Bacteria Has Natural Capacity to Recycle Plastics
A common bacterium, Comamonas testosteroni, might hold the key to breaking down and recycling plastic waste on a large scale.
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Sunlight Powers Recycling of Carbon Dioxide and Plastic
A new recycling method uses sunlight to simultaneously convert carbon dioxide and plastic waste into sustainable biofuels and useful chemical products.
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Plastic Pollution: Microplastics in the Environment
Tiny plastic particles have made their way from our soil, oceans, and bodies. Plastics on the nanoscale can have dangerous new properties.
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Sea Turtles Fooled by Trash Resembling Their Food
Sea turtles that mistake trash for food are in for a world of hurt. Green sea turtles and loggerhead turtles often mistake plastic bags for jellies.
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Plastic Pollution and the Recyclable Ruse
Plastic pollution is piling up. It has a negative impact on human health as well as on the health of other animals and the environment.
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Tracing the Origins of Ocean Garbage Patches
Where do garbage patches come from, what garbage is in them, how do they form, and how can we clean them up once and for all?
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How the History of Littering Should Impact the Solution
LIttering has wreaked havoc on ecosystems all over the world. What do we do now to amend the global problem of chronic waste?
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Plastic Waste Necessitates Policies for Producers
By Neha Jain Countries around the world, both developed and developing, have been grappling with growing piles of plastic waste from overuse of packaging materials, such as those for food and beverages, and single-use plastic tableware. In 2015, 42 percent of all plastic produced was used for packaging, much of which is used only once and then tossed, according to a 2017 study published in Science Advances. The study estimates that from 1950 to 2015 about 8.3 billion tonnes of plastic has been produced globally. And of the 6.3 billion…
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Microplastics Contaminate Snow from Alps to Arctic
By Jacqueline Mattos Microplastics are tiny pieces of plastic that pollute the environment and can range from 0.05 to 5 millimeters in length. Bigger plastic items can be fragmented by the action of light, temperature fluctuations, ocean waves, or mechanical abrasion into smaller pieces that are widely dispersed, persistent in the environment, and sometimes accompanied by microorganisms. A recent article by Bergmann et al., published in the periodical Science Advances, assessed quantities of microplastics in the snow from the Alps and other northern European sites to the Arctic and found…
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The US Needs a Federal Ban on Marine Plastic Pollution
Marine plastic pollution must be addressed by the United States through policies on single-use plastics and abandoned fishing nets.
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