plastics

It’s tempting to think of purchasing plastic cups labeled as compostable or using plastic cutlery made of biodegradable materials as a better choice for the environment—but there are a lot of complexities at play. A study published Wednesday in PLOS ONE demonstrates how a popular bioplastic advertised as biodegradable does not actually break down in the ocean.Sean Gunn’s Favorite Songs from the Guardians SeriesThe world’s got a big plastic problem, and it’s choking our oceans. For every person on Earth, there are now…

In a potentially encouraging sign for reducing environmental waste, researchers have discovered microbes from the Alps and the Arctic that can break down plastic without requiring high temperatures. Although this is only a preliminary finding, a more efficient and effective breakdown of industrial plastic waste in landfills would give scientists a new tool for trying to reduce its ecological damage. Scientists from the Swiss Federal Institute WSL published their findings this week in Frontiers in Microbiology, detailing…

Despite their name, microplastics are a gigantic player in pollution worldwide. These fibers, beads and fragments (defined as being less than five millimeters in size) have infiltrated nearly every environment, especially oceans. To track the problem, researchers are now homing in on these seaborne flecks from more than 300 miles away—in space. Recent research in Scientific Reports details how microplastics appear to flow alongside floating patches of oily and soapy substances called surfactants, which create distinct…

This story was originally published by Grist. Sign up for Grist’s weekly newsletter here.If An AI Reworks Copyrighted Images, Is It Art? | Future TechAs environmental challenges go, microfiber pollution has come from practically out of nowhere. It was only a decade or so ago that scientists first suspected our clothing, increasingly made of synthetic materials like polyester and nylon, might be major contributors to the global plastic problem.Today a growing body of science suggests the tiny strands that slough off…

Discarded plastic is everywhere, mucking up natural and developed environments alike. Australian scientists say they’ve discovered two varieties of fungi that will eat away at the problem. In a study published this week, researchers from the University of Sydney report that fungi commonly found in dirt have broken down plastic in their lab.If An AI Reworks Copyrighted Images, Is It Art? | Future TechThe researchers tested the ability of Aspergillus terreus and Engyodontium album to break down polypropylene, a type of…

A massive blaze at a plastic recycling facility in Richmond, Indiana, is a terrifying reminder that plastics are a pollution nightmare, one that recycling can’t fix. The fire started Tuesday night at a recycling and resale warehouse, which officials described as six buildings filled from floor to ceiling with plastic waste.“We’re looking at close to 14 acres worth of plastic that’s piled everywhere,” Richmond Fire Department chief Tim Brown said at a press conference on Wednesday. “The entire complex is either burning or…

Microsoft is celebrating Earth Day with a new, environmentally-friendly Xbox controller. Dubbed the Remix Special Edition, the gamepad is largely made up of recycled plastics and other reclaimed materials. The Xbox Wireless Controller Remix Special Edition will launch on April 18, just a few days ahead of Earth Day on April 22. It wil retail for $85, which is significantly more than a standard Xbox controller. However, it comes with some extras that might make that price tag sound more reasonable. The main…

This might be why her team got contrasting results in their analysis: The more individual microplastics in the gut, the greater the microbial diversity, but the higher mass of microplastics, the lower the diversity. The more particles a bird eats, the greater the chance that those hitchhiking microbes take hold in its gut. But if the bird has just eaten a higher mass of microplastics—fewer, but heavier pieces—it may have consumed fewer microbes from the outside world.Meanwhile, particularly jagged microplastics might be…

Plastics enter the ocean through many sources for example from runoff, rivers, and ground water. Plastics enter the food chain by consumption by plankton such as copepods, the most abundant multicellular organisms in the ocean. Fish then eat the copepods and humans consume the fish, bringing the plastics full circle back to humans. Credit: : Natalie Renier/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution For the first time, leading…

In the midst of the pandemic in 2021, we were throwing out three million face masks per minute. Scientists sounded the alarm early, but the response to cope has seen a lot end up in our waterways.In fact, an estimated 26,000 metric tons (28,660 tons) of pandemic-related non-degradable plastic trash – from medical supplies to online shopping packaging – has since washed into the world’s oceans, posing a very real, alarming and urgent threat to marine habitats.A team of researchers at NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) has developed a…