Most “compostable” plastic won’t break down easily in a backyard compost bin. And the process can take so long at an industrial composting facility that many facilities that take food waste refuse the ...

Inside the lab of the Bay Area-based startup Sway, a sample of a thin piece of transparent material looks like the plastic typically used in shopping bags and wrappers. Another sample, green and ...

Compostable packaging only works with industrial composting and correct disposal, conditions most waste systems lack.

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. It was hailed as a wonderful thing: During the oil boom in the 1950s, chemists began to render the waste coming out of refineries ...

Seemingly every corner of our world is now littered with plastics, and only a tiny percentage of it is ever recycled. To mitigate this, many companies are offering items labeled as “compostable” or ...

These buzzwords are increasingly appearing on utensils, to-go cups and food containers and other kinds of disposable packaging. While you might think the dizzying array of products could be a simple ...

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. The use of plastic across all facets of human life has grown more ...

It’s no longer a secret that single-use plastic is harming the planet. Not only does the process of creating these materials emit enormous amounts of planet-warming gases, but they also can take ...

Most people know by now that the disposable plastic used for take-out food is an environmental hazard. Containers, cups, utensils, straws — very little of it gets recycled and very much of it ends up ...

In a new study, scientists at the Spanish Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research and the Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology (IATA-CSIC) argue that compostable plastics, ...

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily. Most plastics marketed as “home compostable” don’t actually work, with as much as 60% ...