"Support is growing internationally for a new global treaty to tackle the plastic pollution crisis, it has emerged, though so far without the two biggest per capita waste producers – the US and the UK – which have yet to signal their participation."

"From African shantytowns to the backstreets of China’s cities, small-scale businesses that recycle the lead from auto batteries are proliferating. Experts say the pollution from these unregulated operations is a lethal threat – with children being the most vulnerable to poisoning."

"The United States is using more plastic than ever, and waste exported for recycling is often mishandled, according to a new study."

"Decades ago, the Los Angeles coast was a dumping ground for thousands of barrels of acid sludge laced with the toxic pesticide DDT. The ocean buried the evidence for generations. No one could see it — until now."

"Watchdogs on Wednesday renewed their call for New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and state environmental regulators to take a stand against the federal government as it looks to extend and expand operations at the nation’s only underground nuclear waste repository."

"The Trump administration will let some leaking or otherwise dangerous coal ash storage ponds stay in operation for years more and some unlined ponds stay open indefinitely under a rule change announced Friday."

"The world's sea floor is littered with an estimated 14 million tonnes of microplastics, broken down from the masses of rubbish entering the oceans every year, according to Australia's national science agency."