Role of plastics in decoupling municipal solid waste and economic growth in the U.S.

May 2, 2018

Analysis of data from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on municipal solid waste (MSW) generation rates correlated to personal consumption expenditure (PCE) uncovers a decoupling event occurring between 1997 and 2000. A comparison of waste generation rates for each material category found in MSW reveals that plastics increased by nearly 84 times from 1960 to 2013 while total MSW increased only 2.9 times. The increase in plastic waste generation coincides with a decrease in glass and metal found in the MSW stream.

Spotlight

QIAGEN

QIAGEN is the leading global provider of Sample to Insight solutions to transform biological materials into valuable molecular insights. QIAGEN sample technologies isolate and process DNA, RNA and proteins from blood, tissue and other materials. Assay technologies make these biomolecules visible and ready for analysis. Bioinformatics software and knowledge bases interpret data to report relevant, actionable insights. Automation solutions tie these together in seamless and cost-effective molecular testing workflows. QIAGEN provides these workflows to more than 500,000 customers around the world in Molecular Diagnostics (human healthcare), Applied Testing (forensics, veterinary testing and food safety), Pharma (pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies) and Academia (life sciences research).

OTHER WHITEPAPERS
news image

CHEMICAL (RE)ACTION

whitePaper | January 15, 2022

While sustainability has long been on the chemical industry agenda, the value paradigm is shifting fast.

Read More
news image

White Paper on the Low-carbon Development of the Petrochemical Industry

whitePaper | April 22, 2022

As the impacts of climate change increase, China announced the goal of "striving to peak CO2 emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060".

Read More
news image

CLIMATE AND ENERGY IMPLICATIONS OF CRYPTO-ASSETS IN THE UNITED STATES

whitePaper | September 12, 2022

The U.S. National Climate Assessment and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) show that reducing global anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG).

Read More
news image

How clumped isotopes drive a deeper understanding of petrochemical processes

whitePaper | October 12, 2022

The degree of “clumping” of heavy isotopes in molecules is solely temperature dependent in thermodynamic equilibrium

Read More
news image

The Oil & Gas Drone Data Playbook

whitePaper | May 28, 2021

As an oil & gas professional, you encounter some of the most challenging and complex work and regulatory environments of any industry. Tasked with scouting new potential sites, you also oversee current construction; manage large fields, hundreds of oil rigs, and dozens of contractors; and secure miles of pipeline – all while keeping workers, the general public, and surrounding environments safe. Meanwhile, complicated and ever-evolving regulations make it difficult for oil & gas companies to streamline work.

Read More
news image

PLASTIC FOR PROFIT

whitePaper | July 12, 2021

The author wishes to thank Willie Wilson for his advice and support with stakeholder mapping throughout the project, Linh Tran Phuong Dang for helping with research and data collection, and many individuals and organizations that have shared their knowledge, including INTERPOL’s Pollution Crime Working Group; the environmental agencies of the United Kingdom, Zambia, Ghana and South Africa; the Environment and Natural Resources Division at the United States Department of Justice;

Read More

Spotlight

QIAGEN

QIAGEN is the leading global provider of Sample to Insight solutions to transform biological materials into valuable molecular insights. QIAGEN sample technologies isolate and process DNA, RNA and proteins from blood, tissue and other materials. Assay technologies make these biomolecules visible and ready for analysis. Bioinformatics software and knowledge bases interpret data to report relevant, actionable insights. Automation solutions tie these together in seamless and cost-effective molecular testing workflows. QIAGEN provides these workflows to more than 500,000 customers around the world in Molecular Diagnostics (human healthcare), Applied Testing (forensics, veterinary testing and food safety), Pharma (pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies) and Academia (life sciences research).

Events