Environmentalists around the country have been pushing for a “sustainable plastic,” and companies have responded with what, at first glance, seems to be the silver-bullet solution: degradable plastic.

One of the plastics industry’s biggest public relations headaches is the eyesore of plastic bags tangled among trees, somersaulting down highways, and drifting in waterways. Governments have reacted ...

Plastics that can be degraded should they find their way into the environment: To achieve this goal, Stefan Mecking, professor of chemistry at the University of Konstanz, was awarded an Advanced Grant ...

Many plastics that are labelled as biodegradable are only compostable under industrial conditions, but scientists at the University of Bath have now found a way to make plastics break down using only ...

China’s “toughest ever” drive to reduce single-use plastics has been underway for two years. In January 2020, the country announced bans or restrictions on the production or sale of products including ...

The article “Old Plastics, Fresh Dirt” is concerned with degradable plastics (C&EN, March 19, page 12). These certainly have their place, but I’d like to call attention to the second law of ...

Over 150 businesses, industry associations, NGOs, scientists and politicians have issued a call to end the use of some so-called 'degradable' plastic over concerns that these materials do not properly ...

The Association of Plastic Recyclers announced Sept. 5 that it now considers degradable additives harmful to recycling, a policy change that excludes the materials from being used in products under ...

There was a time no so long ago, when people would throw food scraps, peelings and the like into the compos heap in the back corner of their garden. The rest of the household rubbish went into the ...

In preparation for the world’s leading plastics show in October — K 2019 — the German mechanical engineering association (VDMA) is featuring a series of interviews with officials within its plastics ...

Scientists found that incorporating sugar units into polymers makes them more degradable when exposed to UV light. Many plastics that are labelled as biodegradable are only compostable under ...