plastics

Exhibit inspires woman to try to avoid buying plastics for a month

Bellamy Pailthorp — Tue, 21 May 2013 13:14:00 +0000

Plastics have only been in wide use since the 1940s, yet they are everywhere, from sandwich bags to phones, to keyboards, to rain gear. Even the cans of soup in the grocery aisle are lined with it.

It's hard to imagine a world before these conveniences. What would your life be like without plastics?

Mount Rainier National Park poised to ban sales of bottled water

Bellamy Pailthorp — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 12:01:00 +0000

The disposable plastic water bottle is known for clogging landfills and choking marine life. As a result, 14 national parks no longer sell bottled water. And it looks like Mount Rainier National Park might be next.

"Plastics Unwrapped" puts eyes on everyday objects at Burke Museum

Bellamy Pailthorp — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 06:12:39 +0000

The University of Washington’s 113 year-old Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture is debuting a new look and feel. Curators there say they want people to think more about everyday objects and how they evoke our place in the world.

“The Life Before You” is the new tag line encouraging visitors to discover and explore the Burke’s collections. First up, as the rebranding rolls out, is a new temporary exhibition called Plastics Unwrapped.

Rent a living X-mas tree

Bellamy Pailthorp — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 08:50:00 +0000

What’s the best way to have a Christmas tree…and not feel like you’re killing it?

The Adopt-a-Stream Foundation in Everett says if you don’t mind something that looks a bit scrappy, you can have your tree and plant it too.

The foundation says it rented out 100 trees over this past weekend…and they have about 100 more available. They’ll be open 9-5 through Friday.

Rising rate of plastics ingested by birds off the coast of Washington

Bellamy Pailthorp — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 14:40:46 +0000

A new study suggests there’s been a dramatic increase in plastic pollution off the coast of the Pacific Northwest over the past 40 years.

That’s after analysis of trash ingested by seabirds in Washington and British Columbia.

Study: Plastic in Pacific Ocean increased 100-fold in 40 years

Wed, 09 May 2012 18:56:40 +0000

The amount of plastic debris in the part of the Pacific Ocean known as the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch" has grown 100-fold in the past 40 years.

In a paper published today by the journal Biology Letters, scientists from Scripps Institution of Oceanography report that most of that plastic has degraded into pieces no bigger than a fingernail.

'Bag your bags' King County says of troublesome plastics

Bellamy Pailthorp — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 18:30:18 +0000

If you’re confused about what to do with the plastic bags you get at grocery stores, you’re not alone.

Many people know that they’re bad for the environment and that they can be recycled, but how to recycle them is another question.