Image by monticello via shutterstockWhen it comes to supporting the circular economy, improving plastic recycling, and reducing waste, do we want to help the environment or regulate more?
A dog eyes a trove of dumped plastic containers in Moorpark, Calif. (Photo: Alexandra Bilham, via Shutterstock)Approximately 85% of single-use plastics in California never get recycled. By standardizing and clarifying the labeling of recyclable waste, California’s new law aims to align manufacturing standards with state regulations in order to increase the amount of plastic material that actually gets recycled.
A farmers' market in Oceanside, where a heavy emphasis is placed on recycling. (Photo: Dogora Sun, via Shutterstock)In 2019, a Californian named Zuleyka Strasner created a sustainable grocery delivery startup called Zero Grocery. Previously an operations manager at a Bay Area venture capital firm, she got the idea for her low-waste grocery service after seeing a startling amount of plastic trash washing up on the tropical Nicaraguan beach where she’d honeymooned.
Polystyrene foam blocks on a sheet of corrugated paper. (Photo illustration: Nor Gal, via Shutterstock)If you’ve been following the debate in Sacramento over the use of foam cups and food containers in California, you probably have heard some rather outlandish allegations related to their safety. After 40-plus years as a toxicologist, I can clearly state: There are no adverse health effects on humans from polystyrene foam food and drink containers.