Displaying items by tag: pollution

Tearfund has warned that Coca-Cola is in danger of being left behind, as more companies make the move away from plastic. It has urged the soft drinks giant to ditch single-use plastic after it topped a list of worst corporate plastic polluters for the second year in a row. The list, published by the Break Free From Plastic (BFFP) movement, is based on the number of items collected by more than 70,000 volunteers during community clean-ups across 51 countries. 11,732 branded Coca Cola plastics were recorded in 37 countries, more than the next three top global polluters combined. BFFP’s 1,800 member organisations are calling on corporations to reduce their production of single-use plastic and find innovative solutions focused on delivery systems that do not create pollution. Other top polluters are Nestlé, PepsiCo, Cadbury, Unilever, Mars, Procter and Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive, Philip Morris, Mentos, and Chupa Chups.

Research published on 14 November shows that London’s low-emission traffic zone has modestly reduced residents’ exposure to diesel engine pollution, but the better air quality has not brought improved lung health among children. The results suggest that while air pollution levels may be reduced by low emission zones, extra measures are needed to deliver air clean enough to improve health. WHO says that in addition to the pollution problems caused by diesel vehicles, nitrogen oxide - which has been linked to asthma and impaired lung development in children - has become a major problem. Professor Chris Griffiths, who co-led the research, said, ‘In many areas of London, air pollution still remains a major issue’.

India's capital Delhi is battling high pollution levels and extreme temperatures due to an unusual dust haze covering the city. Many people have breathing problems and say the city has become an unliveable place. The state government has banned all construction, and the fire brigade is sprinkling water across the city. People are advised to stay indoors as much as possible. Fourteen Indian cities are among the world's most polluted, according to World Health Organisation. The dust is a carrier of PM2.5 - tiny but deadly air particles, which can increase the likelihood of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Delhi's air pollution is triggering a health crisis. Many residents are saying, ‘Right to clean air should be a part of right to life as enshrined in the constitution’, and ‘It's high time to bring in electric vehicles’. Others assert that Delhi needs a forest buffer zone, which would not be very expensive to implement.

Theresa May has pledged to eradicate all avoidable plastic waste in the UK by 2042. But green groups say the proposals will have no legal force. For new proposals to work, they need to be put into law. Under the government's plan, supermarkets will be urged to introduce plastic-free aisles while taxes and charges on single-use items such as takeaway containers will be considered. The amount of single-use plastic wasted every year would fill the Royal Albert Hall a thousand times. Environmentalists agree that the government's plan to restore nature - not just safeguard nature - is genuinely radical. It covers managing land sustainably, reducing pollution and waste, and protecting and improving the global environment. See also the next article, on fracking.