Better plastic recycling best way out.
Byline: Neha Lalchandani (##include msid=2162032,type=11 ##) (TOI Photo) NEW DELHI: In a move that may shape future laws on plastic waste disposal, a three member government committee recently informed the high court that a complete ban on plastic bags was not required in...

Plastic Industry strikes back.
Following San Francisco's lead, other cities with plastic bag woes are now considering their own bans on single-use bags in grocery and drug stores. But when the progressive town of Fairfax, California--population just over 7,00--decided to ban plastic bags in their stores, the plastics industry threatened to sue, citing...

"Green" bioscience company set to produce fermentation-based plastic.
DSM Venturing, an investment unit of the Dutch materials group DSM, has participated in a $20 million financing round in Tianjin Green Bioscience Co Ltd, a Chinese bioplastics company. DSM said that the proceeds will be used to build China's largest manufacturing plant for polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA)--a polyester...

Paper or plastic? States wrestle with plans to ban plastic bags.
Get Talking Ask students: What types of bags do you use for groceries (paper, plastic, reusable)? Tell them some cities and states are considering banning plastic bags. Ask students: Do you think that is a good idea or a bad idea? Notes Behind the News...

Dear EarthTalk: I'm planning a summer backpacking trip and was hoping to buy some of the latest green-friendly outdoor clothing. Where the best options out there today that wear as well as traditional items but without the environmental guilt?
Outdoor gear and clothing manufacturers are slowly but surely beginning to work materials crafted from recycled, reused or otherwise sustainable sources into their products. Synthetics like polyester and nylon have been the "go to" materials for outdoor clothes, due to their moisture wicking, quick drying and warmth...

Beijing going for "green" in Olympics planning.
At the Beijing Olympics this summer, one man' rubbish--or the rubbish produced by the estimated 3 million visitors--could turn to gold for the right plastics company. Beijing officials want to avoid filling the city' landfills with the discarded plastic forks, cups and plates that will inevitably accumulate...

Contract won to supply Olympics with biodegradable packaging.
Australian company Biograde Limited has been appointed exclusive supplier of biodegradable packaging to the Beijing 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games. This US$1.2 million biodegradable packaging contract was awarded by the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) and will involve the supply of...

From animal waste to biodegradable plastic.
A process developed at the University of Waikato in New Zealand will allow animal waste to be turned into useful and biodegradable plastic. The new process, developed over two years by University of Waikato chemical engineer Dr Johan Verbeek and graduate student Lisa van den Berg, can...

Effective bio-plastics degradation using yeast found in cultivating rice.
Scientists from Japan's National Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences have reported the latest discovery of a yeast that can effectively disintegrate microbial degradable plastics. Found inside the leaves of cultivating rice, researchers make use of the yeast to degrade an agricultural plastic film derived from polybutylene succinate co-adipate...

South Africa Food Producer Turns to Symphony for Biodegradable Plastic.
ENERGY RESOURCE-10 April 2008-South Africa Food Producer Turns to Symphony for Biodegradable Plastic(C)2008 JeraOne - http://www.jeraone.com Symphony Environmental Technologies Plc, a degradable plastics and waste-to-energy group, has signed up one of the world's largest food producers, Tiger Brands of South Africa, as a customer for its oxo-biodegradable...