Plastic

Rodin’s "Thinker" Submerged in Plastic as UN Talks on Pollution Open

A replica of Auguste Rodin's famous sculpture The Thinker outside the United Nations headquarters was slowly submerged in plastic rubbish Monday as countries gathered in a bid to finalize a global treaty on plastic pollution. The sculpture will slowly disappear under layer upon layer of bottles, toys, fishing nets and other garbage during the 10 ...

Plastic Pollution 'Grave and Growing' Health Threat: Lancet

Plastic pollution is a "grave, growing and under-recognized danger" to health that is costing the world at least $1.5 trillion a year, experts warned in a report on Monday. The new review of the existing evidence, which was carried out by leading health researchers and doctors, was published one day ahead of fresh talks opening in Geneva aiming ...

Pestalotiopsis microspora: The Fungus That Eats Plastic

In 2011, during a scientific expedition in Ecuador’s Amazon rainforest, Yale students stumbled upon an unusual fungus. Hidden within the tissues of certain plants in Yasuní National Park, Pestalotiopsis microspora revealed a unique ability: it can break down one of the most common types of plastic, the polyurethane, even in completely ...

More Microplastics in Glass Bottles than Plastic: Study

Drinks including water, soda, beer and wine sold in glass bottles contain more microplastics than those in plastic bottles, according to a surprising study released by France's food safety agency Friday. Researchers have detected the tiny, mostly invisible pieces of plastic throughout the world, from in the air we breathe to the food we eat, as ...

Study Links Chemicals In Plastic To Cardiovascular Deaths

Daily exposure to chemicals used for many plastic household items, could be linked to more than 356,000 deaths from cardiovascular disease worldwide in 2018, according to a study published on Tuesday. The study published in the Lancet eBioMedicine journal, led by researchers at NYU Langone Hospital in New York, focused on a phthalate chemical ...