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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: plastic

plastic stories: 32 news summaries

1 - 20 of 32 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

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Plastics Chemical
Linked to Male Sex Problems

Widely used BPA comes under more fire

Nov 11, 09 12:52 PM CST
(Newser) - A study of workers exposed to high levels of bisphenol A—a chemical widely used in plastic bottles and packaging—have a much higher incidence of sexual dysfunction than their counterparts. The study of Chinese workers found those exposed to BPA were 4 times more likely to report erectile dysfunction... More »

MORE ABOUT:
bisphenol A • plastic • erectile dysfunction • medical study • BPA • Kaiser Permanente • sexual dysfunction • factory workers • occupational exposure • reproductive

 Hungary Holds 
 'Miss Plastic' 
 Pageant 

Beauty contest offers prizes to the surgically-enhanced—and their surgeons

Oct 10, 09 5:36 AM CDT
(Newser) - Boob jobs, facelifts, and new noses were on parade in Budapest last night as Hungary held its first "Miss Plastic" pageant. The winners—who had to prove they had actually gone under the knife—received prizes including a new apartment and a new car, and their surgeons took home... More »

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plastic surgery • plastic • Hungary • cosmetic surgery • breast enhancement • beauty contest

(Newser) - Screw tops, boxes, and now—plastic bottles? A move is afoot to package wine in low-cost, lighter plastic containers, the Los Angeles Times reports. The bottles come with an expiration date because the plastic does not provide the same airtight seal as glass. But because most wine sold in... More »

MORE ABOUT:
plastic • wine • bottles • environmental impact • vineyard • glass • packaging • winery

 Plastic Wine 
 Bottles Eco-Friendly, 
 but Drink It Fast 

Wine can go bad after less than a year

Jul 21, 09 12:44 PM CDT
(Newser) - Some are looking to recycled plastic bottles as the future of wine packaging—but though they are more eco-friendly, such bottles are less wine-friendly, Reuters reports. They’re “fine for wine you plan to use under 12 months, but not for wines that are designed to improve in the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
environment • plastic • wine • bottles • green products • trend • eco-friendly • Jay-ZTV

 I Know What 
 Happened to 
 Flight 447: 
 Trump 

Posts theory on his blog about 'plastic rudders'

Jun 16, 09 9:10 AM CDT
(Newser) - Donald Trump: entrepreneur, reality show host, airline safety investigator. The real estate mogul has a friend who makes handcarts out of the same material the Airbus 330 rudders are made of, so the Donald has a theory about Air France Flight 447, the New York Post reports. More »

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Donald Trump • plastic • celebrity • airline safety • Airbus A330 • Air France Flight 447

Controversial Chemical Leaches From Bottles to Water

BPA levels jump 69%
in H2O drinkers

May 22, 09 10:57 AM CDT
(Newser) - One aspect of the bisphenol A controversy can be put to rest: drinking from clear plastic bottles does increase the amount of the chemical in the body. The extent of BPA's effects on healthy adults is still not well known, but the FDA says existing exposure levels aren't high enough... More »

MORE ABOUT:
FDA • bisphenol A • baby bottle • plastic • BPA • Nalgene

 Try Plastic-Free Living 
 —for a Week 

Trib reporter couldn't do it

Dec 27, 08 2:02 PM CST
(Newser) - Plastic is getting bad press lately, so one writer decided to try living plastic-free: Could her family of four go an entire week without the synthetic stuff? Short answer: No, Trine Tsouderos writes in the Chicago Tribune. The paper diapers leaked, and finding food not packaged in plastic was a... More »

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environment • environmentalism • plastic

Barbies of the Future May Grow on Trees 

Researchers use wood and wax to make biodegradable alternative

Dec 6, 08 2:31 PM CST
(Newser) - Wooden toys may not be so 1850s, scientists say. A bioplastic made from trees has been used to make everything from golf tees to car parts in recent years, but its sulfurous stink kept it out of the toy market. Now a sulfur-free version of "liquid wood" is available,... More »

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trees • science • plastic • design • toys • nature • Barbie • inventions • Lego

GLOSSIES

Disney's New 'Tomorrowland' House as Bland as Leftovers

'Furiously unimaginative' update reflects down period in our culture: O'Rourke

Dec 4, 08 3:52 PM CST
(Newser) - In the 1950s, Disneyland wowed visitors and architecture aficionados with its dynamic vision of domesticity in its House of the Future, but, as PJ O’Rourke laments in the Atlantic, Disney’s latest house is “almost furiously unimaginative.” A peek at Disney’s domestic vision finds a future... More »

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technology • architecture • plastic • domestication • Disney • P.J. O'Rourke • 1950s

(Newser) - Stories of angry and even injured customers have inspired companies to ditch sealed clamshell packaging for easy-to-open alternatives, the New York Times reports. Amazon leads the pack, working with suppliers to ship products in plain cardboard boxes ahead of the holidays. Even some offline companies, which rely on clamshells... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Microsoft • plastic • waste • Sony • consumer products • Amazon • clamshell packaging

Congress Moves to Ban
Toxin Found in Toys

Bush could yet veto bill including measure to keep phthalates away from children

Jul 29, 08 1:11 PM CDT
(Newser) - Congressional negotiators have agreed to ban a group of toxins common in children’s toys, part of a consumer-protection bill, the Washington Post reports. The ban mirrors tougher standards at big retailers like Wal-Mart and Toys R Us, and, like those bans, wouldn’t take effect until after the holiday... More »

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Congress • plastic • toys • toxic chemicals • phthalates • toy safety • Exxon Mobil

New Shower Curtains Smell Like Cancer

PVC products linked to wide-ranging and long-lasting ills

Jun 12, 08 5:40 PM CDT
(Newser) - Ever wonder about that smell given off by new shower curtains? Well, according to a new study, it’s poisonous. An independent organization has found that PVC shower curtains on shelves at Wal-Mart, Target, Sears and others may give off measurable amounts of dangerous, volatile organic compounds that could linger... More »

MORE ABOUT:
retail • plastic • public health • Environmental Protection Agency • scientific study • PVC • shower curtain • volatile organic compounds • airborne contaminants • OSHA

 When in Venice,
 Can the Water Bottles 

Legendary city pleads with tourists to use public fountains

Jun 4, 08 9:19 AM CDT
(Newser) - Faced with a mountain of discarded plastic bottles, Venice is asking 19 million tourists to quit drinking mineral water and use the city's 122 public fountains. Beginning Thursday, visitors to the Piazzale Roma will be handed reusable plastic bottles and a map showing fountains that city officials claim are "... More »

MORE ABOUT:
recycling • Catholic Church • plastic • Venice • Earth Policy Institute • waste disposal management • mineral water • World Environment Day

 Self-Fixing Plane in the Works 

Self-repairing process mimics the way human body heals

May 28, 08 5:55 AM CDT
(Newser) - British aerospace engineers are working on technology that could create self-repairing aircraft, Gizmag reports. In a technique very much like nature's healing process, resin would "bleed" out of damaged parts of the plane and harden, making a damaged aircraft strong enough to continue to fly until it could be... More »

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aerospace • plastic • Boeing 787 Dreamliner • aviation • aircraft • engineering • airplane • invention

 Cindy's Tips for Green Living 

Ex-supermodel offers hints for an ecological family

Apr 22, 08 3:07 PM CDT
(Newser) - “We all want to live a little greener,” ex-supermodel and mom Cindy Crawford writes in The Daily Green. The key for moms is making small changes that mesh with hectic household living:
  1. Filter your tap water and use a reusable bottle. Thirty-eight billion bottles end up in
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
climate change • bottled water • pollution • plastic • celebrity • green home • Cindy Crawford

Nalgene Nixes Suspect Chemical

Company will yank bottles containing bisphenol A

Apr 18, 08 1:31 PM CDT
(Newser) - The maker of Nalgene bottles will pull the products from stores over concerns about the health effects of the chemical bisphenol A, Reuters reports. The plastic water bottles, long a favorite of hikers, will be made with BPA-free materials going forward. The move comes despite the chemical industry's assurances that... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Canada • bisphenol A • plastic • public health • chemicals • bottles • Nalgene

Feds Warn
of Chemical
in Plastics

Common ingredient linked to cancers, behavior issues

Apr 15, 08 6:11 PM CDT
(Newser) - A federal health panel warned today a chemical used to make a slew of everyday plastic items—including baby bottles—could be linked to several types of cancer, early puberty for girls and even hyperactivity, the Washington Post reports. The report urges more study and marks a reversal for the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
FDA • health • baby bottle • plastic • health advisories • BPA

Sea of Plastic Dooms Oceans, Expert Says

Pacific pollution—as
big as Africa—is too deep and broad to fix

Mar 5, 08 4:16 PM CST
(Newser) - A noted oceanographer says the aquatic pollution in the Pacific Ocean is too significant to be cleaned up. “We are damned to a future of pollution by plastic,” Charles Moore said after showing that the amount of Pacific plastic has ballooned fivefold in the last 10 years. A... More »

MORE ABOUT:
recycling • pollution • global warming • plastic • Pacific Ocean • ocean • garbage • green revolution

Tax Helped the Irish Bag Plastic

When gov't enacted 33-cent tax, usage dropped 94% in weeks

Feb 6, 08 12:13 PM CST
(Newser) - "Paper or plastic?" is perhaps the last question you'll hear on the Emerald Isle, thanks to a 33-cent tax on each plastic bag that cut Irish consumption by 94% within weeks of its 2002 enactment, reports the New York Times. Cloth bags have become downright fashionable since, but... More »

MORE ABOUT:
plastic bags • taxes • environmentalism • plastic • landfill • Ireland • supermarket • paper bags

Hot Water Leaches Harmful
Chemical From Plastic

Study finds plastic bottles leach chemical BPA in hot water

Jan 30, 08 9:55 AM CST
(Newser) - Hot liquid causes a potentially harmful chemical to leach out of certain plastics much faster than usual, researchers have found. The study, published in Toxicology Letters, discovered that  bisphenol A, or BPA, was released from some common plastic bottles 55 times faster when they were placed in boiling water. Concerns... More »

MORE ABOUT:
baby bottle • plastic • chemicals • hormones • research

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