Some of the worst offenders, which can take decades to degrade in landfills, are polypropylene—which is used for things such as food packaging and bumpers—and polyethylene, found in plastic ...

Plastic bags start out as fossil fuels and end up as deadly waste in landfills and the ocean. Birds often mistake shredded plastic bags for food, filling their stomachs with toxic debris. For hungry ...

You see photos of plastic pollution in the ocean, but it can be hard to connect that to the plastic you're buying and using every day. Here are three ways the plastic you throw away can end up in the ...

Randa Lindsey Kachef does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations ...

A new study finds a bacterium in this family can break down the plastic for food. Researchers also identified the enzyme the bacterium use to degrade plastic. The discovery opens new possibilities ...

For the past couple years, the United Nations has been negotiating a plastics treaty — a binding agreement that could set firm limits on plastic production, establish commitments to reducing ...

Lagos, Nigeria – Mujanatu Musa’s one-roomed apartment – built mainly of rusty iron sheets – cuts a sorry ... parents to pay school fees with used plastic bottles, the children would ...

Scientists have developed a "self-digesting plastic", which, they say, could help reduce pollution. Polyurethane is used in everything from phone cases to trainers, but is tricky to recycle and ...

Scientists discovered that bacteria commonly found in wastewater can break down plastic to turn it into a food source, a finding that researchers hope could be a promising answer to combat one of ...

While a common family of bacteria, Comamonadaceae, grow on plastics in urban rivers and wastewater systems, it was unclear how these bacteria interact with and break down plastic. Professor Ludmilla ...