The plastic packaging around laundry pods needs a specific environment to completely biodegrade, which is largely unmet in U.S. wastewater treatment plants. (IMAGE)

Arizona State University

The plastic packaging around laundry pods needs a specific environment to completely biodegrade, which is largely unmet in U.S. wastewater treatment plants.

Caption

A new Arizona State University study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health shows that as much as 75% of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) goes untreated in the U.S. each year. That amounts to about 8,000 tons of the synthetic polymer being released annually onto land and into waterways across the country.

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Shireen Dooling

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