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plastics

12/03/2018 / By Edsel Cook

Irish researchers detail a potential solution for tackling plastic waste

Every day, the average American churns out a lot of plastic garbage that takes forever to decay. Over time, the nearly-indestructible waste piles up and contaminates the surroundings, causing serious harm to the environment and human health. This prompted Irish researchers to look for a way to manage the ever-growing mountains of plastic waste we […]

11/24/2018 / By Isabelle Z.

SHOCK: 50% of freshwater insects are contaminated with microplastics

We tend to hear quite a bit about fish suffering from plastic contamination, with images of whales washing up on beaches with stomachs full of plastic bottles becoming an all-too-common sight these days. However, even animals that aren’t big enough to ingest water bottles are still suffering from plastic pollution. Recent research highlighted the shocking […]

11/15/2018 / By Isabelle Z.

A cheaper alternative? Scientists looking at converting plastic waste into hydrogen fuel

The problem of plastic waste pollution shows no signs of letting up. Around eight million tons of plastic waste are making their way into our oceans every year, and the problem is only expected to get worse as plastic production will need to grow by three or four times by 2050 to meet demand. Although […]

05/18/2018 / By David Williams

EU sets a 70 percent recycling target for waste by 2020, starts by designing a modified bacteria that lives off plastic

Plastic pollution is a very serious problem in many different parts of the world. It has caused a great deal of harm to the environment and continues to affect many people’s lives every single day. Europe suffers from it just like any other place on Earth. Fortunately, the concept of plastic recycling exists. And that […]

04/09/2018 / By Janine Acero

Plastic pollution being re-purposed to break down dyes from wastewater

People use plastic for a variety of reasons, which has given way to the production of different kinds of the material. However, one of the unintended consequences of such an expansion is that of improper disposal. Experts have developed recycling methods to reduce plastic waste, in an effort to mitigate environmental damage. Now a joint […]

02/21/2018 / By Edsel Cook

The ocean’s filter feeders threatened by microplastics: Whales, sharks and rays are dying from obstructions, toxins

Plastics have long been known to pose a threat to sea life. But now tiny bits of toxic microplastics are threatening to choke and poison many of the ocean’s gentlest giants, warned articles in EcoWatch and The Guardian. Published in the Trends in Ecology and Evolution journal, a new study took a look at the possible effects […]

02/14/2018 / By Tracey Watson

GENDER-CONFUSED: Shocking study reveals 86% of teenagers’ bodies contaminated with gender-bending chemicals from plastics

A few years ago, a lot of attention was focused on the dangers of Bisphenol A (BPA), an organic synthetic compound found in plastic. Mothers with babies were especially cautioned to ensure that their baby bottles did not contain BPA. We all dutifully bought new BPA-free bottles, and many parents have since conscientiously ensured that […]

02/08/2018 / By Ralph Flores

Another danger for coral reefs: Plastic trash transports microorganisms that spread disease across the ocean floor

The phrase “deep, blue sea” may slowly become a thing of the past, as more seas and oceans are being filled up with waste plastic. Its adverse effects have surely been felt by nearly all marine life, but a team of international researchers led by Cornell University has discovered one more unfortunate effect of plastic. They found out that plastic waste […]

12/06/2017 / By Janine Acero

Science mystery: The volume of microplastics in the Baltic Sea has remained constant over the last 30 years, despite the increase in plastic production, and scientists don’t know why

The supposed correlation of the increasing rate of plastic waste to the rise in concentration of microplastics in fish and seawater is now being contradicted by a long-term study spanning 30 years. Researchers at DTU Aqua, the University of Copenhagen, and GEOMAR in Kiel analyzed the level of microplastics in fish and water samples from […]

06/16/2017 / By Russel Davis

Microplastic pollution is the REAL threat to our oceans, warn scientists

Marine experts from the California State University recently pointed out that microplastic pollution has steadily become a major threat to the world’s oceans. According to the experts, microplastics are especially problematic as they are more challenging to manage due to their microscopic size. Microplastics, which measure less than five millimeters, are degraded plastic fibers that end up in […]

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