The dismal results of the UK's Big Compost Experiment reveal that most so-called compostable plastics do not break down in backyard compost bins. Composting is a bit like alchemy. You put food scraps ...

In a UK-wide study, researchers found that 60% of home-compostable plastics do not fully disintegrate in home compost bins, and inevitably end up in our soil. The study also found that citizens are ...

Recent research into the comparative toxicity of conventional vs. compostable plastic consumer products is causing consternation in Europe, with Berlin-based industry association European Bioplastics ...

Most “compostable” plastic won’t break down easily in a backyard compost bin. And the process can take so long at an industrial composting facility that many facilities that take food waste refuse the ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. It was hailed as a wonderful thing: During the oil boom in the 1950s, chemists began to render the waste coming out of refineries ...

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily. Most plastics marketed as “home compostable” don’t actually work, with as much as 60% ...

Plastic is a major environmental issue, since most of it doesn’t break down easily – and even when it does, it usually forms microplastic pieces that pose their own problems. A new type of compostable ...

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, ...

As single-use plastics fall further out of favor among environmentally-conscious consumers and governments, many companies are turning to newer materials that they say will break down in people’s ...

Seemingly every corner of our world is now littered with plastics, and only a tiny percentage of it is ever recycled. To mitigate this, many companies are offering items labeled as “compostable” or ...

Bacardi rum bottles, Skittles sweet wrappers, designer water bottles—a bevy of companies are developing biodegradable plastic packaging they say is better for the environment than traditional plastics ...