It's a plastic world out there. About 460 million metric tons of the material are made each year, according to the United Nations, and some scientists are growing increasingly worried that ...

We independently review everything we recommend. When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Learn more› By Katie Okamoto Katie Okamoto is an editor focusing on sustainability.

We’ve updated this piece to clarify and add context to a study finding flame-retardant chemicals in some black plastic. February 2025 It’s probably time to ditch your plastic utensils.

Every week, millions of Americans toss their recyclables into a single bin, trusting that their plastic bottles, aluminum cans and cardboard boxes will be given a new life. But what really happens ...

In December 2018, Great Britain's Royal Statistical Society named the core fact in this story—that only about nine percent of all plastic ever made has likely been recycled— its statistic of ...

By the end of the week, I was left with a horrifying pile of yogurt cups, coffee lids, plastic wrappers and takeout containers — far more than I expected. I even had enough trash to cover my ...

In the U.S. alone, about 4 to 5 billion plastic pill bottles are thrown away each year. That’s enough plastic to circle the Earth multiple times. While they might seem harmless, these bottles ...

This is what the data says about plastic bag bans. Plastic bag bans have been popping up across the country for the past decade, but a lawmaker in one state is looking at walking back the law ...