Collaborate Disseminate
The petroleum polymers used in construction of flip flops are critical to the durability and comfort of the immensely popular footwear, but are a huge contributor to our plastic pollution problem as they take a long time to break down once discarded. A… Continue reading Algae-based, biodegradable flip flops are built to go the distance
Such is the magnitude of our plastic pollution problem that tiny particles of the stuff continue to turn up in all kinds of unexpected places, from snowfall in the Arctic to the sea ice in the Antarctic. That tiny fragments also exist in the soil is pe… Continue reading Study shows nanoplastics can build up in plants and stunt their growth
According to the UN Environment Programme, we’ve produced more than eight billion metric tonnes of plastic since the early 1950s, with around 60 percent of that not recycled. It is very difficult for researchers to track the path of this waste when not… Continue reading Study reveals first sign of river plastics traveling up the food chain
Millions of metric tons of plastic waste enter the ocean each year, but beyond that, we have little idea where much of it ultimately winds up. Researchers working to trace its path through the marine environment have discovered the highest concentratio… Continue reading Scientist unearth record amount of microplastics on the seafloor
Understanding the extent of our plastic pollution problem is incredibly difficult, largely because the corrosive forces of the ocean break the waste into tiny fragments which are nearly impossible to track. Scientists have again found evidence of these… Continue reading Microplastics show up in Antarctic sea ice for the first time
There is a lot to learn about how plastic waste moves through the marine environment, but researchers are continually coming up with new ways of tracking its path. A study by scientists in Italy has shone a light on the way lobsters digest plastic part… Continue reading Lobsters found to grind plastics down into “secondary microplastics”
Millions of tons of plastic waste washes into the world’s oceans each year, but a new study has revealed that it doesn’t all move through the water in the same way. Scientists investigating the movement of submarine sediment have found that so-called u… Continue reading Underwater avalanches drive microplastic waste into the deep ocean
Whether it’s entangling marine animals, clogging their guts when they eat it, or forming giant floating “garbage patches,” oceanic plastic waste is a huge problem. There may be new hope however, in the form of what is claimed to be a better type of mar… Continue reading Plant-based plastic biodegrades in the ocean
One of the real and dangerous consequences of plastic waste making its way into ocean is the increasing threat it poses to marine life. Sea turtles are one example of a creature that regularly consume these pieces of trash for dinner, and a new study o… Continue reading “Olfactory trap” lures sea turtles into eating plastic waste
Plastic pollution is a monumental issue and one that isn’t going away anytime soon, but researchers are opening up new possibilities around how we could chip away at the problem. Scientists working in this area at Canada’s Brandon University have made … Continue reading The hungry gut bacteria that enable waxworms to live on plastic waste