Plastic is practical, cheap and incredibly popular. Every year, more than 350 million metric tons are produced worldwide. These plastics contain a huge variety of…
Satellites reveal ocean microplastic fluctuation in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and releases from the Yangtze River in China. An estimated eight million tons of…
The plasticizers contained in many everyday objects can impair important brain functions in humans. Biologists from the University of Bayreuth warn of this danger in…
Chemical additives used in plastic production have been found in herring gull eggs, new research shows. Phthalates are a group of chemicals added to plastics…
Small pieces of plastic are everywhere, stretching from urban environments to pristine wilderness. Left to their own devices, it can take hundreds of years for…
A ship’s container lost overboard in the North Atlantic has resulted in printer cartridges washing up everywhere from the coast of Florida to northern Norway,…
Washington State University researchers have developed an innovative way to convert plastics to ingredients for jet fuel and other valuable products, making it easier and…
A new environmental and technological analysis suggests that a revolutionary eco-friendly plastic is almost ready to hit the shelves. Plastics are a part of nearly…
In a recent article in Sustainability, scientists from Reykjavik University (RU), the University of Gothenburg, and the Icelandic Meteorological Office describe their finding of microplastic…
A new focus article in the May issue of Geology summarizes research on plastic waste in marine and sedimentary environments. Authors I.A. Kane of the Univ. of…
Microbiologists have found a way to use bacteria to trap microplastics, removing them from the environment and making them easier to recycle. Today at the…
Polyurethanes, a type of plastic, are nearly everywhere — in shoes, clothes, refrigerators, and construction materials. But these highly versatile materials can have a major…
Plastics are one of the world’s largest polluters, taking hundreds of years to degrade in nature. A research team, led by YSE professor Yuan Yao…
It’s estimated that an average-sized wastewater treatment plant serving roughly 400,000 residents will discharge up to 2,000,000 microplastic particles into the environment each day. Yet,…
Chemical engineering researchers have developed a new catalyst that significantly increases yield in styrene manufacturing, while simultaneously reducing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions….
Cyanobacteria Could Revolutionize the Plastic Industry Microbiologists at the University of Tübingen modify bacteria to produce climate-neutral and rapidly degradable bioplastics. Cyanobacteria produce plastic naturally…
New polybutadiene molecule enchains in squares, a microstructure that enables it to depolymerize under certain conditions, advancing options for closed-loop recycling. As the planet’s burden…
Microscopic fibers created during the laundry cycle can cause damage to the gills, liver, and DNA of marine species, according to new research. Scientists at…
