Collaborate Disseminate
Some of the ways plastic waste is reshaping the marine ecosystem are quite insidious, such as the tiny particles that organisms can consume and send traveling up the food chain. Others are plain to see, such as the larger pieces of trash that form the … Continue reading Coastal creatures found living aboard floating trash in the open ocean
With plastic waste turning up everywhere from Arctic snowfall to Antarctic sea ice, and the world’s tallest mountain in between, we’re seeing more researchers shift their gaze toward the potential impacts on human health. The latest discovery in this s… Continue reading First-of-a-kind study shows plastic’s toxic effects on human cells
Studies continue to illuminate the extent of our plastic waste problem, and more recently, have started to uncover what it might all mean for human health. The latest discovery in this area reveals a new mechanism through which an ingredient in common … Continue reading Mouse study links plastic waste to high cholesterol and heart disease
Much of the millions of metric tons of plastic waste that washes into the sea each year is broken down into tiny fragments by the forces of the ocean, and researchers are beginning to piece together what this means for organisms that consume them. Scie… Continue reading Mouse study shows microplastics infiltrate blood brain barrier
A wearable sensor for eye pressure sensing, a plastic scanner and new treatment solution for stab wounds have triumphed as global winners of the 2021 James Dyson Award. The teams behind the inventions, which each earn US$40,000 to continue developing t… Continue reading 2021 James Dyson awardees take aim at plastics, glaucoma and stab wounds
Glitter spruces up everything from makeup to craft projects, but one thing it doesn’t improve is the environment. Researchers at Cambridge University have now developed a biodegradable glitter that swaps out the plastic and aluminum for plant-based cel… Continue reading Plant-based biodegradable glitter sparkles without the microplastics
With the amount of plastic swirling around in the ocean, wouldn’t it be handy if the boats charged with cleaning it up could use the trash to fuel their own operations? A new study has crunched the numbers on such an approach and found that ships carry… Continue reading Can ocean cleanup boats power themselves by turning plastic into fuel?
We are seeing some promising advances in the world of plant-based plastics, and not just from research groups at the cutting edge of materials science, but from traditional purveyors of petroleum-based plastics like Lego and Pepsi. Coca Cola’s latest m… Continue reading Coca Cola launches a bottle made from 100% plant-based plastic
Having only just returned from a trial campaign that yielded massive hauls of plastic waste, the Ocean Cleanup Project is now moving beyond testing and kicking off its first operational mission. This will involve redeploying its System 002 collection b… Continue reading Ocean Cleanup moves beyond testing and outlines a system 3x the size
Back in August, the Ocean Cleanup Project returned to the waters of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch with a redesigned trash-collecting system that was its largest yet. This upsized approach appears to be paying some dividends, with System 002’s final p… Continue reading Ocean Cleanup’s supersized system proves its worth with “massive” haul