Plastic-based and bio-plastic disposable materials inevitably become contaminants in our ocean ecosystems. Plastics will biodegrade and microbial ecosystems will begin to colonize them. Researchers from Memorial University in St. John's Newfoundland and Laborador use the Agilent endstation at the Mid-IR beamline to image petroleum- and bio-based plastics. The biochemical impacts of the materials are shown, providing insights into their enviornmental impacts and helping to inform recycling policy changes.Read the paper!Cao, Yiqi; Zhang, Baiyu; Song, Xing; Dong, Guihua; Zhang, Yuanmei; Chen, Bing. Polyhydroxybutyrate Plastics Show Rapid Disintegration and More Straightforward Biogeochemical Impacts than Polyethylene under Marine Biofragmentation. Environ Sci Technol 2024, 58(32). DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.4c04639.