Tosca Ballerini

Marine biologist and scientific journalist, Tosca Ballerini is concerned with issues such as the climate crises, marine resources, pollution, citizen science, and data analysis.

Global plastics treaty: the second round of negotiation is underway

The second round of negotiations (INC-2) for the development of a treaty on plastic pollution is being held between 29th May and 2nd June in Paris. Although the 2022 mandate defined by the United Na...

Global Plastic Treaty: the first round of negotiations opens in Uruguay

The first round of negotiations for the adoption of a global treaty on plastic opens in Uruguay. From 28 November to 2 December 2022, in Punta del Este, the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (...

Packaging waste: a preview of the European Commission's draft proposal

On November 30, the European Commission is due to submit its proposal for a "Regulation of the European Parliament and Council on Packaging and Packaging Waste." Renewable Matter was able to view a ...

United Nations: the environment is now a universal human right

In late July, the United Nations General Assembly recognized access to a clean and healthy environment as a universal human right. This new right will be critical in addressing the threefold planeta...

Measuring the impacts of companies on the ocean, for a sustainable Blue Economy

The ocean is the largest carbon sink on the planet, and if managed sustainably it can aid in climate change mitigation and adaptation. But its ability to regulate climate is weakened by the direct a...

Making Empties Count: Deposit Return Schemes Across The World

Many experts identify Deposit Return Schemes (DRS) as a key way of reducing the production of single-use packaging waste, especially in the food and drinks sector. The mechanism is simple: encourage...

Big Plastic’s Manual Of False Solutions For Plastic Waste

Delay, distract, and derail any law or action plan for reducing plastic waste, so business-as-usual can go on as long as possible. These are the three basic tactics that Big Plastic has successfully...

Plastic in the ocean: reducing pollution will have positive impacts on the economy

One of the most ambitious regulations in the world to tackle plastic pollution in the ocean, the EU Single-Use Plastics Directive (SUPD) will come into force on January 1, 2021. Even if the directiv...

Advanced Learning is the Key to Green Jobs

For over thirty years, the “European Capital of Culture” initiative has aimed to promote the contribution of culture to urban development. Matera, the capital of Italy’s Basilicata...

Intelligent Plastic Designed for Chemical Circularity

The Brett Helms Research Group, part of the California-based Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, has synthesised a new type of plastic polymer – poly(diketoenamine)s or PDKs – that ca...