(Natural News) Single-use face masks are a ticking plastic bomb for the environment, according to a commentary published in Frontiers of Environmental Science and Engineering. Zhiyong Ren, a professor of civil and environmental engineering from Princeton University, and Elvis Xu, an environmental scientist from the University of Southern Denmark, authored the commentary. Based on recent studies, the […]

(Natural News) Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison launched its first National Plastics Plan last month in an attempt to curb the country’s mounting plastic pollution crisis. The plan involves banning “single-use plastics” over the next four years. On Thursday, April 16, the country’s environmental ministers met to confirm that the ban covers eight kinds of “problematic and unnecessary” plastic […]

(Natural News) Not many studies have been conducted on microplastics, microscopic pieces of plastic debris floating in the air. But a new study has shown that 84 percent of microplastics floating in the air in the western United States come from roads and road use. Published Monday, April 12, in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy […]

(Natural News) Single-use plastics like plastic bags and plastic bottles could provide airplanes with the fuel they need to fly. In a recent breakthrough, a team of researchers from the University of Delaware found a way to break down single-use plastic waste into smaller carbon molecules, which can be used for jet fuel and diesel. Using […]

(Natural News) More than four billion pieces of plastic from across the globe have hitched a ride on ocean currents, landing on the beaches of Henderson Island. The island, a remote and uninhabited coral atoll in the eastern South Pacific, was thought to be one of the last remaining pristine places on Earth. The discovery was […]

(Natural News) Experts consider plastic pollution as one of the most pressing environmental problems. Unfortunately, existing studies on microplastics – tiny pieces of plastic – have primarily focused on their impacts on rivers and oceans. Now, a study led by researchers from Utah State University (USU) and Cornell University revealed that microplastics “spiral around the globe” in the atmosphere. In […]

(Natural News) Marine microplastic pollution is a pervasive problem. Microplastics are small plastic fragments that form when larger pieces of plastic debris in aquatic environments break down due to exposure to the elements. But scientists have found that the amount of microplastic waste entering freshwater environments like streams and rivers differs from the amount of microplastic waste present […]

(Natural News) The global rate of plastic production is projected to double, if not triple, over the next few decades. Researchers warn that this could mean more plastic waste polluting the environment, as well as more chemicals from minuscule and broken-down plastic debris – better known as microplastics – migrating into food. Confronting the issue of plastic pollution, […]

(Natural News) Marine plastic pollution is a pervasive problem around the world. Now, new research shows that fish are eating plastic dinners at higher rates than before, including some species that are threatened or near-threatened. Published in the journal Global Change Biology, the study revealed that marine fish are consuming 2.4 percent more plastic each year over […]

(Natural News) An uninhabited island in the South Atlantic Ocean is surprisingly covered in plastic bottles. Scientists are inclined to believe it means ships are dumping plastic litter far from its origin. Researchers from South Africa and Canada monitored volumes of plastic litter that have drifted to Inaccessible Island. This remote island sits in the […]