Scientists have created a mutant enzyme that breaks down plastic drinks bottles – by accident. The breakthrough could help solve the global plastic pollution crisis by enabling for the first time the...

Forget panning for gold or extracting copper ore. A new study shows that recovering metals from discarded electronics, a process known as urban mining, is far less expensive than mining them the...

Many organic fertilisers being applied to gardens and farms contain tiny fragments of plastic, according to a new study. Widely considered a problem affecting the oceans, this work suggests microplastics may actually be...

An enormous area of rubbish floating in the Pacific Ocean is teeming with far more debris than previously thought, heightening alarm that the world’s oceans are being increasingly choked by trillions of...

Glastonbury festival is to implement a site-wide ban on plastic bottles when it returns in 2019. “It’s an enormous project; it’s taking a lot of time to tackle with all the different...

Ryanair has pledged to become “plastic free” in the next five years, with the airline set to trumpet its relative green credentials as part of its ongoing makeover. The Ryanair chief executive, Michael...

Iceland Foods has committed to removing all plastic from its brand-name products within the next five years and replacing it with recyclable materials such as pulp and paper. The UK-based supermarket chain...

Plastic trash can really be found on all corners of the Earth—even in the stomachs of deep-sea organisms, according to a new study from Newcastle University in England. Led by Dr. Alan Jamieson,...

The former boss of Asda is calling for supermarkets to stop using plastic packaging saying billions of pounds of investment in recycling has failed to resolve the world’s plastic proliferation crisis. Andy Clarke,...

Nano-sized particles of plastic can accumulate in the brains of fish and cause damage and behavioral changes, according to a new study from Lund University. So, yes, despite earlier arguments to the contrary,...

The world produces about 300 million tons of plastic every year, of which about 10% will end up in the ocean. In the US, about 30 million tons winds up in landfills,...

The 32nd annual International Coastal Cleanup took place on September 16. Promoted by the Ocean Conservancy, the coastal cleanup began with a small group of volunteers in Texas in 1986 and has...

We’re filling up the world with plastic, and the material takes up to a millennium to break down in landfills. A group of scientists sought a solution to our plastic problem in...

A team in this year’s Volvo Ocean Race is dedicated to raising global awareness of danger posed by ocean plastic. The Volvo Ocean Race is one of the premier sailing competitions in...

People who deny that humans are wreaking havoc on the planet's life-support systems astound me. When confronted with the obvious damage we're doing to the biosphere—from climate change to water and air...

The way things are going now, our oceans will contain more plastic than fish by 2050. An ambitious United Nations campaign aims to stop this from happening. On Wednesday, UN Environment announced its...