Plastic is an essential material in the modern world, but it's also environmentally costly to produce and a major pollutant. A material called pyridinedicarboxylic acid, or PDCA, could help address at ...

In a landfill, a plastic bottle can take more than a thousand years to break down. But a new process can transform polyethylene plastic in days, using bacteria to eat the waste and then turn it into a ...

Biodegradable plastics don’t break down on their own. Researchers found ocean microbes play a key role, and results can vary widely.

MIT researchers have identified how communities of ocean bacteria cooperate to decompose biodegradable plastics, a finding that could reshape how scientists and manufacturers think about the fate of ...

Scientists have found a way to convert discarded shrimp shells into dense, plastic-like films and objects, a development that could redirect tons of seafood industry waste into a viable substitute for ...

A Japanese research team has created a plastic that breaks down in seawater, leaving no microplastics or toxins—just safe, natural elements. (CREDIT: 2025 RIKEN) Plastics are everywhere—from your ...

Plastic pollution is one of the most defining environmental challenges of our time. Despite efforts to recycle or responsibly dispose of plastic, vast garbage patches in the oceans continue to grow, ...

Polystyrene is made from styrene building blocks and is the most widely used plastic in terms of volume, for example in packaging. Unlike PET, which can now be produced and recycled using ...

At the urging of the plastics industry, the USDA is considering allowing materials such as bioplastic cups, coffee pods and compostable plastic bags into the organic compost waste stream. Farmers and ...

A new study published in Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering has compared the impacts of traditional and biodegradable microplastics on pea growth and soil health. The research shows ...

Between the planters and the soil bags, plastic is hard to avoid in gardening. In fact, some supplies you may not realize are ...