Recent news highlights plastic pollution challenges in Virginia and gives insight on the work being done, as well as what more be done. This article notes 60% to 80% of trash in Earth’s oceans comes from our behavior on land and while this is absolutely true, there are intricacies at work when looking at plastic, …

Federal Funding The  Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) largest ever proposed budget, set at $11.2 billion, includes $10 million in grants for initiatives surrounding recycling innovation. These grants would aim to assist municipal governments with their recycling programs, in addition to providing aid for improving local waste systems. If Congress passes this budget later in the …

Plastic Pollution in Your Backyard! Have you ever wondered what your county’s most polluted plastic product is? If you live in Fairfax County, plastic bags are the top litter offender! What’s more, plastic bags are 1) notoriously hard to recycle (1-3% recycled per year) and 2) millions of dollars in each state are spent cleaning …

Do we know the difference between trash and treasure? Goodwill has a message for people making donations– stop donating your trash! While it doesn’t feel great to throw away things we’ve bought, pawning off your trash (or things you don’t use in bad condition) is never the answer. Making these “donations” may make you feel …

Mo Pipeline, Mo Problems The Biden administration urges Americans not to hoard gasoline, following the ransomware attack that caused the Colonial Pipeline to shut down. Gasoline shortages have hit the South the hardest, but this article noted shortages have been occurring in Virginia as well. Transportation is one of the largest contributors to global greenhouse …

Can a Story About Litter Be Lovable? This wholesome news about two little girls receiving a response to their letters to Santa sent via balloon demonstrates unintended consequences of balloon releases. In addition to the generous stranger in this story that provided the girls a gift that their family couldn’t afford due to the pandemic, …

  Salty about pollution this Earth Day: Salt– we love it in our food and we need it on the roads during winter for safety. But how much salt is too much? Local ecosystems are inundated with salt during winter, which is a problem if you are a freshwater fish, but what’s more is that …

Wastewater Wall on the Brink of Collapse A crew from the Army Corps of Engineers are working overtime in the effort to prevent a collapse of a wastewater pond in Manatee County, Florida by pumping millions of gallons of fertilizer waste into Port Manatee on Tampa Bay. This waste is known to be bad for …

Tons of waste with nowhere to go: Forty-two million metric tons of plastic waste was contributed to land and sea by the United States in 2016. This ends up being 286 pounds of plastic waste per person a year! Where does all of this plastic waste go? Almost 90% of all US recyclable plastic is …

The 2021 General Assembly is coming to an end and there were definitely environmental successes. We will forever remember the 2021 General Assembly by the words of Senator Chap Petersen, “The great polystyrene compromise of 2021” and Senator Hanger’s defense of chemical conversion, “I believe my friends in the environmental community will, once they understand …