A major new report published today by The Pew Charitable Trusts and its partners, “Breaking the Plastic Wave 2025: An Assessment of the Global System and Strategies for Transformative Change,” finds that the scale and impact of plastic pollution is far worse than previously thought, with far-reaching consequences for the environment and human health and well-being.
Plastic pollution is already bad, and it’s only slated to get worse. A lot worse. A new analysis of the rising tide of plastic is the subject of today’s newsletter. Plus, a widely-referenced ...
For the average person, trying to avoid plastics can feel overwhelming—and maybe pointless. Our writer asked two experts how they navigate our plastic-filled world.
Scientists have identified a way to control how and when synthetic polymers break apart. The discovery suggests that everyday materials could one day be designed to vanish, or transform, right on schedule. Credit: Stock Rutgers scientists have developed plastics that can be programmed to break down ...
Failure to address a worldwide plastic pollution crisis could trigger a surge in greenhouse gas emissions and human health problems tied to the industry, according to a new report.
Scientists have long known that plastic waste is bad for marine animals. A new study quantifies how little ingested plastic it takes to be a lethal dose.
The connection between plastic and climate change usually focuses on how plastic is partly to blame for the crisis: more than 98% of it is made using fossil fuels, and climate pollution is ...
Plastic pollution is the accumulation of plastic objects and particles (e.g. plastic bottles, bags and microbeads) in the Earth's environment that adversely affects humans, wildlife and their habitat. [1][2] Plastics that act as pollutants are categorized by size into micro-, meso-, or macro debris. [3]