plastic (Page 2)

Latest in plastic

Researchers say superworms, much bigger than a mealworm or wax worm, can eat plastic Styrofoam and survive, and could digest plastic garbage and pollution.

Scientists Discover “Superworms” That Can Survive on Eating Just Styrofoam

By Lonnie Lee Hood

Scientists used machine learning to discover a new enzyme that could speed up the process of plastic breaking down significantly, Vice reports.

Science & Energy

Scientists Claim New Enzyme Can Break Down Plastic in a Single Week

By Victor Tangermann

Swimmer Ben Lecomte swam the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in the Pacific Ocean, where fish and animals thrive. Life created an entire unexpected ecosystem.

Hooray! The Great Pacific Garbage Patch Has Become a Thriving Ecosystem, Scientists Say

By Lonnie Lee Hood

Bill Nye the Science Guy told viewers in a new Coca-Cola advertisement that Coke is creating a world without plastic waste and pollution.

Science & Energy

Bill Nye Accused of Shilling for Huge Polluter

By Lonnie Lee Hood

Scientists took a look at blood samples from 22 healthy, adult donors and discovered microplastic particles in 17 of them.

Oh Great: Scientists Are Finding Microplastics in Human Blood Now

By Tony Ho Tran

Cleaning up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch may be doing more harm than if we stopped polluting the ocean with plastic in the first place.

Marine Scientists Say Pulling Plastic Out of the Ocean Isn’t Even Worth It

By Lonnie Lee Hood

It turns out that using a plastic water bottle causes 1,400 times more damage to the environment than does a glass of tap water.

Bottled Water Is 1,400 Times Worse for the Environment Than Tap Water

By Dan Robitzski

New tech can convert plastic garbage into safe, edible protein, potentially giving us an answer to the mountains of trash choking the planet.

New Tech Turns Plastic Waste Into Food

By Dan Robitzski

In international team of researchers are ringing the alarm bells, warning that our global plastic pollution problem may be nearing a point of no return.

Scientists Say World Is Approaching Non-Reversible “Tipping Point” in Plastic Pollution

By Victor Tangermann

A new enzyme, which is really a hybrid of two others, can break down plastic waste six times faster than the next best one.

Scientists Create Enzyme That Devours Plastic at Incredible Speed

By Dan Robitzski

Scientists developed a new kind of plastic that can be broken down and recycled an indefinite number of times without losing quality.

Science & Energy

A New Kind of Plastic Could Be Recycled Indefinitely

By Dan Robitzski

An environmental group filed a lawsuit last week against big plastic polluters for knowingly misleading the public about how much plastic is being recycled.

Anti-Coke Lawsuit: “Plastic Is Set to Outweigh Fish in the Ocean”

By Victor Tangermann

JD Composites used more than 600,000 recycled plastic bottles to construct this beachfront home in Meteghan River, Nova Scotia.

You Won’t Be Able to Tell This House Is Made From Plastic Bottles

By Kristin Houser

Ocean waves are slamming plastic pollution against an island's coastline, causing a potentially dangerous plastic crust to form on the rocks.

Why Is a Strange Plastic Crust Spreading on This Island’s Coast?

By Kristin Houser

An engineer found a way to turn juiced cactus leaves into a feasible substitute for plastic, and she wants to make biodegradable cutlery.

Health & Medicine

Scientists Make Fake, Biodegradable Plastic From Cactus Juice

By Dan Robitzski

Design firm Mandalaki has unveiled the Birò O2, a concept car in which 80 percent of parts are made from recycled plastics.

Advanced Transport

This Tiny Electric Car Is Made From 80 Percent Recycled Plastics

By Kristin Houser

A team from Berkeley has found a way to make recycled plastic far more useful by breaking the bonds between chemicals in the material.

This New Plastic Can Be Recycled Repeatedly

By Kristin Houser

The EU voted on Wednesday to support plans for the elimination of most uses of single-use plastic, including cutlery, straws, and plastic plates.

The EU Approved a Ban on Single-Use Plastics

By Victor Tangermann

U.S. cities are burning the recyclables that they used to ship to China, and the emissions could be wreaking havoc on Americans' health.

Science & Energy

US Cities Have Nowhere to Send Recyclables, so They’re Burning Them

By Kristin Houser

Researchers at Purdue University say a new chemical technique technique turns waste plastic back into useful polymers — or even clean fuel.

New Chemistry Technique Turns Waste Plastic Into Clean Fuel

By Jon Christian

Microorganisms That Eat Seaweed Can Create Biodegradable Plastic

By Kristin Houser

One of the most powerful nations in the world has a five-part plan to reduce the amount of plastic waste produced by its residents.

Science & Energy

Germany Just Unveiled Its Plan to Fight Plastic Waste

By Kristin Houser

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station can now use the Refabricator to transform plastic waste into needed tools.

A New Gadget Turns Plastic Waste Into Tools Astronauts Need

By Kristin Houser

A Toronto startup figured out how to get bacteria to turn food waste into biodegradable plastics. If it scales, it could prevent loads of methane emissions.

These Bacteria Digest Food Waste Into Biodegradable Plastic

By Dan Robitzski

Default Futurism featured image

The EU Just Voted to Completely Ban Single-Use Plastics

By Kristin Houser

The Digest: Seattle Becomes the First Major U.S. City to Ban Plastic Straws

The Digest: Seattle Becomes the First Major U.S. City to Ban Plastic Straws

By Kristin Houser

These Hyper-Sensitive Fibers Might Stand In As Robot Nerves

These Hyper-Sensitive Fibers Might Stand In As Robot Nerves

Biofilm Replaces Plastic Packaging in this Dutch Supermarket Aisle

Biofilm Replaces Plastic Packaging in this Dutch Supermarket Aisle

By Chelsea Gohd

It’s Great That Supermarkets Are Cutting Plastic Waste. But That’s Not Going to Solve the Problem.

It’s Great That Supermarkets Are Cutting Plastic Waste. But That’s Not Going to Solve the Problem.

By Kristin Houser

plastic pollution environment ocean pollution plastic straws eu

The End of Plastic Has Officially Arrived

By Chelsea Gohd

The UK Prime Minister Is Working to End Plastic Litter by 2042

The UK Prime Minister Is Working to End Plastic Litter by 2042

By Chelsea Gohd

plastic roads plastic pollution macrebur

An Engineer Has Found a Way to Create Plastic Roads

plastic pollution biodegradation

Plastic-Eating Caterpillars Could Help Bring an End to Pollution

Most British Beaches Found to Be Polluted With Deadly Plastic

Most British Beaches Found to Be Polluted With Deadly Plastic

By Christianna Reedy

Time for Action: There Are 5.25 Trillion Pieces of Plastic Polluting Our Oceans

Time for Action: There Are 5.25 Trillion Pieces of Plastic Polluting Our Oceans

By Cecille De Jesus

This Milk-Based Wrapper Won’t Kill the Planet, and It Tastes Good Too

Robots and Machines

This Milk-Based Wrapper Won’t Kill the Planet, and It Tastes Good Too

By Jasmine Solana

There Will Be More Plastic Than Fish in Our Oceans by 2050

There Will Be More Plastic Than Fish in Our Oceans by 2050

Chemist Creates the First 100% Recyclable Plastic

Future Materials

Chemist Creates the First 100% Recyclable Plastic