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Environment

Should we give up on recycling plastic?

Globally, only 14 per cent of the plastic we use is recycled – but some countries achieve higher rates and new technologies could change the picture drastically

Analysis

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Images from Mandy Barker's new book, Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype imperfections

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Visualising Britain's fashion waste problem with cyanotype photography

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Life

Birds' nests in Amsterdam are made up of plastic from 30 years ago

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Environment

Engineered bacteria could break down unrecyclable nylon in clothes

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Health

Is recycled plastic in utensils and toys really a big health concern?

Analysis

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Plastic chemicals linked to hundreds of thousands of deaths worldwide

Health

Plastic chemicals linked to hundreds of thousands of deaths worldwide

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Environment

What will it take to solve our planet's plastic pollution crisis?

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How much should we worry about the health effects of microplastics?

Health

How much should we worry about the health effects of microplastics?

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Environment

A fifth of the world's plastic garbage is either burned or littered

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Chemistry

Plastic vaporising process could recycle bags and bottles indefinitely

A new process uses cheap catalysts to break down polyethylene and polypropylene into their building blocks, enabling common plastic objects to be turned into new products

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Environment

How a viral video made turtles the face of the ocean plastic crisis

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Environment

Photos of an island paradise reveal plastic threat for bird population

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Environment

Marine fungus can break down floating plastic pollution

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Environment

Plastic pollution treaty would be 'failure' without tackling emissions

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