Single-Use Plastic Banned By The European Parliament

The EU plastics bill also includes deadlines for reducing or recycling other plastics such as bottles, fishing lines, food wrappers, and cigarette filters.

NewsGram Desk

October 25, 2018

Microplastics, plastic, EU — Plastic bottles and other plastics, including a mop, lie washed up on the bank of the River Thames in London, Britian. VOA

The European Parliament voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to ban single-use plastic products such as straws, eating utensils and coffee sticks across the European Union.

The measure passed 571 to 53, with 34 abstentions.

If approved by the European Commission — the EU executive — and individual states, the ban would become law in 2021.

plastic waste — Plastic items washed up by the sea are seen at the Ao Phrao Beach, on the island of Ko Samet, Thailand, June 9, 2018. (VOA)

Supporters say plastics are a major source of pollution that chokes oceans, litters cities, and can take decades to disintegrate.

Some U.S. cities have moved to ban plastic straws in restaurants after a heartbreaking video of a wildlife rescuer pulling a straw out of a turtle’s bloody nose was posted on the internet earlier this year.

plastic, vietnam — A plastic bottle washed up by the sea . (VOA)

A consortium of European plastics manufacturers called the EU bill “disproportionate” and said banning single-use plastics discourages investment into new ways to recycle.

Also Read: New Carbon Capture Technology Now Able To Flight Climate Change: Experts

The EU plastics bill also includes deadlines for reducing or recycling other plastics such as bottles, fishing lines, food wrappers, and cigarette filters. (VOA)

Rare Earth Metals in Smartphones Can Now Be Tracked

Extracting rare earths from the environment or from industrial samples, like waste water from mines or coal waste products, is generally very challenging and expensive.

NewsGram Desk

April 24, 2019

Researchers have developed a new protein-based sensor that can detect lanthanides, the rare earth metals used in smartphones and other technologies, in a more efficient and cost-effective way.

The sensor changes its fluorescence when it binds to these metals, according to the study published online in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

The protein undergoes a shape change when it binds to lanthanides, which is key for the sensor’s fluorescence to “turn on”, said the study.

smartpphone — “These elements are called rare earths, and they include chemical elements of atomic weight 57 to 71 on the periodic table,” Cotruvo added. Pixabay

To develop the sensor, the researchers from Pennsylvania State University in the US used a protein they recently described and subsequently used to explore the biology of bacteria that use lanthanides.

“Lanthanides are used in a variety of current technologies, including the screens and electronics of smartphones, batteries of electric cars, satellites, and lasers,” said Joseph Cotruvo, Assistant Professor at Penn State and senior author of the study.

“These elements are called rare earths, and they include chemical elements of atomic weight 57 to 71 on the periodic table,” Cotruvo added.

Also Read: Talks With IMF To Lower Natural Gas Price, The New President in Ukraine Takes Charge

Extracting rare earths from the environment or from industrial samples, like waste water from mines or coal waste products, is generally very challenging and expensive.

“We developed a protein-based sensor that can detect tiny amounts of lanthanides in a sample, letting us know if it’s worth investing resources to extract these important metals,” Cotruvo said. (IANS)

Recent Posts