Plastics

Plastics are tough, which is great when in use but not so good in the environment. Scientists have developed a new PET-like plastic derived from waste plant matter that can be chemically recycled or degrade into harmless sugars in the environment.

Scientists have created a new form of bioplastic that offers stability during use and exciting upcycling potential, relying on a vanilla bean extract to self-destruct on command in response to a specific wavelength of light.

The ongoing discovery of microplastics in remote, seemingly pristine corners of the world continues to add important detail to a troubling picture of widespread pollution, and the latest finding takes the threat into new terrain.

We need to get creative with recycling. In a new study, researchers at Rice University and Ford’s Research and Innovation Center have demonstrated how waste plastic from old cars could be used to make graphene foam that can then be used in new cars.

Scientists are continuing to uncover the true extent of our plastic pollution problem, and the latest development in this area offers up the first evidence of plastic particles being absorbed into the human bloodstream.

While all non-recyclable plastics aren't very eco-friendly, expanded polystyrene foam is particularly problematic, as it's bulky and often used in disposable packaging. It could be replaced by a new biodegradable material, however, made from sawdust.

In pursuit of a circular economy for plastic waste, scientists have discovered a new enzyme that helps break down one of its key building blocks, leaving simple molecules that can be repurposed for use in new products.

In what is being hailed as a historic day, global leaders at the UN Environmental Assembly have endorsed a first-of-a-kind resolution that addresses the full lifecycle of plastic, with the goal of reducing its growing impacts on the natural world.

Scientists in Germany are exploring an interesting solution to the problem of soils contaminated with microplastics, and have demonstrated how birch trees might be used to soak up the small plastic particles with their roots.

A new study investigating the potential health impacts of consuming water from reusable plastic bottles has revealed that they release hundreds of chemicals into the water, and that putting them through the dishwasher may be a bad idea.

If you're designing a plastic for applications such as food packaging, you want it to stay clean but you don't want it to stick around for centuries once discarded. A new lotus-leaf-inspired material may fit that bill.

By carefully tinkering with the chemical structure of a common household plastic, scientists have managed to upcycle it into a reusable adhesive with unique properties, billing it as one of the toughest materials known to science.