Chinese scientists say further research on potential harm to reproduction from contamination is ‘imperative’. Microplastic pollution has been found in all human semen samples tested in a study, and researchers say further research on the potential harm to reproduction is “imperative”. Sperm counts in men have been falling for decades and 40% of low counts remain unexplained,...
A bizarre new type of rock containing plastic has been found across the globe, formed mainly from plastic we have created and discarded. This deposit is a combination of rock and plastic polymers from human waste that have been compressed together. Plastic rocks have been found both on the coast and inland in 11 countries...
Some Canary Island ants have picked up an unwelcome stowaway — plastic waste. Plastic entanglement is commonly associated with aquatic and ocean life. Finding plastic-wrapped ants suggests that humankind’s pernicious polymer pollution affects a wider range of wildlife than previously thought, researchers report September 18 in Ecological Entomology. Scientists noticed the tangled insects while studying 113 ants they’d...
Researchers have found that the plastic mulch used to support the growth of Californian strawberries sheds large quantities of plastic mulch fragments. These particles have been shown to negatively impact soil qualities, casting doubt on the long-term viability of their use. The findings from the survey are likely to apply world-wide to plastic use in...
Polishing off Plastic Pollution? “There’s a great future in plastics.” The iconic line, advice to a fresh-from-college ingenue played by Dustin Hoffman in the 1967 film The Graduate, was intended for laughs. But in 2023, it highlights a grim reality. The world’s economies generate roughly 400 million tons of plastic waste each year. And only nine percent...