microplastics – News Stories About microplastics - Page 1

Germans Are Snapping Up
Glitter Before Ban Kicks In

Oct 10, 2023 4:00 PM CDT

Germans Are Snapping Up Glitter Before Ban Kicks In

First phase of EU microplastics ban takes effect next week

(Newser) - The European Union is about to become a less glittery place. Loose glitter and microbeads are being banned starting next Tuesday, when the first phase of an EU ban on microplastic kicks in. The Guardian reports that glitter has been flying off store shelves in Germany, where reality TV star...

Researchers Warn About
Microwaving Plastic

Researchers Warn About Microwaving Plastic

Just three minutes in a microwave can unleash billions of nanoparticles, says study

(Newser) - A new study may give you pause before putting anything plastic in the microwave. University of Nebraska-Lincoln researchers found that microwaving plastic baby food containers released both micro- and smaller nanoplastics, reports Wired . The study in Environmental Science & Technology was conducted by Kazi Albab Hussain and UN-L colleagues after...

Mussels That Eat Microplastics Could Help Clean the Oceans

Mussels Excreting Microplastics
May Help Clean the Ocean

Jun 7, 2023 2:58 PM CDT

Mussels Excreting Microplastics May Help Clean the Ocean

The way some bivalves excrete substances could make it easier to clear them out

(Newser) - In fighting one of the most elusive pollutants in our oceans, scientists have found an unexpected ally: the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis). Science reports that this hungry little filter-feeding mollusk isn't just impervious to the trillions of microplastics littering the Earth's oceans; it may hold a solution to...

Researchers Find Unhappy
Surprise in Plastic Recycling

Researchers Find Unhappy Surprise in Plastic Recycling

The process of breaking down the material releases microplastics into the air, says study

(Newser) - A new study on the recycling of plastic offers a disturbing surprise: In one way, the process may make the environmental problem worse. In the peer-reviewed study at ScienceDirect , UK researchers suggest that recycling plants create and release a troubling amount of microplastic pollution as they break down and wash...

Microbes Found That Can Digest Plastics at Lower Temperatures

Finding Could Shrink
Mounds of Plastic

May 10, 2023 4:05 PM CDT

Finding Could Shrink Mounds of Plastic

Discovery could be a recycling breakthrough

(Newser) - Scientists have been aware of microorganisms that can digest plastic, but they're of limited help. They mostly need temperatures over 86 degrees Fahrenheit to function; heating the environment for them is impractical and not carbon neutral. But now microbes have been isolated that can do the work at a...

This Whale Sucks
In an Astounding
Amount of
Microplastics

NEW STUDY

Nov 2, 2022 9:03 AM CDT

This Whale Sucks In an Astounding Amount of Microplastics

Blue whales, as well as other baleens, are ingesting millions of the tiny particles daily

(Newser) - Baleen whales —which include blue whales and humpbacks—are a type of whale that uses special filters instead of teeth to collect and eat small prey like krill and fish. Now, in a research first, scientists examining the consumption habits of these marine mammals have found they're...

You Could 'Degrade Your Own Plastic' With Caterpillar Saliva

Caterpillar Saliva Could Be
Potent Weapon in Plastic Fight

NEW STUDY

Oct 6, 2022 9:50 AM CDT

Caterpillar Saliva Could Be Potent Weapon in Plastic Fight

Researchers envision at-home degradation kits using enzymes found in wax worm drool

(Newser) - Five years after wax worms were found to consume the world's most commonly produced plastic, scientists have lost none of their optimism in touting the caterpillar larvae of wax moths as a potential solution to our growing problem of plastic waste. Indeed, new research finds the larvae's saliva...

An 'Incredibly Sad' Find
Buried in Antarctic Snow

An 'Incredibly Sad' Find Buried in Antarctic Snow

Scientists have discovered first reported microplastics there

(Newser) - Microplastics have turned up in some of the most remote places of the globe: in the skies above the Pyrenees , in the deepest parts of the ocean , even in Antarctic surface water and sea ice . Now, however, scientists have found particles for the first time in another part of the...

Some Elephants Are
Turning Into Plastic Polluters

new study

May 31, 2022 4:22 PM CDT

Some Elephants Are Turning Into Plastic Polluters

Some consume plastic in dumps then excrete it in forests, study finds

(Newser) - Much has been written about humans' consumption of microplastics . Ditto on the impacts of plastic waste on our oceans . Now comes a report on the plastics—items a heck of a lot bigger than microplastics—that elephants eat and how deep into otherwise unspoiled forests they end up depositing it....

Plastic Recycling Is a Hoax

Environmental groups say the plastics industry has been lying all along

(Newser) - Last year, Americans recycled at most 6% of their plastic waste, according to a report released Wednesday by a pair of environmental groups. It's a number that's even worse than it used to be. Every American produced an average 218 pounds of plastic waste in 2018, per Reuters,...

Plastic in Landfill
Is Killing Elephants

Jan 17, 2022 3:58 PM CST

Plastic in Landfill Is Killing Elephants

Post-mortems showed no signs of a normal diet

(Newser) - Conservationists and veterinarians are warning that plastic waste in an open landfill in eastern Sri Lanka is killing elephants in the region, after two more were found dead over the weekend. Around 20 elephants have died in the past eight years after consuming plastic trash in the dump in Pallakkadu...

Blame for World's Plastic
'Deluge' Lands Squarely on US

Dec 2, 2021 7:39 AM CST

Blame for World's Plastic 'Deluge' Lands Squarely on US

We're the biggest contributor to the waste problem, per new NAS analysis commissioned by Congress

(Newser) - There's a "deluge" of plastic mucking up the Earth's oceans, with the United States serving as the biggest contributor to it. That's according to a new National Academy of Sciences report ordered by Congress that's imploring the US to come up with a plan to...

Garbage Falls in Italy,
but There's All That PPE

Aug 16, 2020 9:50 AM CDT

Garbage Falls in Italy, but There's All That PPE

UN, environmental groups warn of danger to seas from microplastics

(Newser) - Italy produced 10% less garbage during its coronavirus lockdown, but environmentalists warn that increased reliance on disposable masks and packaging is imperiling efforts to curb single-use plastics that end up in oceans and seas. Researchers estimate that during the peak months of Italy's lockdown in March and April, the...

Scientists Turn Up
Stunning 'Snot Palaces'

new study

Jun 6, 2020 2:30 PM CDT

Scientists Turn Up Stunning 'Snot Palaces'

They do more with 4 inches than you'd expect

(Newser) - Master builders of the sea construct the equivalent of a complex five-story house that protects them from predators and funnels and filters food for them—all from snot coming out of their heads. And when these delicate mucus homes get clogged, the tadpole-looking critters—called giant larvaceans—build a new...

Microplastics Found in One
of World's Remotest Places

Apr 22, 2020 6:44 PM CDT

Microplastics Found in One of World's Remotest Places

96 particles found in sample of Antarctic sea ice

(Newser) - Grim news from one of the remotest places on Earth: Microplastics have been found for the first time in a sample of Antarctic sea ice. Researchers say they found 96 tiny plastic particles in an ice-core sample that had been stored in Tasmania since it was taken in 2009, the...

Exhibit on Ocean
Pollution Leads
to Big Shock for
One Woman

Feb 14, 2020 9:40 AM CST

Exhibit on Ocean Pollution Leads to Big Shock for One Woman

German woman spots mixtape she lost 25 years ago—and it still works

(Newser) - If you're in your late 30s or older, you likely remember the unique joy that accompanied creating what we olds call a "mixtape." A German woman is now reliving that elation after she stumbled upon a mixtape she lost 25 years ago while on vacation in Spain....

Study Has Jarring News
for Drinkers of Premium Tea

new study

Sep 27, 2019 8:57 AM CDT

Study Has Jarring News for Drinkers of Premium Tea

Those fancy plastic bags deposit billions of microplastics into the cup, say researchers

(Newser) - What do you take in your tea? A little cream, a little sugar, and ... billions of microscopic pieces of plastic? That's the takeaway from a new study at Canada's McGill University, reports the BBC . The study involves only tea that comes in plastic tea bags, generally of the...

Microplastics in Lake Tahoe
Leads to New Research

Sep 1, 2019 11:10 AM CDT

Microplastics in Lake Tahoe Leads to New Research

Team will present findings in December

(Newser) - Scientists at Lake Tahoe have detected microplastics at several locations around the lake for this first time. Microplastics is the term for tiny pieces of plastic that come from everything from water bottles to synthetic fleece sweaters. Experts said they are ubiquitous around the world, the AP reports, so it'...

UN: Microplastics in Water
Not a Major Health Worry

Aug 22, 2019 3:10 AM CDT

UN: Microplastics in Water Not a Major Health Worry

'Just because we're ingesting them doesn't mean we have a risk to human health'

(Newser) - The World Health Organization says the levels of microplastics in drinking water don't appear to be risky, but that research has been spotty and more is needed into their effects on the environment and health, the AP reports. Microplastics are created when man-made materials break down into tiny particles...

Microplastics
Abound in
Arctic Snow

new study

Aug 15, 2019 4:06 AM CDT

Microplastics Abound in Arctic Snow

Scientists say air is carrying particles to remotest corners of the world

(Newser) - Scientists say they've found an abundance of tiny plastic particles in Arctic snow, indicating that so-called microplastics are being sucked into the atmosphere and carried long distances to some of the remotest corners of the planet. The researchers examined snow collected from sites in the Arctic, northern Germany, the...