Plastisphere: A podcast on plastic pollution in the environment

Plastisphere: A podcast on plastic pollution in the environment

The podcast on plastic, people, and the planet by @anjakrieger. Plastics have become the basis for our modern lives, but they also pollute the planet. Will we be able to develop a healthy relationship with these materials we’ve created? Follow Anja on a journey into the world of synthetic polymers, their impacts on nature and ourselves, and the global quest to tackle plastic pollution. Each episode explores the issue from a different angle, featuring a diverse set of voices and viewpoints.

Episodes

How (Not) to Make a Plastics Treaty - Nothing is Agreed Until Everything is Agreed

May 8, 2025 • 57 mins
When the plastics treaty negotiations in South Korea ended without a result last December, media reports suggested they had failed. But not so fast - the negotiations are far from over, and continue this year. In this episode, you'll get an update on where we stand on the path to a global plan to tackle plastic pollution - and what’s to come. You'll hear from three of the smartest observers of the process: Magnus Lovold from NAIL, ...
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Guest Episode: Why didn't the plastic pollution talks in South Korea yield a treaty? (In Focus)

January 21, 2025 • 16 mins
In this guest episode, G. Sampath and Satyarupa Shekhar discuss the fifth meeting of the UN’s Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) and why it ended without delivering a legally binding treaty to address global plastic pollution. Continue listening to the full episode here: https://www.thehindu.com/podcast/plastic-pollution-treaty-collapse/article68946877.ece
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Plastics in the Media - A Review with Nanoplastics Researcher Denise Mitrano

December 11, 2024 • 30 mins
In recent years, a lot of new research on micro- and nanoplastics has come out. Reporting in the media sounds pretty scary, with nanoplastics found in the human body. What's does the science know for sure at this point, and what is still open and under investigation? Anja speaks with Denise Mitrano, a professor at the Department of Environmental Systems Science at ETH Zurich, the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerla...
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Fact-check your assumptions: Become a plastic mythbuster!

December 5, 2024 • 2 mins
The Plastic Mythbusters project is a collaboration between the Helmholtz Centre Hereon and the University of Strathclyde. Try our quiz and learn more in our detailed answers. You can also send us new claims to check or comments on our answers via the feedback form at the end of the quiz. We’d love to hear from you – to tackle the most persistent plastic myths! Links - Quiz: https://hub.hereon.de/portal/apps/experiencebuilder/experi...
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How (Not) to Make a Plastics Treaty - Midnight Update from #INC5 in Busan

December 1, 2024 • 13 mins
How (Not) to Make a Plastics Treaty - Midnight Update from #INC5 in Busan by Anja Krieger
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Why production reduction and a fair transition are so important (with GAIA and Grid Arendal)

December 1, 2024 • 28 mins
Why production reduction and a fair transition are so important (with GAIA and Grid Arendal) by Anja Krieger
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Meeting the Business Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty at #INC5

December 1, 2024 • 29 mins
Meeting the Business Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty at #INC5 by Anja Krieger
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Event Recording: How governments subsidize plastic production - QUNO/Eunomia/IUCN at INC5

November 30, 2024 • 82 mins
Event Recording: How governments subsidize plastic production - QUNO/Eunomia/IUCN at INC5 by Anja Krieger
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Event Recording: The Scientists' Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty at #INC5

November 29, 2024 • 68 mins
Event Recording: The Scientists' Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty at #INC5 by Anja Krieger
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How (Not) to Make a Plastics Treaty - Things Get Circular (INC-5 in South Korea)

November 27, 2024 • 22 mins
The saga continues: Anja and Magnus meet in Busan, South Korea, to discuss the unfolding treaty negotiations on Day 4 of the INC5. Thanks to Grid Arendal for the travel grant!
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#PlasticsTreaty Shorts - Brackets Busan Style

November 26, 2024 • 10 mins
Anja is at INC5, the final round of negotiations for the global plastics treaty. On the opening day, she asked people about their expectations - and witnessed the magic of diplomacy: Break free from brackets! With input from (in order of appearance): - Smail Alhilali (UNIDO) - Anjeli Debaraja - Jose Lopez Reyes (Dominican Republic Delegation) - Angelica C. Pago (Greenpeace East Asia) - Doe Johnson (International Alliance of Waste ...
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Guest Episode: Will we get a viable Global Plastics Treaty or will compromise water it down?

November 21, 2024 • 36 mins
---Guest episode by Environmental Investigation Agency's "What on Earth?" podcast series--- The fifth round of talks in pursuit of a legally binding Global Plastics Treaty kicks off in Busan, South Korea shortly – but will we emerge with an agreement capable of tackling the world’s plastic crisis or will vested interests compromise the final vision? In this excellent episode, of the "What on Earth" podcast, EIA Ocean Campaign Lead...
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REPOST: The scientists who discovered plastic pollution over 50 years ago (2020 episode)

November 18, 2024 • 56 mins
---Repost of the 2020 episode, originally titled "The Discovery of Plastic Pollution"--- As we head into the final round of negotiations towards a global plastics treaty, it's important to remember how long it took for the international community to get here. While plastic pollution has only risen to attention in the past few years, the problem really isn’t all that new. Some scientists have been aware of plastic in the ocean for...
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Guest Episode - Plastics in Drinking Water

October 22, 2024 • 48 mins
Elena Berg is an environmental scientist and water sommelier. Her series „Something in the Water“ is a ten-part podcast mini-series on the fine water industry. As part of it, Elena addresses the elephant in the room: Plastic pollution. How much plastic is there in our drinking water? What’s the difference between tap and bottled water? And how concerned do we need to be? Elena and her guests, the anti-plastic activist Malia Elder a...
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How (Not) to Make a Plastics Treaty - Bracket-Breaking News (Potentially)

October 8, 2024 • 11 mins
On the way to the final round of negotiations towards the global plastics treaty, things are moving fast. And there's a major development on the road to Busan, something that could change everything. Ambassador Luis Vayas, the chair of the intergovernmental negotiating committee, made a move that could help the treaty text break free from all the brackets to get the process back on track. Magnus Løvold from the Norwegian Academy of...
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How (Not) to Make a Plastics Treaty - Phantom of the Ottawa (INC-4 in Canada)

September 22, 2024 • 59 mins
The final meeting to negotiate the global plastics treaty is coming up this winter. But if you’ve listened to previous episodes of our series, you know that little progress had been made in the first three INCs. At the negotiations in Uruguay, France, and Kenya, strategic games were played. They held up the process and sabotaged the road to an ambitious and binding treaty. Now, in the run-up to the final round of negotiations in No...
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Fast Fashion, Single Use, Packaging: It's Plastic Overshoot Day 2024

September 5, 2024 • 11 mins
September 5, 2024, is Plastic Overshoot Day. The world has been able to handle its plastic waste until this day, but the waste produced the rest of the year statistically ends up as pollution. Imagine the huge pile of plastic packaging and other stuff that the world disposes of in just four months - that will end up in the environment, according to this calculation. Sarah Perreard of Earth Action, the NGO that calculates the Plasti...
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Forever Chemicals (Teaser)

June 5, 2024 • 2 mins
Happy World Environment Day! We’ve got a treat for you. There’s a new podcast series which is really great – and we wanted to share it with you. It’s called Forever Chemicals, and it’s produced by Meg Carney and team at Black-Footed Ferret Productions. Listen to the teaser here on Plastisphere and then head over to https://www.theoutdoorminimalist.com/forever-chemicals to binge the whole series! Transcript: https://anjakrieger.com...
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#PlasticsTreaty Shorts: Burning plastics and chemical recycling with Sirine Rached

June 2, 2024 • 5 mins
Sirine Rached is the Global Plastics Policy Coordinator at GAIA, the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives. In her message, Sirine shares why she doesn’t believe in certain technologies that are currently promoted to solve the plastics crisis. Read more on GAIA’s positions in the PlasticsTreaty talks here:  no-burn.org/unea-plastics-treaty Send me a voice message - it might be published! Follow the instructions here: http...
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#PlasticsTreaty Shorts: Report from INC-4 in Ottawa with Stephen Leahy

May 4, 2024 • 8 mins
The penultimate session to negotiate the global plastics treaty ended just a few days ago in Ottawa, Canada. One of the journalists attending was Stephen Leahy, a science and environmental journalist who’s reported on climate and other issues for the past 30 years. Steve has written for dozens of publications including National Geographic, the Guardian, New Scientist and The Atlantic. Anja asked him about his impressions of this fo...
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