28 november 2023 Last week, the European Commission decided to ban waste exports to countries outside the European Union with a revision of the Waste Shipment Regulation. It is no longer allowed to ship plastic waste to countries such as Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. Plastic Soup Foundation welcomes this measure, as these countries have major problems processing European plastic waste. Unfortunately, the ban does not solve everything, the shortcuts still remain to countries like Turkey and it also does not solve the illegal waste flow. It is now prohibited to ship waste to non-OECD countri ..read more

28 november 2023 As all 2,000 participants headed home after the third meeting of the United Nations Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (UNEP) on Plastic Pollution (INC-3), disappointment reigned. Initially, progress seemed to have been made, but it was overshadowed by failed negotiations on the final day. The ultimate goal of the convention – ending plastic pollution – did not come any closer during the session held from 13 to 19 November in Nairobi, Kenya. Differences of opinion flared up over how much, and even if, plastic production should be reduced, an idea that did figure prominent ..read more

9 November 2023 Recent research commissioned by Plastic Soup Foundation has shown that agricultural fields in the Netherlands and Spain are seriously contaminated with microplastics. A surprising and worrying finding is that ‘biodegradable’ agricultural foils appear to be a major source of this pollution. Despite their claim of biodegradability, these films turn out to be not nearly as biodegradable as previously thought, resulting in a high concentration of microplastics in the soil. -> Read the Summary -> Read more on this topic in our dossier Cause of pollution: Misleading about biode ..read more

18 October 2023 Since 1 July this year, consumers have been required to pay an additional levy, known as the plastictax, on disposable cups and containers. However, this measure, introduced to reduce plastic consumption, is now being questioned by the House of Representatives. A proposal by the political party SP to abolish this tax already has the support of a majority in the House. The reconsideration comes as consumers continue to buy disposable plastic unabated. According to the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT), the current plastic tax is difficult to implement and enforc ..read more

4 October 2023 – Japanese scientists climbed Mount Fuji and Mount Oyama to collect water from clouds – The team identified nine different types of polymers and one type of rubber – The cloud water tested contained about 6.7 to 13.9 particles per litre. This is according to a study published in the journal Environmental Chemistry Letters. From the 6.8-mile-deep Mariana Trench to the summit of Mount Everest, microplastics have been found almost everywhere on Earth. Now a study has shown that plastic is also floating in our clouds. Scientists warn that these microplastics are falling back onto th ..read more

4 September 2023 New research on the effects of microplastics on humans and other mammals shows significant behavioral changes due to microplastics added to water and food supplies. These disturbing results were published in the International Journal of Molecular Science at the end of August. The study was conducted by Professor Jaime Ross of the University of Rhode Island. The researchers looked at the behavioral and inflammatory effects of plastic pollution and where it is located in the body and found that microplastics pollute the body to the same extent as in nature. This has a particular ..read more

30 August 2023 This month (August 2023) it was widely reported in the news, the plastic soup is much smaller than we thought. Researchers from Utrecht University, with Mikael Kaandorp as lead author, came up with a new estimate on the size of the plastic pollution in the oceans, for this they analyzed over 20,000 scientific studies on plastic pollution. The conclusion, the amount of plastic in the ocean is a lot lower than estimates from previous studies. Kaandorp estimates that there are 3.2 million tons of plastic in the ocean and that half a million tons of plastic is added to this every ye ..read more

25 August 2023 Plastic is everywhere. It can be found on beaches, drifting in the oceans, floating in the air and also ends up in the food we eat. There are multiple ways in which microplastics can enter our bodies. Primarily through inhalation and swallowing, but also through other body openings. These tiny particles less than five millimetres wide have been found in the human digestive tract, lungs and blood. A new study has now also found microplastics in human hearts.  In a study published by the American Chemical Society in Environmental Science and Technology, a group of resear ..read more

27 July 2023 The approach to ‘single-use plastic products’ will be expanded. The government is going to investigate the most appropriate measures to prevent plastic from ending up on the streets ‘by product group’. Finally, a ban on products like squeeze bags or single-use cigarette filters is no longer a taboo.   Plastic Soup Foundation has been calling on the government to ban certain products for years. State Secretary Vivian Heijnen (CDA) of Infrastructure and Water Management offers that perspective in a letter to the House of representatives. FROM PURELY IMPLEMENTATIO ..read more

21 July 2023 In an historic win for people, nature and the climate, a Belgian court has ruled that INEOS’s €3 billion plastics project in the Port of Antwerp, Belgium, is not legal. The project is now suspended. The Court of the Council of Permit Disputes ruled that INEOS failed to tell authorities the full extent of the project’s predicted impact on the surrounding environment. According to the court, these crucial omissions mean the Flemish authorities should not have granted the project’s approval – and it now cannot go forward. Maria Westerbos, founder and director of Plasti ..read more