This story was originally published by Grist. Sign up for Grist’s weekly newsletter here. It’s Earth Day 1990, and Meryl Streep walks into a bar. She’s distraught about the state of the environment.

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Over the past decade, public awareness about climate change has ...

One of the most recognized logos around, the recycling symbol, is in line for a major revamp. California recently became the first state to restrict the use of the widely known "chasing arrows" symbol ...

WOODINVILLE, WA. -- The conveyor belts zip along at blinding speed and rows of workers at the Waste Management Recycling Center do their best to keep up. Their job is to pull the un-recyclables from ...

You know that little triangle with the number inside that you see on practically every plastic item you've ever touched? The ...

For years, Gary Anderson's friends even didn't know he designed the three iconic arrows.

The Progressive Bag Affiliates has launched an initiative to promote bag recycling throughout the nation. Several of the country's biggest bag manufacturers will begin printing a message on their bags ...

As British households prepare to put away the Christmas decorations for another year, many will also be thinking about a clear-out ahead of a fresh start for 2026. As well as Christmas trees and the ...

The recycling symbol—those three arrows stamped on myriad plastic items—doesn’t mean what most people think it does, and a California bill wants to change that. The California Legislature passed a ...

The well-known three-arrows symbol doesn’t necessarily mean that a product is actually recyclable. A new bill would limit the products allowed to feature the mark. By Hiroko Tabuchi and Winston ...

Plastic recycling symbols only tell you what type of plastic an item is made from — not that the item is recyclable. Plastics 1, 2, and 5 are typically recyclable, while 3, 4, 6, and 7 can rarely be ...