Researchers from the United Kingdom and Australia have found that small juvenile marine turtles from several species are ingesting large quantities of plastic, a form of pollution that affects more than just turtles. The scientists studied 121 juvenile turtles, including green turtles, loggerhead turtles, flatback turtles, olive ridley turtles, and hawksbill turtles. The specimens, which…

An industrious Canadian teen has put his money where his mouth is when it comes to plastic waste. Pooling savings from three jobs, he started a company that turns post-consumer plastics destined for landfill into affordable building materials—thereby, offering a revolutionary in-house solution to the pileup of waste plastic, filling “the role of Chinese recyclers” after…

In the 20th century, scientists developed a group of complex, manmade chemicals called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). In the past decade, researchers have found these chemicals contaminating drinking water and the environment. Current research measures them at alarming rates in breast milk. The properties of these substances include oil and water repellency, temperature resistance,…

Leading supermarket giants Woolworths and Coles are committing to ambitious goals to fight plastic waste through a vision of ensuring all plastic packaging are recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025. The two supermarket groups have joined 60 groups—including ALDI and Nestle—across the supply chain that have signed up to the ‘Australia, New Zealand and Pacific…

Plastic is such a ubiquitous part of modern life that it’s hard to imagine a world without it. But in the grand scheme of things, plastics are still a new invention. As noted by Pete Myers, the chair, founder, and chief scientist of Environmental Health Sciences, there’s a lot we don’t know about plastics and…

A zero-waste project from the Netherlands is using 3D-printing technology to turn plastic trash into stylish urban furniture. Zero Waste Lab by The New Raw, a collaboration between Rotterdam-based architects Panos Sakkas and Foteini Setaki, makes everything from park benches to work stations to dinner tables, encouraging people to think about the impact of single-use…