Additives in plastics complicate recycling, raising health and environmental concerns while limiting circularity goals ...

New research aims to ease the process of chemical recycling -- an emerging industry that could turn waste products back into natural resources by physically breaking plastic down into the smaller ...

Irving, Texas — The word of the day is heuristics. Shira Abel says that phrase can help packaging recyclers, including those handling plastic packaging, increase consumer participation in efforts to ...

Only 2 percent of the 78 million tons of manufactured plastics are currently recycled into similar products because polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), which account for two-thirds of the ...

Since the first factories began manufacturing polyester from petroleum in the 1950s, humans have produced an estimated 9.1 billion tons of plastic. Of the waste generated from that plastic, less than ...

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When it comes to government policy-making, rational evaluations of the costs and benefits of various approaches to a problem aren’t always the norm. That was why the long debate over whether ...

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One person’s scrap may or may not be another person’s treasure, but these days it can be the launching pad to a great career in science, match or technology. In 2012, the Institute of Scrap Recycling ...

Have you ever wondered whether your milk carton caps can be recycled? Or what happens to your recycling after it gets picked up from your curb? Science Friday video producer Luke Groskin decided to ...

Although some may dismiss recycling as unnecessary or inconvenient, Earth Day is a good reminder of why we should care. By reducing our trash output, reusing what we already have, and recycling old ...

During my childhood, recycling was an informal, ad-hoc process. We used to buy soda in flip-top bottles that went right back into the crate and got taken back to where we bought them. The bottles were ...