(THE CONVERSATION) In 1950, global plastic production was about 2 million tons. It’s now about 400 million tons – an increase of nearly 20,000%. As a material, it has seemingly limitless potential.

This article originally appeared on ProPublica. Last year, I became obsessed with a plastic cup. It was a small container that held diced fruit, the type thrown into lunch boxes. And it was the first ...

ASHLEY, Indiana—The bales, bundles and bins of plastic waste are stacked 10 feet high in a shiny new warehouse that rises from a grassy field near a town known for its bright yellow smiley-face water ...