New Atlas

Science Audio available

Alarming study finds plastic ocean pollution harms bacteria that produce the oxygen we breathe

Rich Haridy May 14, 2019

A new study is raising concerns over the effects of plastic pollution in our oceans. For the first time researchers investigated how a common ocean bacteria, responsible for producing over 10 percent of oxygen in the atmosphere, is impaired by chemicals that can leach out of plastic products.

Chemicals that leach out of plastic rubbish were found to impair the growth of bacteria in ...

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 ...

Materials Audio available

Recycling tech actually improves on PET plastic

Ben Coxworth February 28, 2019

Lightweight and shatterproof, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic is recyclable, although most items made from it don't get recycled. This is because reclaimed PET (rPET) just isn't as good as the original material. A new "upcycling" process, however, is claimed to make it even better.

Samples of the fiber-reinforced reclaimed PET that were produced using the new technique

Materials Audio available

Together at last – device quickly bonds metal to plastic

Ben Coxworth January 29, 2019

Ordinarily, if you want to join metal and plastic items together, you have to use either adhesives or rivets. Engineers at Germany's Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology, however, have developed a bonding "gun" that they claim makes for a much faster and cheaper joining process.

Environment

Nestlé to pull plastic straws from its products as it ramps up its war on waste

Nick Lavars January 20, 2019

Food and beverage giant Nestlé is ramping up its efforts to rein in plastic pollution, outlining plans to phase out plastic straws and hard plastics as part of a wider plan to use purely recyclable and reusable materials in its products by 2025.

Nestlé says plastic straws will be eliminated from its products beginning next month

Environment

Ocean Cleanup Project drags its fractured plastic-catching barrier in for repairs

Nick Lavars January 2, 2019

Things aren't exactly going to plan for the Ocean Cleanup Project. Inspections of the approximately 600-meter-long barrier have uncovered a problematic break in the chain, prompting a return to shore for repairs.

Despite the latest setback, CEO Boyan Slat is adamant this is a speed hump rather than ...

Environment

Seaweed-munching microbes produce sustainable bioplastic

Ben Coxworth December 27, 2018

Plastic waste is a major problem in the world's oceans, which is why some groups have developed bioplastics that break down in the sea. Even those aren't entirely eco-friendly, though, which is why Israeli scientists are working on one that's derived from marine microorganisms.

The microorganisms produced a bioplastic polymer called polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) after consuming sea lettuce, pictured here

Environment

Microplastics discovered in the guts of sea turtles all over the world

Nick Lavars December 12, 2018

There remains a lot we don't know about the whereabouts of the all the plastic waste that washes into the ocean each year, but scientists are continuing to discover bits and pieces in increasingly concerning places, a list that now includes turtles.

A new study has found microplastics in the guts of 102 sea turtles

Environment Audio available

The Ocean Cleanup Project moves to fix leaks in its first plastic-catching system

Nick Lavars November 20, 2018

With the Ocean Cleanup Project's first system entering service in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch one month ago, there are some good signs and some bad, including an apparent inability of the huge floating barrier to retain plastic trash for very long after it is caught.

The Ocean Cleanup Project has encountered a few teething problems

Materials Audio available

World-first aerogel is made from plastic bottles, and has many potential uses

Ben Coxworth November 2, 2018

Pop bottles are one of the most common types of plastic waste, so the more ways that we can find of recycling them, the better. With that in mind, researchers at the National University of Singapore (NUS) have developed an inexpensive method of converting such bottles into a very useful aerogel.

The process, which is said to be easily scalable for mass production, can produce an A4-paper-sized ...