Plastic pollution

Senate Bill 551, the so-called “beyond the bag ban” bill, would build on regulations lawmakers approved in 2019.

“Paper or plastic” will no longer be a choice at grocery store checkout lines in California under a new law signed Sunday by Gov. Gavin Newsom that bans all plastic shopping bags.

California’s lawsuit alleges that ExxonMobil has known for decades that recycling would not effectively stem the flow of plastic waste.

Grid search produces plastic pollution in Lake Tahoe

Researchers analyzing the feces and prey of gray whales off the Oregon Coast estimate the mammals could be consuming millions of small bits of plastic, clothing fibers and other human debris each day that harm their health – and could hurt humans.

The bill bans food vendors from serving meals in containers made of polystyrene foam, commonly known as Styrofoam. It also prohibits businesses from using or selling foam packing peanuts or single-use foam coolers.

Everywhere they look, Pacific Northwest scientists find teeny-tiny plastic pollution. Broken down particles are in our water, falling out of the air, in salmon, shellfish and in our own bodies.

A bill negotiated by environmentalists, the plastics industry and lawmakers is keeping a California recycling measure off the ballot. The bill sailed through the Assembly on Wednesday night and the state Senate on Thursday morning, and the proponents withdrew the initiative just before the deadline.

New York is the latest, and largest, state to consider charging product-makers to dispose of their packaging. But lawmakers are clashing over how much to involve industry in creating a new system.

California's attorney general is investigating oil and gas companies for allegedly deceiving the public that most plastic can be recycled, citing NPR and PBS Frontline's investigation of the industry.

A report out Monday from an environmental group says tiny bits of plastic have been found in many waterways in the state.

As we move into August, some people are tempted to bring pool floaties and other plastic pool toys to lakes and rivers. Researchers at UC Davis are urging people to leave those floaties at home. If the toys rip or break, their glitter and microbeads are like a microplastic bomb that's impossible to clean up.