The bigger picture
Personal swaps cut what gets into you. They won’t fix a system that makes more plastic every year. This is where we cover recycling’s track record, where waste goes, what happens to plastic in the environment, and the policy fights that will decide what comes next.
Articles
The global plastics treaty: what's on the table and why talks keep stalling
UN members agreed in 2022 to write a treaty to end plastic pollution. Four years on there's still no deal. What's being negotiated, where it stands as of November 2026, and what it would change.
How long does plastic take to break down? Where the "450 years" comes from
The famous figures on beach posters weren't measured by anyone. What the degradation studies actually show, why sunlight matters more than time, and why "breaking down" mostly means breaking up.
Paper, plastic or cotton bags: what the life-cycle studies actually say
Why a cotton tote needs '131' or '7,100' uses depending on who's counting, what those studies leave out, and what bag bans and charges really did to litter, paper and bin-bag sales.
What's actually in the ocean: garbage patches, fishing gear, rivers and cleanups
The garbage patch is mostly fishing gear, input estimates disagree a hundredfold, and 'more plastic than fish' rests on thin maths. What the research shows and what cuts inputs.
Is plastic recycling a myth? What the labels really mean
Only 9% of the world's plastic waste gets recycled. What the number in the triangle, 'recyclable', 'compostable', 'plant-based' and 'BPA-free' actually tell you.
Where your "recycling" goes: the global plastic waste trade
For decades rich countries shipped plastic scrap abroad and called it recycled. What China's ban changed, where the bales went next, what the Basel and EU rules do, and what it means for your bin.
Tyres: the microplastic source nobody talks about
Every car sheds its tyres onto the road, and a tyre chemical kills salmon in urban creeks. What the studies show, what regulators have and haven't done, and what actually reduces it.
How the packaging industry convinced you plastic pollution is your fault
In 1953, can and bottle makers founded Keep America Beautiful to make waste a personal failing, not an industrial one. Coca-Cola signed on, and was sponsoring its cleanups in 2024.
Vetted picks coming soon. We only list products that pass our public standard, so this list grows slowly on purpose.