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In this handout from the Japanese Defense Agency, personnel are seen clearing sarin off platforms after the 1995 gas attack on Tokyo's subways.

Environment

A Terrorist Attack Led Japan to Remove All Its Trash Cans. Now They’re Making a Comeback.

Public waste bins were largely removed from Japanese cities following the 1995 sarin gas attacks, leading residents to adapt to some particularly stringent waste disposal practices.

Allan Richarz

Viewfinder: The Philippines Returns Imported Plastic Waste to Canada

A transport vessel is berthed to load waste materials at the port in Subic Bay, north of Manila, Philippines, on May 30th, 2019.

Pacific Standard Staff

Environment

How to Get People to Recycle: Show Them the Results

Giving consumers an idea of what a can or glass might be transformed into makes them far more likely to recycle it.

Tom Jacobs

Fairmont City, Illinois: A slag pile on the grounds of the old American Zinc plant, which is now designated as a Superfund site by the EPA.

News in Brief

America’s Most Polluting Incinerators Disproportionately Affect Low-Income Neighborhoods and Communities of Color

For decades, the federal government has attempted to better prioritize equity in environmental initiatives. A new report highlights one area in which those efforts have fallen short.

Leah Dunlevy

Plastic bottles and general rubbish washed up by the sea litter a beach.

Environment

Can a Hashtag Inspire People to Keep Their Communities Clean?

The #trashtag challenge inspired people to clean up beaches, parks, rivers, or just random trash strewn on the street.

Linda Poon

Workers sort recycling material at the Waste Management Material Recovery Facility in Elkridge, Maryland, on June 28th, 2018.

News in Brief

What Does America Do With Recycled Plastic?

India just banned imported scraps of plastic, leaving countries like the U.S. with limited overseas options for where to send their plastic waste.

Kelley Czajka

The Simplest Climate Action You Can Take Is in the Kitchen

American climate action might be stymied at the federal level, but there's one place you can still make a major difference: on your plate.

Kate Wheeling

Pilots for Waterkeeper Alliance document the effects of Hurricane Florence's flooding on concentrated animal feeding operations in North Carolina on September 17th, 2018.

Environment

Hurricane Florence Has Already Flooded Pits of Toxic Waste in North Carolina

State agencies and environmental groups have recorded several breached or overflowing hog-waste pits and coal ash ponds—and the floodwaters are still rising.

Emily Moon