Cleaning up plastic pollution in the ocean is good – and long overdue. But where will the waste go? Recycling isn’t always an option. Bacteria and enzymes could process it, raising new questions.
Plastic packaging could soon be compostable or edible.
(Shutterstock)
South Africa needs to strengthen its response to plastic pollution.
Many plastics that used BPA have now replaced it with substitutes like BPS, a related molecule that may have just as many health issues.
skhunda/Shutterstock.com
BPA, used widely in plastics and as a liner in food cans, was replaced by a related chemical called BPS. But it seems that this substitute may also harm eggs and sperm and disrupt hormones.
Plastic bags, balloons, and rope fragments were among more than 100 pieces of plastic in the gut of a single turtle.
Qamar Schuyler
Autopsies of 1,000 turtles washed up on Australian beaches paint a grim picture of the impact of plastic debris. Even a single piece can be deadly, and on average 14 pieces equals a 50% fatality rate.
Prototype vehicle built with 3D printing – but is it green?
Tim Gutowski
Incineration of household waste has gotten a bad name, argues an economist, who sees today’s recycling crisis as an opportunity to reconsider how the U.S. handles its waste.
Debris pulled from a Lake Erie marina during a cleanup, June 9, 2012.
NOAA Office of Response and Restoration
Roughly 10,000 tons of plastic enter the Great Lakes every year, and scientists want to know where it ends up. There are some parallels to ocean plastics, but also important differences.
Conveyors carry mixed plastic into a device that will shred recycle them at a plastics recycling plant in Vernon, California.
AP Photo/Reed Saxon,File
Since China stopped importing ‘foreign garbage’ in March 2018, scrap – especially plastic – has built up in the US. Will this shock trigger long-overdue investments in plastic recycling here?
Food packaging is one of the top uses for plastic in consumer goods.
BravissimoS
Bio-based plastics made from natural sources break down more easily than conventional plastic, without producing toxic byproducts. But for this to happen they have to be composted, not buried in landfills.
Research is yielding strategies for making plastics greener and more sustainable. But without support as they scale up, new versions will struggle to compete with well-established synthetic plastics.
A postcard from the 1950s advertises a variety Tupperware products.
Thomas Hawk
Microplastics are everywhere–our water, soil, and even the air we breathe. The consequences of this exposure on human health is unknown. But studies in animals give us reason to worry.
Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is used in a variety of applications from plumbing to health care to electronics.
By SIRIKANLAYA KHLIBNGERN/shutterstock.com
The most common explanation for obesity is overeating calorie-rich foods and a sedentary lifestyle. But new studies suggest that chemicals in our environment might be another cause.
One plastic is particularly well-suited for the kitchen’s extreme temperatures.
Oksana Shufrych
Kitchens are like mini laboratories, with foods and utensils exposed to extreme temperatures. So it’s no surprise that a material used for Mars missions has found its way into a range of cooking ware.