon as a natural colorant to their first product, the Balena slide. 

Balena, which means “whale” in Italian, is a nice combination of Italian craftsmanship and design matched with Israeli innovation. Balena claims their new shoe BioCir Slides are 100% biodegradable, which means a complete return to the earth and not in tiny plastic bits. This is if the shoes are returned to their own facility where a special process breakdowns BioCir to natural materials.

The shoes, which are both flexible and compostable, will not decompose when you are wearing them or when they get wet, but when their treads are thin and the shoes’ life is over, you can send them back and be rest assured that they will be processed back to the earth. 

The company is not presenting itself as a design house but more of a bio-plastics product and material company that has launched a product to prove its impact. They have sent 1000 pairs to Tel Aviv, a city of people who wear flip-flops and slides to all occasions including weddings.

BioCycling, they note, is the ability to control a product’s end-of-life status. The Balena product goes through decomposition and biodegradation in a biological environment without leaving any waste or contamination behind that could be dangerous to the earth and seas. 

More on BioCir and the plastic recycling system 

Balena’s BioCir, is according to Balena, “the first fully moldable, biodegradable elastomer, provides a viable alternative to the polluting plastic materials currently used by fashion brands for clothing and footwear.”

Its BioCycling facility helps complete the end of life cycle for the shoes, or for any materials made from BioCir. Once a customer has finished using the slides, instead of tossing them into the garbage on their way to a landfill, they can instead return them to designated take-back spots throughout the city where they are collected for full biodegradation. 

This model, aimed at reducing fashion’s contribution to plastic waste, can be replicated around the world. But it will only work if BioCir finds a dominant place in the market. Even with easier to recycle items like batteries, there are depots for collections in cities, consumers still toss them into the trash. 

The world is addicted to fast fashion. Balena aims to create a circular model that relies on the power of composting to lower fashion’s footprint on the global environment.  

The biodegradable material Balena creates can be used in injection molding and integrated into existing manufacturing lines for plastics, the company maintains.

“The global fashion industry is one of the world’s biggest polluters. At Balena, our goal is to help turn this around,” said David Roubach, Founder and CEO of Balena.

“We’re doing this by creating our own viable biodegradable plastic alternatives and fully circular systems that can be easily scaled, and copied and pasted across the globe.

::Balena 

The post Balena’s biodegradable plastics for fast fashion appeared first on Green Prophet.

If you have ever spent Spring Break at a beach in Panama City you would be shocked. Get up at the crack of dawn and you find plastic cups and bottles as far as the eye can see littering the beach. When I was there some years ago with my parents we were also disheartened  to learn that the bottles that don’t get swept into the sea, just get thrown into the municipal trash. Because while recycling efforts may take the sting or guilt from our hearts, most plastics we use today don’t get recycled at all. 

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. After all, plastic waste simply cannot continue to build at this rate.. er!”

The brand gets the single-use rub. Their official motto is “Boxed Water is Better, Refill is best,” which is why they are focused on distribution channels where packaged water is unavoidable, e.g. airlines, hotels, restaurants, take-out, entertainment venues, sports, venues. And with our current annual rate of plastic water bottle consumption (again 70 billion!), it’s unrealistic to expect a network of purified refill stations to appear overnight in the immediate future. 

Boxed Water sources 92 percent of its packaging from plants, the highest rate for any water product. Every carton is fitted with a plant-based cap that won’t take forever to break down in the environment. 

“Recycling efforts can no longer keep up with the world’s plastic production, and the shift toward plant-based products is critical for our planet’s wellbeing,” Daryn Kuipers, the CEO of Boxed Water tells Green Prophet. “Our product is almost entirely plant-based, and we are proud to have the highest sustainable content in the water category, at about 92%.”

Caps made from FSC-certified wood waste

The plant-based cap is made from FSC-certified sustainably grown trees used for pulp and bioenergy and has lower CO2 emissions than petroleum and sugarcane. 

Every Boxed Water carton offers a similar plant-based design, created out of paper sourced from trees in well managed forests. “We needed to create a better plant-based cap than what was currently being offered,” Kuipers adds, “by avoiding sugar cane, we are using substantially fewer natural resources and generating a lower environmental footprint.”  

Boxed Water remains committed to their promise to always deliver 100% recyclable and BPA free packaging. Compared to aluminum (which is mined from Bauxite), Boxed Water is 50% lower impact on ozone depletion and smog emissions from smelting, and has a 33% lower impact on acidification due to deforestation. 

• U.S. consumes more plastic than any other country in the world. Our plastic recycling rates are at 8%
• U.S. plastic waste inputs to the coastal environment were among the highest in the world: 51- 1.45 million metric tons
• U.S. purchases 70 billion plastic water bottles per year. 
• #1 ocean bound plastic: beverage bottles. #2: bottle caps

Measuring a box footprint

These days everyone in the consumer and service industry is measuring their carbon footprint and just buying offsets or ESG investments won’t do. It’s easy to buy your way out of offsetting, hearder to do it in-house. But here is an easy way to slash the carbon footprint for hotels, events producers, and airlines. When we fully emerge from Covid, be ready: Compared to plastic, Boxed Water has a 64% lower carbon footprint (lower contributor to global warming), 43% less fossil fuel use, and 1,084% lower in impact on the ozone. Also, only 25% of plastic is recycled.

Currently available in multiple sizes, Boxed Water can be purchased in a 250mL, 330mL, 500mL and 1 liter box, and is packed in 6-pack, 12-pack and 24-pack configurations. 

Boxed Water say they address the front-end of the problem too –– and that the environmental impact of oil drilling and blow molding needed for food grade plastic… and the strip mining and smelting required for aluminum is extremely damaging to the planet as well.

If you want to dive into the boxed water story, watch this recorded Zoom session:

An outside company, Anthesis Group, looked at Boxed Water and reported Boxed Water has a 36% lower carbon footprint  global warming), 43% less fossil fuel use, and 95% lower impact on our ozone.

We spoke with CRO Robert Koenen, asking him some additional questions:

If your packaging could be 100% biodegradable and plant-derived, how would that look? Imagine 10 years down the line. Where would the materials come from? (Want to encourage chemists to start thinking how)

It’s a great question and we’re always trying to make our product more sustainable.  We’re proud that our package is already 92% plant-derived, the highest in the industry. I think what so many people miss in the sustainability discussion is the importance of how you source materials. We know that plastic and aluminum are actually not sustainable because they come from finite resources that deplete the planet. Our paper-based carton is the only water that is made from a renewable resource- trees. Even some plant-based plastics, like sugarcane, are grown and harvested solely for the production of plastic. That’s why our Boxed Water’s plant-based cap comes from Nordic pine tree oil, which is leftover from the paper-making process. Our plant-based cap was a new innovation we announced in 2020, and our entire product’s history has been centered around new approaches to packaging.  

In order for our carton to be 100% biodegradable, we would need to remove some barrier between the paperboard and the water to keep the water fresh and the box intact. We know that even with a sustainability mission, you still need to offer customers an exceptional product, so if any of your chemist readers want to work on a material to safely and sustainably protect the package and water, we’d love it. We are currently looking at ways to remove those layers ourselves, while still keeping the water pure.  We’re still a small company trying to make a big impact, so the more that sustainability becomes “mainstream” the bigger impact we can make. 

What are the most polluting industries for plastic bottles, in order with stats… hotels, travel, home? Schools? 

The bottled water industry is the largest polluter–with Coke, Pepsi and Nestle leading the pack. Bottles, caps and ties make up the overwhelming majority of pollution that is found in the ocean.  Hotels, travel, schools are all places you find bottles—we are blind to the amount of plastic that is around us.  I challenge your readers to stop the next time they are in a grocery store to stop in the water aisle and just look at the tons of plastic–in just one store. 

I will speak to the industries that we see making changes in a meaningful way.  The high carbon footprint of the travel industry is well-documented. It makes such an impact when you have people from around the world coming and going for short amounts of time. While it would be wonderful to solely use reusable bottles, the travel industry is one of the more challenging situations when you look at it practically, and in the age of COVID, shared water pitchers or drinking fountains aren’t always a safe option.

While the travel industry generates a lot of plastic bottles, they also have an enormous opportunity for impact and we’ve seen them be some of our most-receptive customers. Much of the travel and hospitality industry is based upon the experience you provide customers, and customers take note when you offer a Boxed Water instead of a plastic bottle. We’ve even had hotel customers share that they make more sales because customers are happier and more likely to purchase a Boxed Water than a plastic bottled water.

We’ve seen a growing area of interest from schools as well because young people are so passionate about environmental change – it’s their future we’re talking about. While schools often encourage and have reusable water bottles more easily accessible, we’ve seen calls from the student-level demanding their schools shift from plastic water bottles. 

Retail stores that provide water, specifically in the fashion industry, have made the switch to cartons.  Handing a bottle of water to a consumer is like handing them a pack of cigarettes.

Of course, we think that small changes end up making the biggest impact. We continue to work with the industries that go through billions of single-use plastic bottles every year, the average American uses 167 single-use plastic bottles a year. If you made a change for yourself and your family, you could stop hundreds of plastic bottles from polluting the planet. We’re here to empower every person to make a change, by making the sustainable choice simple and convenient. 

How do big box stores with low cost water contribute to the plastic problem? You can buy 24 bottles for .99 in some Costcos sometimes

There is a reason that plastic bottles are so prevalent: they are inexpensive to produce. These low costs lead to huge margins, and it’s a big profit generator for these stores.  It’s literally a financial addiction.  Unfortunately, these low cost items come at an astronomical price for our planet. While most importantly everyone should have access to clean water, we want to make the sustainable choice a simple and convenient one for consumers. We hope that you think twice about purchasing single-use plastic bottles and if you don’t see an alternative, ask for one. Only consumer demand can change this addiction for the big boxes. 

How does plastic residue affect the water? Even if it’s food safe, I somehow don’t trust it. Explain what you think.

I trust it.  We test our water constantly during the day to make sure it’s super pure and pH balanced.  We are BPA free, and also remove impurities.  Due to our package construction, we don’t need to use BPA plastic so it doesn’t affect your health or the taste.  In fact, we’ve won awards for the fresh taste of our water. Plastic has infiltrated not just our lifestyle, but our food chain.

There are the negative effects of BPA in plastic impacting our health, and so thankfully with this awareness, there has been a push to ensure many products are free of BPA (like our Boxed Water!). However, the pollution of plastic in our oceans is breaking down into micro-plastics and being eaten by fish and other sea creatures. People consume a credit card’s worth of plastic every week. Again, there isn’t any doubt that for the health of our planet and ourselves, we need to be seeking alternatives to single-use plastic. ….I’d be more worried about residue in the plastic bottles.

Thank you for the interview! For more information see Boxed Water is Better

The post Boxed Water, the natural step to weaning ourselves from plastic bottles appeared first on Green Prophet.

The world has witnessed many amazing environmental benefits this year as Coronavirus pandemic stay-at-home orders resulted in drastic global pollution and carbon emission cuts in a matter of months. While these environmental changes have been tangibly seen – bluer skies, decreased smog, healthier oceans – the transition back to “normal” life has presented a new dilemma that could revert this and any previous, positive environmental strides: the immediate resurgence of plastic.

The materials that we rely upon to protect ourselves from the further spread of this virus – such as hand sanitizer bottles, take out containers and utensils, gloves and more – all have one thing in common: they are derived from plastic. While we support these measures to save lives, they present a major sustainability setback, and we are forced to make a choice about how we address planetary protection amidst this post-quarantine reality.

To offset the necessary surge of medical supplies and PPEs, it is up to the rest of us to identify areas for safe, sustainable choices. One major plastic culprit is bottled water. Communal water stations may be on hold at the coffee shops and hotels. Individuals may not feel comfortable filling up their reusable bottle at a drinking fountain. But that doesn’t mean we have to revert back to plastic bottles.  Luckily, more sustainable options do exist. And what is the best option?  It’s not aluminum cans.  Only paper-based cartons such as Boxed Water Is Better® are truly sustainable, safe water substitutes.

As we have seen, plastic has created massive problems for the planet, and the issues continue to stack up. More than 8M metric tons of plastic flow into the oceans annually, and by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean. Plastic pollution isn’t going anywhere – by that same year, plastic production is forecasted to triple based on industry projections. While some cities tout recycling as a solution, even this can be problematic. Most plastic bottles don’t even make it into the recycle bin – only 10% do – and will instead end up landfills. For the bottles that are recycled, the environmental impact of oil drilling and blow molding continue to pose a threat to the planet as a part of the overall production process.

The beverage industry is now marketing a new idea: aluminum canned water. But is this really a solution to single-use plastic bottles? Beverage giants such as Coca-Cola (which owns the Dasani water brand) and PepsiCo (owner of Aquafina) will start selling water in cans in the face of public pressure to reduce plastic, but the environmental concerns associated with aluminum could be just as dire. An independent life-cycle study recently found that aluminum cans have a 200% larger carbon footprint than more sustainable solutions such as the Boxed Water brand. Especially for those consuming several aluminum bottles a day, the cost of production, recycling, shipping and handling on the earth could be too much to sustain long-term. 

From the planetary point of view, creating aluminum, a material that you don’t find in nature, is not an easy or clean process: aluminum needs to be created using a mineral called bauxite. Strip mined and smelted using an enormous amount of heat, water, and energy, about 20 tons of bauxite is required to make 1 ton of aluminum. Breaking down aluminum in recycling processes also creates a pile of unwanted waste known as red mud. 

Compared to aluminum (which is mined from Bauxite), Boxed Water is 50% lower impact on ozone depletion and smog emissions from smelting, and 33% lower impact on acidification due to deforestation. Compared to plastic, Boxed Water has a 64% lower carbon footprint (lower contributor to global warming), 43% less fossil fuel use, and 1,084% lower in impact on the ozone.

 With sustainability in mind, Boxed Water was created to provide a practical solution to the single-use plastic challenge. Like many other products ranging from soup to milk, Boxed Water is packaged in recyclable cartons made using paper from well-managed forests. We’ve also launched a plant-based cap, derived from residue waste from FSC-certified sustainably grown trees used for pulp and bioenergy, which has lower CO2 emissions than petroleum and sugarcane-based plastics. 

Boxed Water is leading initiatives in educating consumers about the difference between boxes (mainly made from paper), plastics and aluminum. As a proud member of 1% For The Planet and partner of the National Forest Foundation (NFF) and Ocean Blue Project, Boxed Water has cleared beaches of thousands of plastic bottles and this year planted their one millionth tree as a part of our long-standing reforestation efforts. The trees planted will provide clean water and purify the air of 500,000 tons of carbon dioxide.

As we all become more vigilant about the safety of the products we utilize, we cannot forget to consider how a single plastic bottle used for 15 minutes today will affect the next 700 years on our planet. We may be getting accustomed to this new normal, but let’s ensure that it is also a better normal for our world.

The post Why Boxed Water is Really Better than Aluminum Cans and Plastic Bottles appeared first on Green Prophet.

Their advertising agency Pale Dot Voyage initially featured both Coke and Pepsi products in the original advertisement, but CBS, concerned to offend their advertisers, banned it. SodaStream was forced to submit an advertisement featuring generic products instead but the impact was still clearly felt. The central message? By using their carbonated machines instead of coke or pepsi, consumers can save 15 million plastic bottles on game day alone. 

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1HQxcTYTho[/youtube]

While Coke and Pepsi have been in the – ahem – game for a lot longer than SodaStream, they shouldn’t take their winning streak for granted since SodaStream has steadily increased its global reach.

When Coca Cola sued the Israeli company last year for using their product in cages to advance SodaStream’s popularity among eco-conscious consumers, fans across the globe stood behind the claim that the beverage giants ought to take responsibility for polluting the planet with their throwaway bottles.

If not economically, that often beligerent show of support must have dealt Coke and Pepsi executives a blow.

Formerly America’s favorite bone-melting, tooth-rotting beverage has begun to lose its psychological hold on the public as a new ethos – a sustainability ethos carefully crafted by SodaStream’s clever marketing team – gradually takes its place.

Which is not to say that SodaStream is entirely innocent given that it produces millions of plastic units per year, but their material footprint pales in comparison to Coke and Pepsi, which collectively sell approximately 14 billion bottles every month.

Most of those are likely to land up in a landfill, where they will languish for hundreds of years and lead noxious gases into water streams across the planet.

PSFK argues that CBS has no business censoring advertisements for political reasons, or if they must, they should at least offer full disclosure. But we are slightly more surprised to realize that SodaStream can afford advertising that costs $8 million per minute! That is $4,444.44 per frame, according to Forbes.

SodaStream has officially hit the big leagues, and we would wager a guess that Coke and Pepsi are trembling a bit in their boots.

::PFSK

The post SodaStream’s SuperBowl Ad Challenges Coke and Pepsi’s Winning Streak appeared first on Green Prophet.

The Ministry of Environment and Water announced that the new rules will be enforced starting 2013, though several firms have already made the switch to oxo-biodegradeable bags, according to The National.

This move comes after a succession of stories revealed the deleterious impact that plastic has on the environment. In addition to clogging waterways, hardened chunks of plastic have been found in the bellies of camels living in remote desert areas.

Mohammed Saleh Badri, director general of the Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology (Esma) that is responsible for implementing the new policy told The National that the decision to switch to biodegradable plastic was informed by a series of consultations with experts.

Suppliers have been carefully vetted and certification will be given to only a select few who meet the agency’s stringent guidelines.

But Katharina Goeschl, chief administrative officer for Emirates Environment Technology that runs a plastics recycling plant in Al Ain, told the paper that the chemical properties of the new bags make it impossible to recycle them.

“What will happen is that they will be dumped in landfill sites, and although they will break down into ever smaller pieces they won’t completely degrade,” she said, adding that at least the old bags could be reused.

Daniella Dimitrova Russo, Co-founder and Executive Director, Plastic Pollution Coalition said that bioplastics will not solve the plastic pollution problem since they are still toxic, aren’t recyclable, and they don’t biodegrade as well as most companies have said.

After six months, Esma will review the efficacy of the program, which also aims to address the wider issue of disposable plastics in the United Arab Emirates.

Meanwhile, how about non-plastic, reusable grocery bags?

:: The National

Image of drifting plastic bag, Shutterstock

The post Unrecyclable Biodegradable Plastic Bags Enforced in Gulf Country appeared first on Green Prophet.