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Articles on plasticseries2018

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Conveyors carry mixed plastic into a device that will shred recycle them at a plastics recycling plant in Vernon, California. AP Photo/Reed Saxon,File

The plastic waste crisis is an opportunity for the US to get serious about recycling at home

Since China stopped importing ‘foreign garbage’ in March 2018, scrap – especially plastic – has built up in the US. Will this shock trigger long-overdue investments in plastic recycling here?
Microplastics in the Mediterranean Sea. By Dirk Wahn/shutterstock.com

We are guinea pigs in a worldwide experiment on microplastics

Microplastics are everywhere–our water, soil, and even the air we breathe. The consequences of this exposure on human health is unknown. But studies in animals give us reason to worry.
Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is used in a variety of applications from plumbing to health care to electronics. By SIRIKANLAYA KHLIBNGERN/shutterstock.com

Obesity and diabetes: 2 reasons why we should be worried about the plastics that surround us

The most common explanation for obesity is overeating calorie-rich foods and a sedentary lifestyle. But new studies suggest that chemicals in our environment might be another cause.
Millions of tons of plastic are manufactured every year. Bert Kaufmann/Wikimedia

The world of plastics, in numbers

In 2015, over 320 million tons of polymers, excluding fibers, were manufactured across the globe.

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