Mr. O’Connell is the author, most recently, of “Notes From an Apocalypse: A Personal Journey to the End of the World and Back.” There is plastic in our bodies; it’s in our lungs and in our bowels and ...

Of all the plastics that surround us on the daily, the one we hear least about in the 3D printing world is probably polypropylene (PP). Given that this tough, slightly flexible thermoplastic has ...

Americans, on average, toss out about three quarters of a pound of plastic each day, according to researchers at Oxford University. Most of that trash winds up in a landfill. As someone who loves ...

In 1950, global plastic production was about 2 million tons. It’s now about 400 million tons – an increase of nearly 20,000%. As a material, it has seemingly limitless potential. Plastic is ...

Plastics are synthetic or semi-synthetic materials made from polymers, which are long chains of molecules typically derived from petroleum, natural gas, or other organic sources. Plastics are ...

Big brands like Procter & Gamble and Nestlé say a new generation of plants will help them meet environmental goals, but the technology is struggling to deliver. Big brands like Procter & Gamble and ...

The following essay is reprinted with permission from The Conversation, an online publication covering the latest research. Every week, millions of Americans toss their recyclables into a single bin, ...

Is plastic recyclable? Learn about recycling codes for plastic, how many times can plastic be recycled, and types of plastic decomposition including bacteria-eating plastic and plastic-eating fungus ...

It takes more than 1,000 years for plastic to decompose. Every plastic bottle, straw and container ever thrown away is still intact and somewhere on earth. The plastic problem affects every part of ...

Kevin A. Schug receives funding from the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes for Health, ExxonMobil, and Weaver Consultants Group. He is affiliated with VUV Analytics, Inc. and ...