August 2023 - Plastics

Since the first plastics were synthesised in the 1800s, a problem has been quietly brewing for the world: what do we do with all the plastic waste? With more than 50% of all plastic ever made having been produced between 2004-2023, the scale of the problem is increasing at an exponential rate. In this edition, we look at some of the problems micro- and macro-plastics are causing, and what needs to be done both now and long term to solve these problems that we have created.
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The problems that threaten our planet, how to identify them and how to prevent them. The task feels overwhelming, and it inevitably falls to science to fill the desperate need for evidence-based decision-making
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