Plastic debris litters marine and terrestrial habitats worldwide. It is ingested by numerous species of animals, causing deleterious physical effects. High concentrations of hydrophobic organic contaminants have also been measured on plastic debris collected from the environment, but the fate of these contaminants is poorly understood. Here, we examine the uptake and subsequent release of phena...

With the increasing attention on developing a low-carbon economy, it is necessary to seek appropriate ways on reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through innovative municipal solid waste management (MSWM), such as urban symbiosis. However, quantitative assessments on the environmental benefits of urban symbiosis, especially in developing countries, are limited because only a limited number ...

Plastics are increasingly a preferred material choice in designing and developing complex, consumer products, such as automobiles, because they are mouldable, lightweight, and are often perceived to be highly recyclable materials. However, actually recycling the heterogeneous plastics used in such durable items is challenging, and presents very different scenarios to how simple products, such a...

Metals and metal compounds have been used for many years in the manufacture of plastic products. The metallic compounds added to plastics although encapsulated in polymer matrix are usually not chemically bound to polymer molecules and consequently can gradually be released to environment over the service life of a plastic made object. Similarly, when disposing of plastic waste either by incine...

Plastics have transformed everyday life; usage is increasing and annual production is likely to exceed 300 million tonnes by 2010. In this concluding paper to the Theme Issue on Plastics, the Environment and Human Health, we synthesize current understanding of the benefits and concerns surrounding the use of plastics and look to future priorities, challenges and opportunities. It is evident tha...

The properties of products made from recycled plastics are in part determined by the level and types of impurities found in the primary plastic. The removal of other plastics is essential if the properties are to approach those of virgin resin. Purification of plastic resins is achieved by exploiting differences in material properties of the different plastic types. Differences in density and s...

Despite concern about the harmful effects of substances contained in various plastic consumer products, little attention has focused on the more heavily exposed women working in the plastics industry. Through a review of the toxicology, industrial hygiene, and epidemiology literatures in conjunction with qualitative research, this article explores occupational exposures in producing plastics an...

How to hide a dimension from view Compacted dimensions are essential ingredients of advanced string theories; the extra dimensions used to describe the world are hidden from view, or compacted. Pendry et al. used concepts of transformation optics, in which metamaterials are designed to produce specific optical properties, to show theoretically that compacted dimensions could be possible in plas...

Much is being written about plastics these days---newspapers are full of stories about the plastic menace, governments are up in arms banning polybags around the country, schools and colleges are launching awareness drives to ban plastics. But they are still around. And will be around for times to come. Not only strewn on the roads or choking drains and rivers, but also inside our homes. Over t...