Modern society has has a big problem when it comes to plastic -- and it's contributing heavily to pollution and climate change. Globally, 400 million metric tons of plastic are produced each year -- ...

At the urging of the plastics industry, the USDA is considering allowing materials such as bioplastic cups, coffee pods and compostable plastic bags into the organic compost waste stream. Farmers and ...

A new report from Beyond Plastics, an NGO, claims that very little of the bioplastics labeled as compostable can be composted by consumers. “Compostable” bioplastics can only be broken down in ...

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, ...

Materials scientists are cooking up environmentally friendly polymers from natural sources like silk, plant fibers and whole algae. Economics and acceptance remain hurdles. By Boyce Upholt / Knowable ...

Select Starbucks locations in 14 states have stopped using plastic cold drink cups, switching to compostable fiber-based alternatives. The change is due to local regulations and Starbucks’ ...

Henry Gabriel, Honolulu’s Recycling Program Branch Chief, joins producer/host Coralie Chun Matayoshi to discuss the evolution of and compliance with the City’s nearly decade old “plastic bag ban,” ...

Greg Pryor began composting yard and food waste for San Francisco in 1996, and today he oversees nine industrial-sized composting sites in California and Oregon that turn discarded banana peels, ...