Plastic, Heal Thyself!

Family potluck, plate of fixin’s. . . Another plastic fork bites the dust! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Plastic items break every day, from phone cases to prosthetics. If only they could fix themselves! Traditional plastic is like a long chain of repeating molecular

Continue reading

Vanilla Warfare

Reduce, reuse, recycle…VANILLA? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Plastic wrapping, cups, utensils, oh my! Plastic production is contributing to a global waste crisis! One type of plastic in particular, P.E.T, can be recycled — but it doesn’t break down easily. Is there a sweet

Continue reading

Cracking Recycling

Common plastic items like food and beverage containers CAN be recycled. But is the juice always worth the SQUEEZE? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Our oceans and landfills are overflowing with plastic waste. Hundreds of millions of tons are produced each year. Recycling can

Continue reading

Elastic Plastic

Is it just me, or is it HOT in here? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.  Ugh! The A-C’s gone out! Isn’t this place insulated? What? They should have used… PLASTIC?! Enter Quan Zhang and Yufeng Wang from Nankai University. They’re experts in polymers –

Continue reading

Reef Recycling

This ocean… what… a… dump. This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Eight MILLION pieces of plastic enter the ocean DAILY. This poses a HUGE threat to marine life. Think dolphins trapped in plastic bags! Are we the only ones to reduce, reuse and recycle?   Enter

Continue reading

Vanilla Warfare

Reduce, reuse, recycle…VANILLA? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Plastic wrapping, cups, utensils, oh my! Plastic production is contributing to a global waste crisis! One type of plastic in particular, P.E.T, can be recycled — but it doesn’t break down easily. Is there a sweet

Continue reading

Recycling Worms

A small tan and black Superworm

The Earth is DROWNING in plastic! Can we find relief — at the pet store? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Almost ten percent of all plastics are polystyrene. Think: foam cups and to-go boxes. Polystyrene can take HUNDREDS of years to break down. Is

Continue reading

Erasable Plastic

Plastic waterbottle floating underwater in ocean.

Plastic ocean trash…Now you see it! Now you don’t? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with The Loh Down on Science. More than twelve million tons of plastic gets lost in the ocean every year! That’s the weight of almost SIXTY THOUSAND blue whales! Can’t we make some of that plastic

Continue reading

Plastic Wrap

Got germs? Of course you do – they’re EVERYWHERE! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying….how about a lunchbox lifehack?  Could the plastic cling wrap you use for leftovers help ward off bacteria? Meet Sarah Imani and colleagues from McMaster University in Canada. They created

Continue reading

Plastic Fantastic

  Would you like some salad with your plastic fork? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with The Loh Down on Science, saying… Shampoo bottles! Straws! Legos! Plastic is all around us, and A LOT of it ends up in oceans and lakes. Over time, plastic waste breaks into tiny pieces

Continue reading