The podcast on plastic, people, and the planet by @anjakrieger.
Plastics have become the basis for our modern lives, but they also pollute the planet. Will we be able to develop a healthy relationship with these materials we’ve created?
Follow Anja on a journey into the world of synthetic polymers, their impacts on nature and ourselves, and the global quest to tackle plastic pollution. Each episode explores the issue from a different angle, featuring a diverse set of voices and viewpoints.
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When the plastics treaty negotiations in South Korea ended without a result last December, media reports suggested they had failed. But not so fast - the negotiations are far from over, and continue this year. In this episode, you'll get an update on where we stand on the path to a global plan to tackle plastic pollution - and what’s to come. You'll hear from three of the smartest observers of the process: Magnus Lovold from NAIL, the Norwegian Academy of International Law, Chris Dixon from EIA,...
In this guest episode, G. Sampath and Satyarupa Shekhar discuss the fifth meeting of the UN’s Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) and why it ended without delivering a legally binding treaty to address global plastic pollution. Continue listening to the full episode here: https://www.thehindu.com/podcast/plastic-pollution-treaty-collapse/article68946877.ece
Anja Krieger talks with nanoplastics researcher Denise Mitrano about the gap between scientific findings and media portrayals of nanoplastics. They discuss the current state of knowledge, the challenges of detecting and analyzing these tiny particles, and the varying health impacts depending on plastic types and additives. The conversation also covers the complexities of science communication and Denise's lab research on understanding nanoplastic fate, transport, and potential solutions across the plastic life cycle.
The Plastic Mythbusters project is a collaboration between the Helmholtz Centre Hereon and the University of Strathclyde. Try our quiz and learn more in our detailed answers. You can also send us new claims to check or comments on our answers via the feedback form at the end of the quiz. We’d love to hear from you – to tackle the most persistent plastic myths! Links - Quiz: https://hub.hereon.de/portal/apps/experiencebuilder/experience/?id=07c344c64d1c42f89807351b9ad4a219 - About the project: ht...
The saga continues: Anja and Magnus meet in Busan, South Korea, to discuss the unfolding treaty negotiations on Day 4 of the INC5. Thanks to Grid Arendal for the travel grant!
Anja is at INC5, the final round of negotiations for the global plastics treaty. On the opening day, she asked people about their expectations - and witnessed the magic of diplomacy: Break free from brackets! With input from (in order of appearance): - Smail Alhilali (UNIDO) - Anjeli Debaraja - Jose Lopez Reyes (Dominican Republic Delegation) - Angelica C. Pago (Greenpeace East Asia) - Doe Johnson (International Alliance of Waste Pickers) - Indumathi, translated by Akbar Allahbakash (Hasiru Dala...
---Guest episode by Environmental Investigation Agency's "What on Earth?" podcast series--- The fifth round of talks in pursuit of a legally binding Global Plastics Treaty kicks off in Busan, South Korea shortly – but will we emerge with an agreement capable of tackling the world’s plastic crisis or will vested interests compromise the final vision? In this excellent episode, of the "What on Earth" podcast, EIA Ocean Campaign Leader Christina Dixon and Ocean Campaigner Jacob Kean-Hammerson join ...
Decades before plastic pollution became a global crisis, pioneering scientists like Ed Carpenter, Steve Rothstein, and Elizabeth Venrick stumbled upon plastic debris in the oceans and its impact on wildlife. This episode recounts their early observations, the initial dismissive reactions from industry and some experts, and the factors that led many of these researchers to abandon the subject. It highlights how public awareness and scientific focus on plastic pollution only gained significant momentum much later, despite early warnings.
Environmental scientist and water sommelier Elena Berg, with guests Malia Elder and Dr. Sherri Mason, investigates plastic contamination in drinking water. They delve into why bottled water has become a symbol of plastic pollution, discuss the social and environmental justice implications of plastic production and waste, and reveal scientific findings on plastic levels in tap versus bottled water. The episode emphasizes the need for awareness, systemic change, and reducing overall plastic consumption rather than relying on filters or bottled alternatives.
On the way to the final round of negotiations towards the global plastics treaty, things are moving fast. And there's a major development on the road to Busan, something that could change everything. Ambassador Luis Vayas, the chair of the intergovernmental negotiating committee, made a move that could help the treaty text break free from all the brackets to get the process back on track. Magnus Løvold from the Norwegian Academy of International Law just published the details on his blog, Points...
The final meeting to negotiate the global plastics treaty is coming up this winter. But if you’ve listened to previous episodes of our series, you know that little progress had been made in the first three INCs. At the negotiations in Uruguay, France, and Kenya, strategic games were played. They held up the process and sabotaged the road to an ambitious and binding treaty. Now, in the run-up to the final round of negotiations in November and December in the city of Busan, in Korea - the INC-5 - ...
September 5, 2024, is Plastic Overshoot Day. The world has been able to handle its plastic waste until this day, but the waste produced the rest of the year statistically ends up as pollution. Imagine the huge pile of plastic packaging and other stuff that the world disposes of in just four months - that will end up in the environment, according to this calculation. Sarah Perreard of Earth Action, the NGO that calculates the Plastic Overshoot day, explains how she and her colleagues arrived at t...
Happy World Environment Day! We’ve got a treat for you. There’s a new podcast series which is really great – and we wanted to share it with you. It’s called Forever Chemicals, and it’s produced by Meg Carney and team at Black-Footed Ferret Productions. Listen to the teaser here on Plastisphere and then head over to https://www.theoutdoorminimalist.com/forever-chemicals to binge the whole series! Transcript: https://anjakrieger.com/plastisphere/2024/06/05/forever-chemicals-teaser/ Voices in the t...
Sirine Rached is the Global Plastics Policy Coordinator at GAIA, the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives. In her message, Sirine shares why she doesn’t believe in certain technologies that are currently promoted to solve the plastics crisis. Read more on GAIA’s positions in the PlasticsTreaty talks here: no-burn.org/unea-plastics-treaty Send me a voice message - it might be published! Follow the instructions here: https://anjakrieger.com/plastisphere/send-a-voice-message/
The penultimate session to negotiate the global plastics treaty ended just a few days ago in Ottawa, Canada. One of the journalists attending was Stephen Leahy, a science and environmental journalist who’s reported on climate and other issues for the past 30 years. Steve has written for dozens of publications including National Geographic, the Guardian, New Scientist and The Atlantic. Anja asked him about his impressions of this fourth meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee, the ...
It's Monday, April 29, 2024, and the INC4, the fourth round of negotiations for the plastics treaty, is in the final hours. Negotiators of countries from around the world are sitting in conference rooms in Ottawa, Canada, debating how to end plastic pollution. Around them, the presence of the fossil and chemical industries has grown significantly. Compared to the last meeting in Nairobi 37 percent more lobbyists are attending. The effort to quantify this lobby presence was led by CIEL, the Cente...
In this episode we focus on one of the biggest countries in Asia - India. India just passed its Plastic Overshoot day on April 23. India is the world's third largest contributor to plastic waste after China and the United States – but it also has a huge population, 1.4 billion people. So per capita, Indians produce only small amounts of plastic waste - much less than a person in Belgium, for example. What has been India’s position in the plastics treaty talks? Is the country on the right track t...
In March 2024, negotiators and experts came together in Bellagio, Italy, for an exclusive meeting to discuss an essential topic: Plastic money. And we’re not talking about credit cards here, but the actual money we people around the world are paying for the production of plastics through our governments’ subsidies. Ronald Steenblik was the one who made me aware of this issue. He’s worked on subsidies to fossil fuels for over 30 years, and was the Special Counsellor for Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform...
What happened at the INC-3 in Kenya? Recap 3/3. “If a credible majority of states can come together and adopt global rules to prevent plastic pollution, they can also do the similar things on climate change, on biological diversity, and indeed also other issues of environmental and global concern,” Magnus Løvold says. He was present as an observer at all negotiation meetings towards the #PlasticsTreaty and shares the story so far on the podcast - a game with shaky rules. How will the saga contin...
What happened at the INC-2 in France? Recap 2/3. The negotiations for the global plastics treaty are haunted by major issues that have long stalled progress on other problems as well, like climate change and biodiversity loss. To understand what’s happening, Anja teamed up with Magnus Løvold, an expert in diplomacy and international law. Magnus was present at all the meetings of the Intergovernmental Negotiation Committee for the plastics treaty - the so-called “INC”. Here comes the second part ...
What happened at the INC-1 in Uruguay? Recap 1/3. This year, 2024, is the crucial year for the plastics treaty negotiations. If you haven’t heard about them, the United Nations are working on an international, legally binding agreement to end plastic pollution. It’s been called the most important environmental deal since the Paris climate accord. Many countries want it to be an ambitious agreement that covers the full lifecycle of plastics, from production to disposal. But some countries are not...
You’ve probably heard of bioplastics, these new kinds of plastics that are marketed as environmentally friendly. If you’ve been following this show, you might know the episode from 2019 in which Anja tried to better understand this group of materials and the confusion around it. If you haven't listened, here it is: https://soundcloud.com/plastisphere-podcast/ep-7-bioplastics After speaking to several experts from science, industry and NGOs, Anja came away with the conclusion that bioplastics hav...
- A heads-up for all international listeners: This the first-ever episode in German. If you don't speak the language, don't despair. The next episode in English is already in the works! - This episode features an in-depth panel in German language on solutions to plastic pollution with experts in ecotoxicology, the reuse economy and politics, including the lead negotiator of Germany for the plastics treaty. Anja, host of Plastisphere, also speaks at the event organized by Exit Plastik, a German a...
Welcome again to Plastisphere, the podcast on plastics, people, the planet – and politics! Today, the INC-3, the third round of negotiations towards a global plastic treaty, will wrap up in Nairobi – and Anja received a timely message from one of the attending journalists: Julien Gupta is a freelance journalist from Germany working on climate and the environment. He says some of what he observed at INC-3 in Nairobi very much surprised him. Listen to his message from yesterday, Saturday, November...
The Plastisphere episode delves into waste colonialism, highlighting how countries in the Global North exploit the Global South as dumping grounds for plastic waste, often leading to illegal burning and environmental degradation. Guest speakers from Uganda and Malaysia share firsthand accounts of the severe local impacts and emphasize the critical need for the Global Plastics Treaty to enforce responsibility for waste management within national borders and control transboundary waste movement. The discussion also touches upon the disproportionately higher costs of plastic pollution borne by low-income nations.
