In phase 1, specific microorganisms, like bacteria and fungi, colonize the surface of the plastic material. These microorganisms can either be present naturally in the environment or added ...

Biodegradable plastics could help alleviate the plastic waste crisis that is polluting the environment and harming our health. But how long plastics take to degrade and how environmental bacteria work ...

Biodegradable plastics don’t break down on their own. Researchers found ocean microbes play a key role, and results can vary ...

Strips of plain TPU (top) and "living" TPU (bottom) at different stages of decomposition over five months of being in compost. A new type of bioplastic could help reduce the plastic industry’s ...

MIT researchers have identified how communities of ocean bacteria cooperate to decompose biodegradable plastics, a finding ...

Every year, 400 million tons of plastic products are produced worldwide, half of which are single-use items discarded within a year. In particular, non-biodegradable plastic waste, which takes over ...

The world has a big plastic problem that it's yet to fix. We're trying to reduce our reliance on plastic, but that's seemingly impossible in modern society. The material is too important for our daily ...

Multiple research teams across the globe have developed biodegradable packaging materials built from plant fibers, producing ...