{"id":49515,"date":"2021-09-29T07:37:23","date_gmt":"2021-09-28T18:37:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/?p=49515"},"modified":"2024-07-12T11:48:06","modified_gmt":"2024-07-11T23:48:06","slug":"the-story-behind-an-italian-single-use-plastic-bottle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/the-story-behind-an-italian-single-use-plastic-bottle\/","title":{"rendered":"The story behind an Italian single-use plastic bottle"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>I recently had the chance to visit the Adriatic coast as part of a ship tour Greenpace Italy organises every year with our partners at the Exodus Foundation, researchers at&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnr.it\/en\/institute\/124\">CNR-IAS<\/a>&nbsp;and the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.univpm.it\/Entra\/Universita_Politecnica_delle_Marche_Home\/L\/1\">University of Marche in Ancona<\/a>. While walking on one of the beaches in Brindisi, in Southern Italy, I witnessed a huge amount of plastic waste spread all over the beach: drinking bottles, fishing gear and lots of single-use packaging items. Sadly, this has become an all-too common sight on many beaches all over the world.<\/p>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Throwing away? There is no \u2018away\u2019<\/h3>\n\n<p>One of these items in particular caught my attention: a bleach bottle manufactured in the 1960s by the Montecatini company. This chemical company specialised in the production of plastic polymers such as polypropylene, invented by the Italian scientist Giulio Natta, the winner of the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1963.<\/p>\n\n<p>The Montecatini company doesn\u2019t exist anymore, but the plastic they produced remains as discarded trash on a beach, almost fifty years after its contents were used and the container \u2018thrown away\u2019. This was a stark reminder that&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/story\/7281\/every-single-piece-of-plastic-ever-made-still-exists-heres-the-story\/\">once plastic is out in nature, it can remain intact for decades<\/a>, if not centuries.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"Greenpeace to provide free mail-in nitrate water testing\" src=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2021\/09\/6ae45766-gp1sw1kw-820x1024.jpg\" alt=\"&lt;!-- wp:paragraph --&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;Greenpeace Aotearoa is today launching a new mail-in service to test people\u2019s drinking water for nitrate contamination.&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;!-- \/wp:paragraph --&gt;\n\n&lt;!-- wp:paragraph --&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;During winter 2021, Greenpeace ran several testing days in communities across Canterbury and Southland, testing over 400 bore-sourced drinking water samples for&nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/nitrate-contamination-and-drinking-water\/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; rel=&quot;noreferrer noopener&quot;&gt;nitrate contamination&lt;\/a&gt;. Testing found high levels of nitrate in peoples drinking water in areas affected by intensive dairying.&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;!-- \/wp:paragraph --&gt;\n\n&lt;!-- wp:paragraph --&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;With Covid restrictions making in-person testing difficult, Greenpeace is now offering to test water samples via a mail-in service.&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;!-- \/wp:paragraph --&gt;\n\n&lt;!-- wp:paragraph --&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;Greenpeace senior campaigner Steve Abel says, &quot;Everybody should be able to trust that their tap water is safe to drink. Unfortunately, intensive dairying is causing a spike in nitrate levels in drinking water, due to too much synthetic nitrogen fertiliser and too much cow urine seeping off the land into groundwater.&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;!-- \/wp:paragraph --&gt;\n\n&lt;!-- wp:paragraph --&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;&quot;People using water from private bores - mostly in rural areas - usually have to pay the cost of nitrate testing themselves. The success of our free in-person testing days shows how important this service is for people concerned about nitrate contamination in their drinking water.&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;!-- \/wp:paragraph --&gt;\n\n&lt;!-- wp:paragraph --&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;&quot;We are pleased to be able to offer mail-in water testing for people. Not only will this help inform bore owners, but with their consent, the data will be shared confidentially with researchers at Otago University. These findings will thereby contribute to much-needed local understanding of nitrate contamination of groundwater.&quot;&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;!-- \/wp:paragraph --&gt;\n\n&lt;!-- wp:paragraph --&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;&quot;Over 50% of New Zealanders rely on groundwater for their drinking water supply. The fertiliser and dairy industries are contaminating that vital supply and potentially turning people\u2019s drinking water carcinogenic,&quot; says Abel.&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;!-- \/wp:paragraph --&gt;\n\n&lt;!-- wp:paragraph --&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;A 2018 scientific study showed a significant increase in risk of bowel cancer at concentrations as low as 0.87mg\/L of nitrate contamination in drinking water. Studies have shown that at 5mg\/L of nitrate contamination, the risk of premature birth increases by almost 50%.&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;!-- \/wp:paragraph --&gt;\n\n&lt;!-- wp:paragraph --&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;People interested in having their bore-sourced drinking water tested can&nbsp;&lt;a rel=&quot;noreferrer noopener&quot; href=&quot;https:\/\/petition.act.greenpeace.org.nz\/agriculture-nitrate-testing-request&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;order a free testing kit online here&lt;\/a&gt;.&lt;\/strong&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;!-- \/wp:paragraph --&gt;\n\n&lt;!-- wp:paragraph --&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;&quot;It\u2019s an issue of too much synthetic nitrogen fertiliser and too many cows, meaning too much cow urine. That fertiliser and urine leaches nitrate into rivers and groundwater, and then into our drinking water.&quot;&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;!-- \/wp:paragraph --&gt;\n\n&lt;!-- wp:paragraph --&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;Greenpeace is&nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/petition.act.greenpeace.org.nz\/agriculture-fertiliser&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; rel=&quot;noreferrer noopener&quot;&gt;calling for the government to phase out synthetic nitrogen fertiliser&lt;\/a&gt;&nbsp;and support farmers to move to&nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/campaign\/regenerative-farming-revolution\/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; rel=&quot;noreferrer noopener&quot;&gt;regenerative organic farming&lt;\/a&gt;&nbsp;for the good of the climate, rivers and human health.&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;!-- \/wp:paragraph --&gt;\n\n&lt;!-- wp:paragraph --&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;&quot;These two big chemical companies - Ravensdown and Ballance - are intensifying climate chaos, toxifying our rivers and making people sick through contaminated drinking water - the government needs to act now to cut synthetic nitrogen fertiliser.&quot;&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;!-- \/wp:paragraph --&gt;\n\n&lt;!-- wp:paragraph --&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;Greenpeace, along with health researchers Dr Tim Chambers and Dr Alex MacMillan recently provided expert evidence before Parliament\u2019s Environment Select Committee on the case for phasing out synthetic nitrogen fertiliser, including concerns around nitrate contamination in drinking water.&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;!-- \/wp:paragraph --&gt;\n&lt;!-- wp:planet4-blocks\/take-action-boxout {&quot;take_action_page&quot;:15019} \/--&gt;\" class=\"wp-image-49740\"\/><figcaption>Montecatini bleach bottle from the 1960s found on the beach in Brindisi, Italy. \u00a9 Greenpeace \/ Lorenzo Moscia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>A toxic legacy&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n<p>Over the last decades Montecatini assets have been sold to other chemical companies, including one of the biggest plants in Brindisi, on the south-eastern coast of Italy.<\/p>\n\n<p>Versalis, the chemical branch of the Italian oil and gas giant ENI, is now among the owners of this factory. This company manufactures plastic polymers, especially polyethylene \u2013 the most common material used for single-use plastic packaging all over the world.<\/p>\n<div data-render=\"planet4-blocks\/gallery\" data-attributes=\"{&quot;attributes&quot;:{&quot;multiple_image&quot;:&quot;49517,49518,49519&quot;,&quot;image_data&quot;:[{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.greenpeace.org\\\/static\\\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\\\/2021\\\/09\\\/79af79c9-gp1svfqm.jpeg&quot;,&quot;focalPoint&quot;:{&quot;x&quot;:0.5,&quot;y&quot;:0.5},&quot;id&quot;:49517},{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.greenpeace.org\\\/static\\\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\\\/2021\\\/09\\\/257dd256-gp1svfqb.jpeg&quot;,&quot;focalPoint&quot;:{&quot;x&quot;:0.5,&quot;y&quot;:0.5},&quot;id&quot;:49518},{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.greenpeace.org\\\/static\\\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\\\/2021\\\/09\\\/df2a7767-gp1svkrd.jpeg&quot;,&quot;focalPoint&quot;:{&quot;x&quot;:0.5,&quot;y&quot;:0.5},&quot;id&quot;:49519}],&quot;className&quot;:&quot;is-style-slider&quot;,&quot;gallery_block_style&quot;:0,&quot;gallery_block_title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;gallery_block_description&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;gallery_block_focus_points&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;images&quot;:[{&quot;image_src&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.greenpeace.org\\\/static\\\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\\\/2021\\\/09\\\/79af79c9-gp1svfqm.jpeg&quot;,&quot;image_srcset&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.greenpeace.org\\\/static\\\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\\\/2021\\\/09\\\/79af79c9-gp1svfqm.jpeg 1200w, https:\\\/\\\/www.greenpeace.org\\\/static\\\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\\\/2021\\\/09\\\/79af79c9-gp1svfqm-600x410.jpeg 600w, https:\\\/\\\/www.greenpeace.org\\\/static\\\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\\\/2021\\\/09\\\/79af79c9-gp1svfqm-1024x700.jpeg 1024w, https:\\\/\\\/www.greenpeace.org\\\/static\\\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\\\/2021\\\/09\\\/79af79c9-gp1svfqm-768x525.jpeg 768w, https:\\\/\\\/www.greenpeace.org\\\/static\\\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\\\/2021\\\/09\\\/79af79c9-gp1svfqm-498x340.jpeg 498w&quot;,&quot;image_sizes&quot;:false,&quot;alt_text&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focus_image&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;credits&quot;:&quot;&quot;},{&quot;image_src&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.greenpeace.org\\\/static\\\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\\\/2021\\\/09\\\/257dd256-gp1svfqb.jpeg&quot;,&quot;image_srcset&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.greenpeace.org\\\/static\\\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\\\/2021\\\/09\\\/257dd256-gp1svfqb.jpeg 1200w, https:\\\/\\\/www.greenpeace.org\\\/static\\\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\\\/2021\\\/09\\\/257dd256-gp1svfqb-600x400.jpeg 600w, https:\\\/\\\/www.greenpeace.org\\\/static\\\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\\\/2021\\\/09\\\/257dd256-gp1svfqb-1024x683.jpeg 1024w, https:\\\/\\\/www.greenpeace.org\\\/static\\\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\\\/2021\\\/09\\\/257dd256-gp1svfqb-768x512.jpeg 768w, https:\\\/\\\/www.greenpeace.org\\\/static\\\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\\\/2021\\\/09\\\/257dd256-gp1svfqb-510x340.jpeg 510w&quot;,&quot;image_sizes&quot;:false,&quot;alt_text&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focus_image&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;credits&quot;:&quot;&quot;},{&quot;image_src&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.greenpeace.org\\\/static\\\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\\\/2021\\\/09\\\/df2a7767-gp1svkrd.jpeg&quot;,&quot;image_srcset&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.greenpeace.org\\\/static\\\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\\\/2021\\\/09\\\/df2a7767-gp1svkrd.jpeg 1200w, https:\\\/\\\/www.greenpeace.org\\\/static\\\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\\\/2021\\\/09\\\/df2a7767-gp1svkrd-600x400.jpeg 600w, https:\\\/\\\/www.greenpeace.org\\\/static\\\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\\\/2021\\\/09\\\/df2a7767-gp1svkrd-1024x683.jpeg 1024w, https:\\\/\\\/www.greenpeace.org\\\/static\\\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\\\/2021\\\/09\\\/df2a7767-gp1svkrd-768x512.jpeg 768w, https:\\\/\\\/www.greenpeace.org\\\/static\\\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\\\/2021\\\/09\\\/df2a7767-gp1svkrd-510x340.jpeg 510w&quot;,&quot;image_sizes&quot;:false,&quot;alt_text&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focus_image&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;credits&quot;:&quot;&quot;}]}}\"><\/div>\n<p><em>Greenpeace Italy documents the plastic waste on beaches and the seabed not far from the Versalis petrochemical plant of ENI near Brindisi \u00a9 Greenpeace \/ Lorenzo Moscia<\/em><\/p>\n\n<p>The factory in Brindisi is where the first step of the plastic life cycle starts. Here, oil and gas are turned into small pieces of plastic known as nurdles or pellets \u2013 the raw materials for a million bleach bottles and other products. These are the same type of plastic nurdles which recently covered the beaches of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/story\/48292\/potential-toxic-plastic-sri-lankas-oil-spill-xpresspearl\/\">Sri Lanka after the accident of MV Xpress Pearl<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n<p>People living in the city of Brindisi are familiar with nurdles. Lena and Fabrizia, two local women, told me that \u201cin the sixties, when the petrochemical plant was built, they switched from playing on beaches of sand, to beaches full of plastic pellets\u201d.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<p>In the 1960\u2019s, a brand-new chemical plant was seen as a big opportunity to bring prosperity and economic progress to a largely rural area of Southern Italy. Many people who were originally working in farms left their jobs to start a new life in plastic manufacturing. But that economic dream soon vanished.<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"Rainbow Warrior in the Pacific\" src=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2021\/09\/19afa92a-gp1svkr4-1024x767.jpg\" alt=\"Italian Ship Tour 2021 - Brindisi. \u00a9 Greenpeace \/ Lorenzo Moscia\" class=\"wp-image-49725\"\/><figcaption>Greenpeace Italy during the ship tour along the coasts of the Adriatic Sea, documented the state of the beaches and the seabed not far from the Versalis petrochemical plant of ENI near Brindisi, finding large quantities of plastic waste. \u00a9 Greenpeace \/ Lorenzo Moscia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<p>Daniele, a 40 year old local, told me that \u201cthe plant has brought only the illusion of well-being\u201d. He reports, together with many local residents, of \u201ccoping with pollution and frequent gas flaring from the plant, associated with the emission of hazardous gases. Benzene, for example, a well-documented carcinogenic in humans, has often reached concerning levels in the air of the city\u201d.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<p>In Spring 2020, the mayor of Brindisi temporarily stopped the petrochemical plant activities to reportedly&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/bari.repubblica.it\/cronaca\/2020\/05\/25\/news\/brindisi_aria_irrespirabile_dati_arpa-257598448\/\">protect communities from this pollutant.<\/a>&nbsp;After a few weeks, the plant has returned to operation and I\u2019ve personally seen frequent flames from the factory stacks during my short visit to the city.<\/p>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Fossil fuels and the plastic crisis: two faces of the same dirty coin<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n<p>Behind the stories of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/story\/48880\/cameroon-plastic-pollution-flood-deaths\/\">pollution impacting communities all over the world<\/a>&nbsp; there is the plastic packaging we use everyday to wrap our food, beverages, and personal hygiene products.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<p>These are the single-use products that big brands like&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/story\/47293\/coca-cola-its-time-to-stop-your-pollution-at-source\/\">Coca Cola<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/story\/47214\/plastics-activists-target-nestle-ahead-of-annual-general-meeting\/\">Nestl\u00e9<\/a>, PepsiCo, P&amp;G, and Unilever continue to use in huge quantities \u2013 flooding the global market, and the whole planet, with plastic.<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2021\/09\/7c2449e6-gp1sw1ld-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Italian Ship Tour 2021 - Polignano (Bari). \u00a9 Greenpeace \/ Mario Nuzzi\" class=\"wp-image-49742\"\/><figcaption>Greenpeace activists during the ship tour along the coasts of the Adriatic Sea shows banners against plastic industry and the climate crisis. \u00a9 Greenpeace \/ Mario Nuzzi<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<p>The demand for plastic these big brands are creating offers a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/press-release\/48549\/oil-and-chemical-giants-lobbying-against-rules-on-microplastic-chemicals-investigation-reveals\/\">big opportunity<\/a>&nbsp;for oil &amp; gas companies to continue their dirty business, simply by switching from fuel production to plastic production. For this reason,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/story\/47146\/plastic-is-a-climate-health-and-social-justice-issue\/\">the plastic crisis and climate emergency are two faces<\/a>&nbsp;of the same dirty coin.<\/p>\n\n<p>At Greenpeace, we support the frontline communities living with this toxic nightmare, and will fight with them to end the pollution and damage caused by the fossil fuels and plastics industries. We must accelerate the just transition to a green economy, where the fossil fuel companies and the plastics production that is enabling them become, just like the Montecatini bleach bottle, a relic of the past.<\/p>\n\n<p><em>Giuseppe Ungherese, Toxics Campaigner in Greenpeace Italy leads the work on plastic and is based in Rome<\/em><\/p>\n\t\t\t<section\n\t\t\tclass=\"boxout post-15237 \"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\tdata-ga-category=\"Take Action Boxout\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-ga-action=\"Image\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-ga-label=\"n\/a\"\n\t\t\t\tclass=\"cover-card-overlay\"\n\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/petition\/petition-ban-single-use-plastic-bottles\/\" \n\t\t\t><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img\n\t\t\t\t\t\tsrc=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/f6b777d6-cb8d-4144-82a2-456b2bc8e97a-1024x581.jpg\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tsrcset=\"\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tsizes=\"(min-width: 1000px) 358px, (min-width: 780px) 313px, 88px\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\talt=\"\" title=\"\"\n\t\t\t\t\/>\n            \t\t\t<div class=\"boxout-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"boxout-heading medium\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-ga-category=\"Take Action Boxout\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-ga-action=\"Title\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-ga-label=\"n\/a\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/petition\/petition-ban-single-use-plastic-bottles\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tPETITION: Ban Single-use Plastic Bottles\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"boxout-excerpt\">Call on the NZ Government to ban unnecessary single-use plastic bottles* in NZ, and to incentivise reusable and refillable alternatives.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t                                    <a\n                        class=\"btn btn-primary\"\n                        data-ga-category=\"Take Action Boxout\"\n                        data-ga-action=\"Call to Action\"\n                        data-ga-label=\"n\/a\"\n                        href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/petition\/petition-ban-single-use-plastic-bottles\/\"\n                        \n                    >\n                        Take Action\n                    <\/a>\n                \t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/section>\n\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I recently had the chance to visit the Adriatic coast as part of a ship tour Greenpace Italy organises every year with our partners at the Exodus Foundation, researchers at&nbsp;CNR-IAS&nbsp;and&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":49516,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_planet4_optimize_post_is_variant":false,"_planet4_optimize_experiment_name":"","_planet4_optimize_variant_name":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"p4_og_title":"The story behind an italian single-use plastic bottle","p4_og_description":"","p4_og_image":"","p4_og_image_id":"","p4_seo_canonical_url":"","p4_campaign_name":"not set","p4_local_project":"not set","p4_basket_name":"not set","p4_department":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[27],"p4-page-type":[6],"class_list":["post-49515","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-greenpeace","tag-plastics","p4-page-type-story"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.8 (Yoast SEO v26.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The story behind an Italian single-use plastic bottle<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/the-story-behind-an-italian-single-use-plastic-bottle\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The story behind an Italian single-use plastic bottle\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I recently had the chance to visit the Adriatic coast as part of a ship tour Greenpace Italy organises every year with our partners at the Exodus Foundation, researchers at&nbsp;CNR-IAS&nbsp;and&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/the-story-behind-an-italian-single-use-plastic-bottle\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Greenpeace Aotearoa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/greenpeace.nz\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-09-28T18:37:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-07-11T23:48:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2021\/09\/6ae45766-gp1sw1kw.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"961\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Nick Young\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@GreenpeaceNZ\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@GreenpeaceNZ\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Nick Young\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/the-story-behind-an-italian-single-use-plastic-bottle\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/the-story-behind-an-italian-single-use-plastic-bottle\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Nick Young\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/#\/schema\/person\/cd74b3cb7be5f23213b8b83730534221\"},\"headline\":\"The story behind an Italian single-use plastic bottle\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-09-28T18:37:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-07-11T23:48:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/the-story-behind-an-italian-single-use-plastic-bottle\/\"},\"wordCount\":878,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/the-story-behind-an-italian-single-use-plastic-bottle\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2021\/09\/6ae45766-gp1sw1kw.jpeg\",\"keywords\":[\"Plastics\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Greenpeace\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/the-story-behind-an-italian-single-use-plastic-bottle\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/the-story-behind-an-italian-single-use-plastic-bottle\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/the-story-behind-an-italian-single-use-plastic-bottle\/\",\"name\":\"The story behind an Italian single-use plastic bottle\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/the-story-behind-an-italian-single-use-plastic-bottle\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/the-story-behind-an-italian-single-use-plastic-bottle\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2021\/09\/6ae45766-gp1sw1kw.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-09-28T18:37:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-07-11T23:48:06+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/#\/schema\/person\/cd74b3cb7be5f23213b8b83730534221\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/the-story-behind-an-italian-single-use-plastic-bottle\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/the-story-behind-an-italian-single-use-plastic-bottle\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/the-story-behind-an-italian-single-use-plastic-bottle\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2021\/09\/6ae45766-gp1sw1kw.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2021\/09\/6ae45766-gp1sw1kw.jpeg\",\"width\":961,\"height\":1200},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/the-story-behind-an-italian-single-use-plastic-bottle\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The story behind an Italian single-use plastic bottle\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/\",\"name\":\"Greenpeace Aotearoa\",\"description\":\"Our mission is to ensure Earth\u2019s ability to nurture life in all its diversity.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/#\/schema\/person\/cd74b3cb7be5f23213b8b83730534221\",\"name\":\"Nick Young\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/a\/ACg8ocJXAN_-aMrfD7T6ibEnGzjWzprHxw_WFoPiQQUe__I7aSNfu5_q=s96-c\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/a\/ACg8ocJXAN_-aMrfD7T6ibEnGzjWzprHxw_WFoPiQQUe__I7aSNfu5_q=s96-c\",\"caption\":\"Nick Young\"},\"description\":\"I've been doing digital at Greenpeace since before Facebook. Now the head of communications at Greenpeace Aotearoa. Follow me on Bluesky or Threads\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org.nz\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/author\/nyoung\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The story behind an Italian single-use plastic bottle","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/the-story-behind-an-italian-single-use-plastic-bottle\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The story behind an Italian single-use plastic bottle","og_description":"I recently had the chance to visit the Adriatic coast as part of a ship tour Greenpace Italy organises every year with our partners at the Exodus Foundation, researchers at&nbsp;CNR-IAS&nbsp;and&hellip;","og_url":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/the-story-behind-an-italian-single-use-plastic-bottle\/","og_site_name":"Greenpeace Aotearoa","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/greenpeace.nz","article_published_time":"2021-09-28T18:37:23+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-07-11T23:48:06+00:00","og_image":[{"width":961,"height":1200,"url":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2021\/09\/6ae45766-gp1sw1kw.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Nick Young","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@GreenpeaceNZ","twitter_site":"@GreenpeaceNZ","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Nick Young","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/the-story-behind-an-italian-single-use-plastic-bottle\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/the-story-behind-an-italian-single-use-plastic-bottle\/"},"author":{"name":"Nick Young","@id":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/#\/schema\/person\/cd74b3cb7be5f23213b8b83730534221"},"headline":"The story behind an Italian single-use plastic bottle","datePublished":"2021-09-28T18:37:23+00:00","dateModified":"2024-07-11T23:48:06+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/the-story-behind-an-italian-single-use-plastic-bottle\/"},"wordCount":878,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/the-story-behind-an-italian-single-use-plastic-bottle\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2021\/09\/6ae45766-gp1sw1kw.jpeg","keywords":["Plastics"],"articleSection":["Greenpeace"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/the-story-behind-an-italian-single-use-plastic-bottle\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/the-story-behind-an-italian-single-use-plastic-bottle\/","url":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/the-story-behind-an-italian-single-use-plastic-bottle\/","name":"The story behind an Italian single-use plastic bottle","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/the-story-behind-an-italian-single-use-plastic-bottle\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/the-story-behind-an-italian-single-use-plastic-bottle\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2021\/09\/6ae45766-gp1sw1kw.jpeg","datePublished":"2021-09-28T18:37:23+00:00","dateModified":"2024-07-11T23:48:06+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/#\/schema\/person\/cd74b3cb7be5f23213b8b83730534221"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/the-story-behind-an-italian-single-use-plastic-bottle\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/the-story-behind-an-italian-single-use-plastic-bottle\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/the-story-behind-an-italian-single-use-plastic-bottle\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2021\/09\/6ae45766-gp1sw1kw.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2021\/09\/6ae45766-gp1sw1kw.jpeg","width":961,"height":1200},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/the-story-behind-an-italian-single-use-plastic-bottle\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The story behind an Italian single-use plastic bottle"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/","name":"Greenpeace Aotearoa","description":"Our mission is to ensure Earth\u2019s ability to nurture life in all its diversity.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/#\/schema\/person\/cd74b3cb7be5f23213b8b83730534221","name":"Nick Young","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/a\/ACg8ocJXAN_-aMrfD7T6ibEnGzjWzprHxw_WFoPiQQUe__I7aSNfu5_q=s96-c","contentUrl":"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/a\/ACg8ocJXAN_-aMrfD7T6ibEnGzjWzprHxw_WFoPiQQUe__I7aSNfu5_q=s96-c","caption":"Nick Young"},"description":"I've been doing digital at Greenpeace since before Facebook. Now the head of communications at Greenpeace Aotearoa. Follow me on Bluesky or Threads","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org.nz"],"url":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/author\/nyoung\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49515","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49515"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49515\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49981,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49515\/revisions\/49981"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49515"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49515"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49515"},{"taxonomy":"p4-page-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/p4-page-type?post=49515"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}