According to a new report by European scientists, plastics — from food packaging to furniture, clothing and medical equipment — contain thousands more chemicals than environmental agencies had previously estimated, raising concerns about consumer safety and pollution, reported Reuters. More than 13,000 plastic chemicals had been identified by the United Nations Environment Programme, but the […]
Since its invention more than 100 years ago, plastic has become increasingly ubiquitous in the environment, from the depths of the ocean to within algae beneath Arctic sea ice. Tiny microplastics have been detected floating high in the atmosphere above the French Pyrenees, as well as in human blood. Plastics persist in the environment because […]
A group of environmental organizations has produced the Global Plastic Laws Database, which is launching ahead of the next round of the United Nations Plastic Treaty negotiations in November. The Global Plastic Laws Database will track plastic-related legislation around the world and allow researchers to study laws relating to all cycles of plastic production and […]
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced grants of more than $100 million to expand the country’s recycling and waste management infrastructure. It is the largest investment in recycling by the EPA in three decades. Funding for the grants will come from President Joe Biden’s Investing in America agenda. Under the new funding opportunity, […]
Some books take you on epic emotional journeys, while others provide you with knowledge and insights on a new subject. To Dye For, an account of the toxic evolution of fast fashion by Alden Wicker — from its mauvine- and arsenic-tinted beginnings to the takeover of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) — does both. It […]
Plastics are everywhere. They’re used to make food packaging, bags, water bottles and for many other common applications. As they break down, their tiny particles — known as microplastics — end up in the ocean, on the highest mountaintops, in our lungs and in our blood. The problem with plastics is that they stay in […]
A diverse microbiome of bacteria and plastic-degrading fungi lives in salt marshes on the coast of Jiangsu, China. It was identified by an international team of scientists who counted 55 bacterial and 184 fungal strains that are able to break down a biodegradable polyester called polycaprolactone (PCL), often used in polyurethane production, a press release […]
A large industrial fire that ignited stored plastics at a the site of a former factory in Richmond, Indiana has led thousands of local residents to be evacuated. The flames are still burning, but under control, and authorities hope to have all flames put out by Saturday. Those living within 0.5 miles of the plant […]
Plastics harm human health at all stages of the life cycle, a first-of-its-kind study has found. The Minderoo-Monaco Commission on Plastics and Human Health, published in the Annals of Global Health March 21, revealed the extent to which plastics harm those that interact with them, from the unique lung diseases suffered by coal miners to […]