Collaborate Disseminate
By carefully tinkering with the chemical structure of a common household plastic, scientists have managed to upcycle it into a reusable adhesive with unique and hugely promising properties. A small patch of the substance can be used to hold around 300 … Continue reading Upcycled adhesive is one of the toughest materials ever reported
Chemical pollutants, including plastics, can impact the Earth in all kinds of ways. Manufacturing of these “novel entities” has grown so rapidly that governments are now unable to assess, let alone control the risks to Earth’s ecosystems, new research … Continue reading Study finds chemical pollution is now beyond safe boundary for the planet
The search for sustainable alternatives to common plastics has researchers investigating how their building blocks can be sourced from places other than petroleum, and for scientists behind a promising new study, this has led them straight to the sweet… Continue reading Eco-friendly plastics made from sugars boast “unprecedented” properties
It isn’t an uncommon science fiction trope for our hero to be in a situation where there is no technology. Maybe she’s back in the past or on a faraway …read more Continue reading Tech in Plain Sight: Primitive Engineering Materials
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
A first-of-its-kind study led by researchers at George Washington University has measured levels of plasticizer chemicals in a number of fast food products. The findings reveal high concentrations of a number of potentially harmful chemicals, such as p… Continue reading Most US fast food found to contain potentially harmful chemicals
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
3D printers may allow individuals or small companies to produce prototypes, but the machines aren’t really suited to mass production. That’s where the Mayku Multiplier is intended to come in – it’s billed as being the world’s first desktop pressure for… Continue reading Mayku Multiplier puts pressure-forming tech on makers’ desktops
Current plastic films do a great job of keeping food fresh while it sits on the supermarket shelf, but lately we’re seeing advanced forms of these materials that might play more than a passive role in preventing spoilage. A new “bioactive” material fro… Continue reading Bioactive plastic made with mango leaves protects food from bugs and UV
The battle against plastic pollution is one being fought on many fronts, but a particularly critical one centers on the material’s capacity to persist in the environment for a long time, even centuries in some cases. By tweaking the process by which pl… Continue reading Five forms of eco-friendly plastic that break down fast