Plastic

Plastic waste is a huge problem in the world, but only 9% of plastic waste each year is recycled. Recently, researchers discovered a more efficient method of plastic recycling that can hopefully incentivize plastic recycling in the near future.

Plastics in the ocean are a huge problem, partly because microplastics have significant health effects on marine organisms. Few have explored the quantification of microplastics on the deep ocean floor.

We are living in the age of plastic. Each human is estimated to produce their body weight in plastic waste each year. Most of these plastics are dumped in landfills, where they need many centuries before they degrade naturally. Millions of tons of…

by Zhen Dai figures by Sean Wilson and Zhen Dai A deep ripple It was a typical lab day earlier this year. I planned to install an equipment component that had just arrived in the mail. I unpacked the component and proceeded to recycle the packaging. As…

by Jordan Wilkerson figures by Rebecca Senft The blue, glimmering Pacific Ocean. On his 1997 trip from Hawaii back to the US mainland, Captain Charles Moore expected captivating views of its pristine waters. After all, he’d be sailing across one of the…

BPA is commonly used to make plastic bottles [HebiPics under CC0 Public Domain license]Consumer pressure – not scientific evidence – has prompted companies like Nalgene, General Mills, and Campbell’s to remove a chemical called bisphenol A (BPA) from…