Bags or bins? When it comes to recycling, the answer is complicated
It seemed like a straightforward question to biology professor Paul Mensink: Are plastic bags that hold curbside recyclables better or worse for the environment than blue boxes?
It seemed like a straightforward question to biology professor Paul Mensink: Are plastic bags that hold curbside recyclables better or worse for the environment than blue boxes?
Environment
May 26, 2022
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Plastic bottles, punnets, wrap—lightweight packaging made of PET plastic becomes a problem if it is not recycled. Scientists at Leipzig University have now discovered a highly efficient enzyme that degrades PET in record ...
Biochemistry
May 18, 2022
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Only about 15% of used clothes and other textiles in the United States get reused or recycled. The other 85% head straight to the landfill or incinerator. This wastes scarce resources, contributes to climate change and pollutes ...
Environment
May 9, 2022
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Only 5% to 6% of the 46 million tons of plastic waste generated annually in the U.S. gets recycled, a big dip from the last estimate of nearly 9% just a few years ago, according to a new study by two environmental groups ...
Environment
May 5, 2022
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A University at Buffalo-led study examines how improved communication can support efforts to increase recycling in New York State and the rest of the United States.
Environment
Apr 26, 2022
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Just 9% of all plastic waste ever created has been recycled, researchers estimate.
Environment
Apr 22, 2022
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North Carolina State University researchers designed a textile "Plant Armor" that forces insects to navigate a maze-like path if they try to reach a plant. The design was more effective at blocking insects from reaching cabbage ...
Ecology
Apr 6, 2022
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Researchers from Brunel University London found 150 chemicals that had leached into drinks from plastic bottles, with 18 of those chemicals found in levels exceeding regulations.
Materials Science
Mar 21, 2022
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Despite research and policy efforts, recycling initiatives have skidded on more complex materials like tires and mattresses, filling dumps and natural land across the country.
Polymers
Mar 9, 2022
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Most plastic "advanced recycling" plants in the United States aren't actually recycling plastic but instead converting it into a dirty fuel, while producing toxic waste in low-income communities, a study by a leading environmental ...
Environment
Mar 8, 2022
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