Collaborate Disseminate
Controversy has shrouded the once-common plasticizer BPA since studies started to highlight its links to a whole range of adverse health effects in humans, but recent research has also shown that its substitutes mightn’t be all that safe either. A new … Continue reading BPA-like chemicals likely causing “alarming” damage to brain cells
Like most other commonly used types of plastic, polyurethane is typically made from non-renewable crude oil, and it takes centuries to break down when discarded. Now, however, scientists have created a biodegradable polyurethane-like polymer using fish… Continue reading Biodegradable plastic made from fisheries waste
Microplastics are increasingly found to be polluting oceans and waterways and causing unknown damage to the health of animals and humans. Now, a new study provides evidence there’s cross over with another looming public health threat – antibiotic-resis… Continue reading Wastewater microplastics help superbugs share dangerous genes
As useful as plastics are in our everyday life, they’re difficult to recycle, meaning most ends up in landfill or polluting the environment. Now, researchers in Japan have used a novel catalyst to recycle a common plastic into useful products like fuel… Continue reading New catalyst converts common plastic waste into fuels and wax
Recent studies have shown just how far plastic pollution can travel when it is broken down into tiny fragments, with these so-called microplastics turning up everywhere from the Arctic to the Antarctic, and in human stool all around the world. A new st… Continue reading Aerosol samples above the ocean reveal microplastics spread by the wind
We know that tons of plastic waste washes into the ocean each year, but what we don’t know all that much about is what happens to it once it gets there. A new study as shone a light on the role deep-sea trenches can play in the movement of plastic poll… Continue reading Sediment samples show how deep-sea trenches can act as “plastic traps”
Because different polymers have different qualities, multiple types will often be layered together in products such as food packaging. And while such multilayer plastics are currently non-recyclable, a new technique may change that.Continue ReadingCate… Continue reading STRAP tech could make multilayer plastics recyclable
As tiny waste products measuring up to just a few millimeters in size, microplastics are an insidious form of plastic pollution that is incredibly difficult to trace, but scientists are gaining a clearer picture of how far-reaching its presence is. The… Continue reading Highest microplastics ever found lie near the summit of Mt Everest
Often made from plants, recycled material and various forms of organic matter, bioplastics promise a number of advantages over conventional plastics produced through fossil fuels. These include less energy-intensive production, faster biodegradation in… Continue reading Study finds bioplastics to be just as toxic as regular plastic
Scientists in Japan have produced a plastic with the highest heat resistance ever reported, and done so by using natural materials as the building blocks. This biomass-derived plastic therefore promises not just greater performance in some aspects than… Continue reading Plastic made from biomass logs the highest heat resistance on record