If you order takeout in Los Angeles and your meal comes with a compostable fork made from PLA—a common bio-based plastic—you’re not supposed to toss the utensil in your curbside compost bin. The city ...

Several months have now passed since the Biden-Harris Administration and the Office of Science and Technology Policy issued an array of goals and priorities aimed at positioning the U.S. as a leader ...

Emerging research shows that plant-based plastics — just like petroleum-based plastics — contain many thousands of synthetic chemicals, with large numbers of them extremely toxic. However, the ...

Bio-based plastics are back in the spotlight, although their role in helping the industry become more circular while cutting carbon emissions is still developing. In the February Sustainable Plastics ...

Biodegradable plastics can break down naturally through the action of living organisms such as bacteria. They are made from renewable sources such as corn starch or sugar cane and don’t linger in the ...

Imagine investing in sustainable materials, only to be told you can’t fully count the climate benefits. That’s the reality facing many brands that use renewable, plant-based plastics — and it largely ...

Researchers in South Korea have successfully engineered a bio-based plastic using microorganisms as a sustainable alternative to conventional plastics. The new ...

Bio-based plastics often end up in recycling streams because they look and feel like conventional plastic, but the contamination of these compostable products makes it much harder to generate ...

When the San Francisco sea lion named Blonde Bomber made one of his regular appearances at the city's Pier 39, residents were alarmed at the plastic strap wrapped around his neck. Alarmed, but also ...

Efficiency and sustainability can be combined thanks to a new class of materials hitting the auto market. Credit: Chinnapong/Shutterstock As the automotive industry evolves, so too must innovation in ...

Bio-based materials may pose a greater health risk to some of the planet’s most important species than the conventional plastics they are designed to replace, a new study has shown. Such materials are ...