Plastics

The cumulative amount of plastic in the ocean by 2040 could reach 600 million tons, according to a report.

Microplastics are ubiquitous in the marine environment. However, accurately classifying and quantifying them in the oceans has proven challenging for researchers.

"We keep putting millions of tonnes of plastic into the ocean every year. This research shows that it is not going to stay there forever. The ocean is giving it back to us," said researcher Steve Allen.

"It was very surprising to find microplastics so deep," researcher Winnie Courtene-Jones told Newsweek.

Some in the plastics industry have seized on the pandemic to argue the push for reusable materials was misguided and unhygienic. That's simply not the case.

"We have new species turning up that are already contaminated and so we have missed the window to understand these species in a natural environment," said marine ecologists Alan Jamieson.

The Ohio House of Representatives has passed a bill that would prohibit municipalities from restricting the use of plastic bags.

Once touted as an indestructible magic material, plastics have proven they are, indeed, long lasting - often ending up in our oceans, polluting reefs and killing wildlife. Here's how to help while you travel.

Blue, hard plastic pieces were found in over 35,000 pounds of raw ground beef, half of which was sold at Kroger groceries.

The enzyme could be a powerful new weapon in the fight against plastic pollution.

"Boy, what an advance it would be to be able to see the world in a snapshot."

This is the first of two parts of a major study evaluating the potential health effects of BPA. The final conclusions won't be available until 2019.

Microplastic glitter is a staple for Rio Carnival costumes, but tiny plastic sheets pose threats to the environment and marine life.

The new method offers a way to recycle one of the leading greenhouse gases responsible for climate change.

Norway's Arctic coast is littered with microplastics.

Fluorescent dye could be the answer to finding the ocean's missing plastics.

It's official: Plastic is utterly inescapable.

This process could revolutionize how bioplastics are produced.

Plastic may be causing problems for polar bears. But is this one of them?

It's still coming, six years later.

The total is approximately 25,000 times the weight of the Empire State Building.

In lab tests, researchers found that the larvae form of the darkling beetle can biodegrade plastic foam.

As more plastic reaches the oceans, more finds its way into animals' bodies.

HBO series and its special Earth Day episode feature kids talking to kids about the environment.

Plastic can transmit pollutants into the food web.

On the seafloor, there are 4 billion plastic fibers in every area one-third the size of New York's Central Park.

The jungles of Ecuador may hold a secret weapon against plastic pollution.

A global survey estimates there are 5.3 trillion pieces of plastic circulating on ocean surfaces.