23-year-old strives to make surfing sustainable with mushroom surf boards
Surfing is a sport that is all about getting close to and appreciating nature. Unfortunately, conventional surfboards tend to contribute to environmental degradation. Steve Davies, a 23-year-old board designer from Porthcawl, Wales, is working on a surfboard built of mycelia, the root-like Read More...
The Ocean Cleanup’s sunglasses fund even more cleanup missions
We at The Optimist Daily have been following The Ocean Cleanup project since its first plastic-capturing voyage back in 2019. From that point forward, we’ve enjoyed reporting its progress, from removing plastic debris from rivers to eventually becoming the largest trash-collecting system of our Read More...
California’s plan to tackle the problem of microplastics
It’s time to face the facts: teeny tiny microplastics are everywhere and despite their size, they’ve become a prodigious problem. Not only are they in our bodies, they plague the ocean and its biodiversity and are even floating through the air. Checking microplastics The state of California Read More...
France bids “adieu” to plastic packaging for fresh produce
Plastic pollution is strangling our planet. To combat the use of unnecessary plastics, France has announced that it will be banning plastic packaging for fruits and vegetables. Currently, an estimated 37 percent of fruit and vegetables are sold with plastic packaging in France, so the ban will Read More...
This Indonesian museum is made out of plastic pollution
The problem of plastic pollution is largely perpetuated by a lack of education and awareness about what actually contributes to this worldwide issue, and what we, the people, can do to help. To bring plastic pollution to the forefront of the minds of the public, activists in Indonesia have Read More...
How can we solve our plastic waste problem? Make an island out of it.
Visionary architect and psychologist Margot Krasojevic is working on an outlandish concept that may just help us deal with the concerning plastic waste problem plaguing the world’s oceans: building a plastic island. Krasojevic and her team at Margo Krasojevic Architecture started with Read More...
These hiking boots are made from ocean plastic and recycled rubber
Need some new hiking boots that will help keep your feet warm and supported in the winter months? If so, you should check out the Weekend Boot from Canadian footwear company Alice + Whittles. The Weekend Boot is a sturdy ankle boot that is entirely vegan, with no animal products used in the glue Read More...
These sunglasses are made of plastic waste from the Ocean Cleanup project
The promise of the Ocean Cleanup project was that it would not only help clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, but also recycle the plastic so it doesn’t become waste again. Now, one year after collecting its first load of plastic waste, the nonprofit unveiled its first ocean plastic product: Read More...
These four projects are stopping plastic from entering our oceans via rivers
Most ocean plastic starts off in rivers, so if we want to keep the ocean free of plastic, it’s essential we intercept river plastic before it enters the sea. Fortunately, there are already four projects that are doing a seriously good job of capturing plastic in rivers. Let’s take a look at Read More...
Coca-Cola reveals first bottle made from low-grade ocean plastic
Using breakthrough technology in plastic recycling methods, Coca Cola has revealed a new bottle made from previously low-quality marine waste plastic. The new bottle prototype is the first-ever plastic bottle made using marine plastic that has been successfully recycled from food and drink Read More...