Five plastic bag materials found in UK shops were tested. After more than three years in soil or sea, three of the materials, including biodegradable bags, were still intact.
One potential solution to the massive plastic pollution could come from Evoware, which makes seaweed-based packaging that is 100% biodegradable and edible as well.
Electronic devices that are completely broken down in a biological environment after a pre-defined operating life open up novel applications as well as ways for reducing their ecological footprint.
A new study found that a simple heat treatment could improve a biodegradable plastic’s properties and at the same time, could make its industrial-scale production possible.
The only components not made of bio-based materials are the wheels and suspension system. Weighing just 684 pounds, the lightweight, eco-friendly vehicle can travel up to 50 miles per hour.
Researchers in California report they have produced a lightweight and flexible semiconductor built on a base of cellulose, the main ingredient in plant fibers.
Chemists discover structure of bacterial enzyme that generates useful polymers.
Most foods at the grocery store come wrapped in plastic packaging. This create a lot of non-recyclable, non-biodegradable waste. Scientists are now developing a packaging film made of milk proteins that addresses these issues - and it is even edible.
Poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) is a thermoplastic polyester which occurs naturally in bacteria as Ralstonia eutropha and Bacillus megaterium. Even though PHB is biodegradable and is not dependent on fossil resources, this bioplastic has been traditionally too expensive to produce to replace petroleum-based plastics. New research describes an alternative method of producing PHB in microalgae.
