Humanity’s decades-old addiction to disposable plastic, from straws to shopping bags, is choking the world’s rivers and seas, threatening wildlife and contaminating the food chain. The COVID-19 pandemic has only made this problem worse as the use of disposable masks, gloves and other personal protective equipment (PPE) soars.

The images are sobering: dead sea birds and choking turtles caught in the plastic that is increasingly flooding into marine ecosystems.

In many parts of the world, this type of plastic pollution has grabbed headlines.

Almost 3.6 billion people, or around half of the world’s population, lack access to a proper toilet and sanitation system. World Toilet Day, which is held annually on November 19, celebrates the toilet, while raising the plight of those who don’t have access to proper sanitation.

For many countries around the world, from the US and the UK to China and Japan, July was one of the hottest months since global record-keeping began in the 1800s. The global heatwaves sparked deadly wildfires and displaced thousands of residents from their homes.

Single-use plastic products (SUPPs) may epitomize convenience, but with the damage they cause through production, distribution and litter, they are a major threat to environmental and human health.

The open burning of plastic waste, consumption of plastic-contaminated seafood and creation of harmful microplastics are just some reasons why SUPPs should be phased out.

At the intersection of greater environmental awareness, stricter public health measures and the return of the tourism industry lies an enduring threat: plastic pollution.

Kitchen wraps made from banana leaves. Eyeglass frames forged from recycled plastic bottles. And a multi-purpose cleaner no bigger than a pill.

These ideas are the winners of a new competition from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) that’s designed to help counter some of the greatest environmental threats facing Latin America and the Caribbean.

Air pollution is the greatest environmental threat to public health globally. The World Health Organization (WHO) recently issued stricter recommendations on safe air pollution levels, in a bid to curb the millions of premature deaths and loss of millions more healthy years of life caused by air pollution.

As over 190 world leaders and tens of thousands of government representatives, businesses and citizens gather at the twenty-sixth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 26) in Glasgow this week and next, we unpack what to expect and delve into the latest climate science from the United Nations Environment Pr

Air pollution is an invisible killer with a stranglehold on many parts of our fragile planet. Nine out of 10 of us breathe air containing levels of pollutants that exceed World Health Organization limits.