Plastic straw pollution drawing global attention

The European Court of Justice said that German authorities did not take "appropriate measures" to limit air pollution caused by nitrogen dioxide.

South Korea is boosting efforts to recycle plastics in the country. At special centres, used PET bottles are recycled and transformed into products such as clothes, food containers, and cosmetic bottles.

Alarmed by the mountains of plastic waste leaching into Indonesia's waters, two best friends are taking on the environmental menace by turning crisp bags and shampoo packets into paving bricks.

Detailed and incredibly realistic replicas of meals have been on show outside Japanese restaurants for more than 100 years. An establishment's success can depend on how well its dishes look in the window.

But a series of new laws in effect since January 2020 aim to significantly reduce plastic pollution over five years by phasing out single-use plastic, encouraging research and development of plastic alternatives and improving waste management and recycling.

Nina Gomes is no average environmentalist. With bright pink goggles and just 4 years old, she picks trash with her father from the water along the beaches of Rio de Janeiro. With Nina in tow, Gomes sets out on a paddleboard into the picturesque but polluted waters of Rio's Guanabara Bay, where she grabs plastic bottles and bags and puts them in a mesh net.

A new playground prototype in central Warsaw uses algae which feast on pollutants and carbon dioxide to provide a bubble of clean oxygen in the city.

Dolphins have returned to Lisbon's Tagus River, prompting a new wave of tourism to see them. The pandemic led to reduced pollution in the area thanks to a drop in maritime traffic, making it a more hospitable environment for the marine mammals.

Facilities to encourage visitors to avoid the use of single use plastics are installed by several NGOs and the municipality at the Ayia Triada beach in Paralimni. The beach is now equipped with a water station for cold, filtered and free water. It includes an area for smokers and signs with information on how the visitors can become part of the solution, not the problem are also found at selected points.

As Ivorian artist Aristide Kouame combs the beach dragging a trash bag of waterlogged flip-flops, he is aware other beachgoers in the commercial capital Abidjan think he is a desperate trader or a madman.

With untreated sewage in the water and rubbish piled on the sand, pollution on Tripoli's Mediterranean coast is denying many residents of the war-torn Libyan capital a much-needed escape.

By 2025, the fast-food chain aims to "drastically" cut plastic in Happy Meal toys worldwide. More-sustainable toys could be made from cardboard and recycled materials, the company says.