Graduate student RJ Conk adjusts a reaction chamber in which mixed plastics are degraded into the reusable building blocks of new polymers. A new chemical process can essentially vaporize plastics ...

The world is miserable at recycling plastics. Currently, just 10–15% of the plastic waste we generate annually is recycled — with the rest incinerated, buried in landfill or dumped as litter 1, 2. A ...

Yuwei Gu was hiking through Bear Mountain State Park in New York when inspiration struck. Plastic bottles littered the trail and more floated on a nearby lake. The jarring sight in such a pristine ...

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The Canadian chemical recycler is working to scale up a unique process it says is more flexible and cost effective than traditional pyrolysis. Image courtesy of Aduro Clean Technologies Inc. As it has ...

While biodegradable plastics and recycling technologies have received widespread attention, a quieter revolution is taking place in the form of plant-based coatings for plastics. These innovative ...

Plastic pollution is poisoning the planet. Some experts suggest making plastics from more "natural" materials, but research shows those still have risks. When you purchase through links on our site, ...

A tractor making piles of compost. Firms are developing bacteria and enzymes that might one day be used to break down microplastics in compost. Credit: Shutterstock Synthetic polymers have been on the ...

On the eve of World Environment Day, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) launched the Global Plastics Hub, a tool that integrates data from multiple sources to support evidence-based ...

One of the biggest environmental issues in our modern world is plastic, which has become integral in the manufacturing of everything from electronics to furniture. Our reliance on plastic has led to a ...