New Atlas

Materials Audio available

New recyclable plastic can break its molecular bonds and start over

Michael Irving May 7, 2019

The vast majority of plastic waste can’t be recycled, meaning it ends up in landfills or the ocean. To help curb the problem, researchers at Berkeley Lab have now designed a new type of plastic that can apparently be reduced right back to its molecular parts, before being remade over and over.

Berkeley Lab researchers have developed a new type of plastic (not pictured) that can be broken ...

Environment Audio available

Cove launches biodegradable alternative to plastic water bottles

Paul Ridden March 11, 2019

Most water in stores today comes in bottles made from petroleum-based plastic. After drinking the contents, too many of these bottles become a pollution problem. Cove is looking to change that with the launch of its biopolymer-based water bottles.

Spring water in Cove biodegradable PHA bottles will be available to Californians from May, 2019

Environment Audio available

Carlsberg crafts new six-pack holders to cut plastic waste

Michael Irving September 10, 2018

The Ocean Cleanup barge is currently on its way to tackle the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, but it never hurts to find ways to reduce plastic before it gets into the sea. In that vein, Danish beermaker Carlsberg has announced the Snap Pack, a simple alternative to plastic six-pack rings.

Danish beermaker Carlsberg's six-packs will now be glued together as the Snap Pack

Environment

Single-celled organisms could help turn coffee grounds into coffee cups

James Holloway August 22, 2018

A PhD student at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, has come up with a way to turn waste coffee into biodegradable coffee cups. It hinges on a process which converts mannose, the prevalent sugar in the grounds, into lactic acid which can in turn be used to make biodegradable plastics.

Environment

McDonald's looks to address plastic straw problem

Darren Quick June 20, 2018

Single-use plastic straws are a massive environmental problem, with increasing calls to ban the ubiquitous plastic drinking tubes. At least one major source of the problem has heard these calls, with McDonald's committing to find more environmentally-friendly alternatives.

McDonald's has announced its intention to test alternatives to plastic straws in several markets

Good Thinking

Finally, a straw that doesn't suck

Nick Lavars May 10, 2018

We’ve got a huge plastic problem and drinking straws play no small part. Startup FinalStraw is on a mission to limit our use of these single-use strands of plastic, offering a reusable alternative that packs down into a case not much bigger than a cigarette lighter.

The FinalStraw is currently the subject of a Kickstarter campaign

Environment

How to make concrete stronger and more environmentally friendly with irradiated water bottles

Rich Haridy October 25, 2017

Other than water, concrete is the most widely used material on the planet so it's unsurprising that scientists are working to make it safer and stronger. A team recently discovered a technique that uses irradiated plastic bottles to make a new concrete up to 20 percent stronger.

Adding a small amount of irradiated plastic to concrete can make it up to 20 percent ...

Environment

Earth's highest density of plastic waste found ... on a deserted island

Nick Lavars May 16, 2017

You might think that the uninhabited Henderson Island sitting in the middle of the Pacific would be relatively pristine. Here scientists have found a nasty surprise, however, discovering the highest density of plastic waste to be reported anywhere on the planet.

The team calculated a plastic trash concentration of 671 pieces per square meter (10 sq ft)

Environment

Great Pacific Garbage Patch more awash with waste than expected

Stu Robarts October 4, 2016

The Ocean Cleanup is due to begin clearing up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in 2020. To get a better idea of what will be required, the Dutch foundation last year went for a close up look. It's now begun sizing up the task from the air and initial findings are that it's worse than thought.

The Ocean Cleanup's Aerial Expedition is using a modified C-130 Hercules aircraft

Environment

Ford explores making plastics from tequila waste

Aaron Turpen July 20, 2016

Ford has teamed with tequila producer Jose Cuervo to create car parts out of bioplastics made from the byproduct of tequila making. Researchers are testing the durability and heat resistance of the resulting plastics as a sustainable way to make car parts.

With agave fibers, Ford hopes to reduce its use of petrochemicals and reduce the weight of ...