Diatoms (green) and bacteria (pink) living on ocean plastic. This is a false colour SEM image of part of the surface of a 5mm long plastic (yellow) from waters off eastern Tasmania, Australia.
Julia Reisser and Jeremy Shaw
We know that Australia’s waters contain lots of tiny pieces of plastic, and that these pieces can harm many marine species. But in new research published today we show that these microplastics are also…
Electronic thermoset components, such as those found in mobile phones, are destined for landfill – but new research points to a way to make them recyclable.
David Goehring/Flickr
Plastics comprise around 10% of solid waste in Australia. And while we can recycle certain types, there is a group of particularly stable plastics called thermosets, common in electronic devices, which…
The European Parliament has voted in a draft law aimed at halving the use of plastic bags across the continent by 2017, and further reducing them by at least 80% by 2019. This positive move is aimed at…
The oceans are filled with garbage. Who’s in charge of the cleanup?
cesar harada/Flickr
I was in the middle of giving a talk on the marine debris problem at a notable Californian marine research institute, when I drank the last of my water bottle, threw it onto the hall floor from the podium…
Debris or not debris? Floating rubbish could hamper the search for MH370.
AAP Image/AP Pool, Kim Christian
Frustratingly, the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has turned up many floating objects, but none of them are from the plane. That’s largely because the latest search area is likely to…
Following the wettest winter for 250 years, it would seem fair to assume that drought-induced food shortages are unlikely to be a problem for Britain. But in the near future we may find that water is a…
The recent storms have transformed many of the nation’s coasts – blasting away the sand from beaches, eroding cliffs, and damaging properties. More surprising is the sudden and often dramatic appearance…
Much of Australia’s waste plastic is ending up in the ocean, and in fish.
John Schneider
Each square kilometre of Australian sea surface water is contaminated by around 4,000 pieces of tiny plastics, according to our study published today in journal PLOS ONE and data repository Figshare. These…
Carbon and carbon dioxide are found all around us. All living things contain carbon - it’s one of the essential building blocks of life and is fundamental to many chemical processes. Carbon dioxide (CO2…
Imagine a future where packaging is made entirely from waste material and biodegrades to harmless by-products. Or where your home’s cavity wall insulation foam is made from captured CO2 emissions. Or where…
The amount of plastic debris accumulating in the open ocean has doubled in 40 years. This has been is a topic of increasing public concern and scientific interest since it was first reported in the 1970s…
Today the UN celebrates Oceans Day and we have a proposition for you: leave your plastic life behind. The introduction of plastics in the 1950’s was celebrated as a huge advance, with TIME Magazine enthusiastically…