Biodegradable plastics don’t break down on their own. Researchers found ocean microbes play a key role, and results can vary widely.

In phase 1, specific microorganisms, like bacteria and fungi, colonize the surface of the plastic material. These microorganisms can either be present naturally in the environment or added ...

Biodegradable plastics could help alleviate the plastic waste crisis that is polluting the environment and harming our health ...

MIT researchers have identified how communities of ocean bacteria cooperate to decompose biodegradable plastics, a finding that could reshape how scientists and manufacturers think about the fate of ...

Rows of biodegradable mulch. Credit: Remsberg Inc. Do you want to hear about a strange journey of a single plastic film, as I have witnessed it, first as a child in rural Nepal, and now as a vegetable ...

The world has a big plastic problem that it's yet to fix. We're trying to reduce our reliance on plastic, but that's seemingly impossible in modern society. The material is too important for our daily ...

Strips of plain TPU (top) and "living" TPU (bottom) at different stages of decomposition over five months of being in compost. A new type of bioplastic could help reduce the plastic industry’s ...

Old trees are learning new tricks with the advent of composite materials. A "green composite" made from biodegradable polymers and the waste bark of the Yakushima Jisugi tree was developed by a ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Plastic trash accumulates in trees and shrubs along the Los Angeles River. Citizen of the Planet/Education Images/Universal Images ...

A local packaging distributor is working to expand the reach of a biodegradable film capable of reducing waste in the manufacturing process. Packaging Systems of Wisconsin, a Sheboygan-based division ...

Researchers have developed electrochemical methods that break down waste PET plastic, the material in most disposable water ...