2018年10月10日 · In August, Chile became the first country in South America to issue an outright ban on the use of plastic bags, joining others including Rwanda and Jamaica, to take action against plastic pollution. The material they have created can be used to produce an alternative to a wide range of plastic items, with bags the first target in their sights.

2018年5月4日 · The plastic is also broken down in the ocean, becoming small enough to enter the food chain. Only 14% of plastic packaging is collected for recycling, while most plastic packaging is used only once. In addition, 95% of the value of plastic packaging material, worth between $80 billion and $120 billion annually, is lost to the economy.

2019年5月10日 · The idea of a “biodegradable” plastic suggests a material that would degrade to little or nothing over a period of time, posing less of a hazard to wildlife and the environment. This is the sort of claim often made by plastic manufacturers, yet recent research has revealed supposedly biodegradable plastic bags still intact after three years ...

2017年10月4日 · By selecting thymidine as the sugar used to create the biodegradable plastic, the university’s scientists may also have found a medical application for it. “Thymidine is one of the units that makes up DNA,” said Georgina Gregory, a PhD student and lead author of the research paper.

2018年11月2日 · Earlier this year, a pilot whale that died off the coast of southern Thailand was found to have swallowed 80 plastic bags. When plastic does eventually break down into smaller particles called “microplastics”, these can be eaten by fish – and end up in food eaten by humans.

2022年3月9日 · Another study that compared the use of grocery bags made from compostable plastics to traditional grocery bags made from low-density polyethylene (LDPE) found similar results. The production of compostable plastic bags and paper bags required almost 3 times the energy input needed for the production of the same number of traditional plastic bags.

2023年8月16日 · Scientists have created biodegradable plastics from spirulina, a blue-green algae that is already used in cosmetics and foods. Spirulina is a good choice for bioplastics because it is carbon neutral and can be cultivated on a large scale.

2015年4月21日 · Biodegradable is different from bio-based. Petroleum-based plastics can be biodegradable, just as bio-based plastics – or plastics made from starting materials that originate in living organisms – may not be biodegradable. In essence, if a plastic (or other material) is biodegradable, it can serve as a food source for microorganisms.

2022年1月19日 · From bags caught in hedgerows to bottles bobbing in the ocean, the visible signs of our single-use plastic addiction are everywhere. We all know that plastic pollution is a big problem. But what is less talked about is exactly how plastic contributes to global warming.

2020年12月2日 · Packaging generates the most plastic waste of any sector. Brands are investing in new ways to package their products. Alternatives to plastic include laser-etching vegetables and engineered cardboard. There’s also a growing …