The invisible sustainability problem of glues and how to solve it

Adhesives are hard to see when in use, but they force most products to reside in landfills for centuries. Ongoing research is creating opportunities in materials design and market impact, thereby helping society move towards a more sustainable future. This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution Access options Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription $32.99 / 30 days cancel any time Subscribe to this journal Receive 12 digital issues and online access to articles $119.00 per year only $9.92 per issue Buy this article - Purchase on SpringerLink - Instant access to the full article PDF. USD 39.95 Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout References Onusseit, H. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 46, 168–181 (2006). Mulcahy, K. R., Kilpatrick, A. F. R., Harper, G. D. J., Walton, A. & Abbott, A. P. Green Chem. 24, 36–61 (2022). Milbrandt, A., Zuboy, J., Coney, K. & Badgett, A. Waste Manag. Bull. 2, 21–28 (2024). Böhm, M., Salem, M. Z. M. & Srba, J. J. Hazard. Mat. 221–222, 68–79 (2012). Dunky, M. in Handbook of Adhesive Technology 3rd edn (eds Pizzi, A. & Mittal, K. L.) Ch. 47 (CRC Press, 2017). Gomes, S., Lopes, J. M. & Nogueria, S. J. Cleaner Prod. 390, 136092 (2023). Pal, S. et al. Science 385, 877–883 (2024). Zhang, Z. et al. Science 387, 297–303 (2025). Liu, X. et al. Nat. Sustain. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-026-01776-0 (2026). Walter, K. et al. Adv. Mat. 37, e10463 (2025). Stamp, C.-H., Stumpp, J. & Calvino, C. Adv. Mat. 37, 2414308 (2025). Schmidt, G. et al. Adv. Sustain. Syst. 3, 1900077 (2019). Wilson, M. C. et al. Adv. Mat. 34, 2308790 (2024). Westerman, C. R., McGill, B. C. & Wilker, J. J. Nature 621, 306–311 (2023). Chamas, A. et al. ACS Sustain. Chem. Eng. 8, 3494–3511 (2020). Author information Authors and Affiliations Corresponding author Ethics declarations Competing interests J.J.W. has a financial interest in Mussel Polymers Inc., which has licensed adhesive technologies from Purdue University. J.J.W. is a co-inventor on five patent applications for bio-based adhesives for a variety of applications. Rights and permissions About this article Cite this article Wilker, J.J. The invisible sustainability problem of glues and how to solve it. Nat Sustain 9, 340–342 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-026-01789-9 Published: Version of record: Issue date: DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-026-01789-9