Turning Waste Plastic Into Filtration Membranes
Discarded PET bottles could find a new life in the chemical industry. In a world that seems to be drowning in plastic bottles, recycling this…
Plastic
Larval Fish Nurseries Invaded by Prey-Size Plastics – Biodiversity and Fisheries Production Threatened
New research shows that many larval fish species from different ocean habitats are surrounded by and ingesting plastics in their preferred nursery habitat. Many of…
98% of Plastics Entering the Oceans Go Missing Each Year – Here’s the Likely Culprit
Trillions of plastic fragments are afloat at sea, which cause large “garbage patches” to form in rotating ocean currents called subtropical gyres. As a result,…
All Plastic Waste Could Be Recycled Into New, High-Quality Plastic With Advanced New Process
A research group at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, has developed an efficient process for breaking down any plastic waste to a molecular level. The…
Polystyrene, a Common Plastic, Degrades Much Faster Than Expected in Sunlight
Polystyrene persists in the environment for millennia, according to some international governmental agencies. This estimate is based on the amount of time required for microbes…
Scientists Thought It Took Thousands of Years for Plastic to Decompose – It May Only Be Decades
A study published by researchers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) shows that polystyrene, one of the world’s most ubiquitous plastics, may degrade in decades…
Converting Plastic Waste From Cities and Rivers Into Fuel
MIT alumna addresses the world’s mounting plastic waste problem. It’s been nearly 10 years since Priyanka Bakaya MBA ’11 founded Renewlogy to develop a system…
Microplastics in the Great Lakes: 1,941 Particles Per Pound of Sediment
From the Great Pacific garbage patch to inland rivers, plastics are among the most widespread contaminants on Earth. Microplastics—particles of plastic smaller than five millimeters—are…
Help Save the Oceans by Ditching the Delicate Wash Cycle
Delicate wash cycles in washing machines found to release more plastic microfibers than other cycles. New research led by Newcastle University has shown that it…
Warning: Plastic Teabags Release Microscopic Particles Into Tea
Many people are trying to reduce their plastic use, but some tea manufacturers are moving in the opposite direction: replacing traditional paper teabags with plastic…
New Material – 14x Stronger & 8x Lighter Than Steel – May Lead to Next-Gen Military Armor
Army research looks at pearls for clues on enhancing lightweight armor for soldiers. Round, smooth and iridescent, pearls are among the world’s most exquisite jewels;…
Four Billion Microplastic Particles Discovered in the Waters of Tampa Bay
While collecting water samples and plankton in Tampa Bay, researchers discovered a high concentration of microplastics, which are known to disrupt the marine food chain….
Major Environmental Challenge As Microplastics Harm Our Drinking Water
Plastics in our waste streams are breaking down into tiny particles, causing potentially catastrophic consequences for human health and our aquatic systems, finds research from…
Illinois Researchers Develop Synthetic Materials that Self-Repair
Researchers from the University of Illinois have developed nonliving, synthetic materials that can heal and regenerate in a way that is reminiscent of some living…
Zeolite Catalyst Creates P-Xylene from Biomass
Chemical engineers at UMass Amherst have discovered a high-yield method of making plastic bottles from biomass. By using a zeolite catalyst capable of transforming glucose…
Trip to Rainforest Yields Organisms Capable of Degrading Polyurethane
Yale undergraduates participating in Yale’s Rainforest Expedition and Laboratory course had their findings on organisms capable of degrading polyurethane published in the journal Applied and…
Ecuador Rainforest Fungus Survives on Polyurethane without Oxygen
Polyurethane is one of the most commonly used plastics in different types of products, but it’s also one that takes an extremely long period of…