"A new legal petition filed by more than 170 top environmental groups demands that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) begin monitoring for microplastics in drinking water, an essential first step to reining in pollution viewed as one of the nation’s most pressing public health threats."

"Animals across the spectrum of life are eating, breathing and ingesting plastics that leach toxic chemicals and have been shown to alter the function of organs and even cells in humans. Petroleum products — mostly oil and natural gas — are plastic’s base ingredient."

"A trove of documents leaked from an influential industry group shows how some of the world’s largest petrochemical and plastics companies have been waging a campaign to push back against a “tide of anti-plastic sentiment” — especially among young people concerned about the environment."

"Negotiations over the first legally binding UN treaty on plastic pollution collapsed in the final stage of discussions, after oil-producing nations led by Saudi Arabia and Russia blocked efforts by 100 countries to place limits on new production."

"Plastics can contain thousands of different chemicals, many of them linked to cancer and reproductive harm, and many never tested for safety. Multiple studies are now finding these chemicals, along with microplastics, throughout the human body, raising alarm among scientists about widespread health effects, including reduced fertility and increased obesity."

"Many nations hope to reduce the half a billion tons of plastic made each year. But pushback from plastic and oil producers, and Donald Trump’s election, could scuttle an agreement."

"Oil and chemical companies who created a high-profile alliance to end plastic pollution have produced 1,000 times more new plastic in five years than the waste they diverted from the environment, according to new data obtained by Greenpeace."

"The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should be doing more to help address potential climate change-related risks to hundreds of hazardous waste facilities across the country, according to a recent government watchdog report."

"The Biden administration has backtracked from supporting a cap on plastic production as part of the United Nations’ global plastics treaty."

"Food and cosmetics from dozens of major retailers come wrapped in potentially dangerous plastics, a new report has found."