People vilify plastic. they should use it better instead

People vilify plastic. they should use it bet...

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Marine warfare: Le Pen runs for president

Last night, the populist-right leader announced that she will run in the French presidential election next year. Our correspondent analyses the Le Pen dynasty and explains how this decision will shape the campaign. The world’s first refuge for whales once held in captivity. And o ...  Show more

Continental rift: NATO’s tense summit

As NATO leaders gather for the annual summit in Turkey today, the thorniest issue is off the agenda: fractures within the alliance. Our correspondent travels to the Baltics, where a strategic shift is already evident. First there was vibe coding, now vibe lawyering is coming to c ...  Show more

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People vilify plastic. they should use it better instead
Economist Podcasts

Many people view plastic as an environmental disaster that blights landscapes and chokes marine life. Our correspondent argues that instead we need to better understand this miracle material. To make prison work, governments need to have better strategies for managing inmates’ re ...  Show more

Plastic (not so) Fantastic
Newscast

A closer look at the UK’s single-use plastic problemWe dive into the UK’s use of single-use plastics. Where’s it coming from? Where’s it ending up? And what needs to change? We speak to our Science Editor, David Shukman and TV presenter Julia Bradbury, who wants us to dump the pl ...  Show more

The Myth of Plastic Recycling
Short Wave

For many, recycling feels like a tangible way to personally combat climate change and to positively affect the environment. But after a years long investigation, NPR correspondent Laura Sullivan finds that reality is generally the opposite: Only a small fraction of plastic is ult ...  Show more

The stream of plastic pollution: could a global treaty help us turn off the tap?
Science Weekly

Guardian Seascapes reporter Karen McVeigh tells Madeleine Finlay about a recent trip to the Galápagos Islands, where mounds of plastic waste are washing up and causing problems for endemic species. Tackling this kind of waste and the overproduction of plastic were the topics on t ...  Show more