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 ...

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 ...

Global plastic production has increased from 369 million tons in 2016 to 404.5 million metric tons in 2020, partly due to materials used in the COVID-19 pandemic. (Getty Images) FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — ...

The world has a big plastic problem that it's yet to fix. We're trying to reduce our reliance on plastic, but that's seemingly impossible in modern society. The material is too important for our daily ...

Strips of plain TPU (top) and "living" TPU (bottom) at different stages of decomposition over five months of being in compost. A new type of bioplastic could help reduce the plastic industry’s ...

Biodegradable plastics are sold as a simple fix for a world drowning in packaging, but the reality is far messier than the marketing suggests. Labels that promise bags, cups, and utensils will ...

It's one thing to make bio-based plastics, that is, plastics made from biological materials. It's quite another to make new bioplastics that are also biodegradable -- especially those that biodegrade ...