Plastics

Inspired by Hayao Miyazaki’s Future Boy Conan anime series featuring bread made from plastic, a Japanese engineer has created a way to turn waste plastics into fertilizer. The global threat of plastic waste could become a boon for global agriculture.

Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is commonly added to plastics to make them more flexible. It may also affect genes that play a critical role in brain development, promoting symptoms of autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

A protein-rich cookie made from plastic and agricultural waste could help solve two serious problems facing future generations, according to a team presenting results from their NASA-funded project at the Fall Meeting of the American Chemical Society.

In a new MIT study – in partnership with Purdue, Northwestern, and Duke universities – chemists have discovered that inserting weaker bonds into polystyrene actually makes the material more resistant to damage.

That plastic cup you tossed into a trash can is likely going to outlive your grandchildren. Organisms die, but, left alone, plastics are near indestructible. Scientists may have changed this by creating a living self-destructing plastic.

Glass-filled polypropylene is already a very commonly used plastic for automotive parts, but could it be improved? Well, yes. A new substance, Gratek, is claimed to make the plastic 20% stronger yet 18% lighter, thanks to the addition of graphene.

Twenty-one-year-old backyard scientist Julian Brown nukes plastic trash in a homemade microwave pyrolysis reactor, turning bags and bottles into a chunky sludge he refines into a gasoline alternative he calls "plastoline."

Researchers in Australia are working on a way to lower the cost of producing solar thermal energy by as much as 40% with the help of shatterproof plastic rear-view mirrors originally designed for cars.

Scientists at RIKEN in Japan have developed a new type of plastic that’s just as stable in everyday use as regular plastic, but dissolves quickly in saltwater, leaving behind only safe compounds.

Harnessing a principle known as triboelectrification, researchers have worked out the optimal way to generate an electrical charge in a relatively simple way. The breakthrough could provide a battery-free way to power wearables and other devices.

Lego is the largest tire manufacturer by volume in the world – even though its tires are among the smallest on the planet. The Danish toy company is now making those tires out of recycled materials like fishing nets, engine oil, and rope.

Although it is possible to recycle Plexiglass, it's a complex and inefficient process, so it generally just isn't done. A simple new technique, however, is claimed to break the plastic down into all of its building blocks for near-complete recycling.