New California bill aims to bring reality to recycling logos
If you look around at just about everything made of plastic in your home, as well as most paper products and anything that contains just about anything, the odds are you’ll see that ubiquitous three arrow triangle on the item’s label or embossed somewhere. Now, many of us think this is just a Read More...
Four strategies to make solar panels even more sustainable
Solar energy is a renewable source with fairly high reliability and scalability, but even the best solutions have some drawbacks. In the case of solar, the panels themselves are emissions-intensive to produce and require mined silicon, glass, and aluminum. As we continue to improve the Read More...
This eco-friendly energy storage device is made from tropical fruit waste
While your local grocery store most likely doesn’t have any tamarinds in its fresh produce aisle, the tropical fruit is consumed in great quantities in Asia, where the fruit’s bulky shells usually end up in landfills after they’ve been discarded. In a bid to find a better use for this Read More...
This sleek compostable lamp is made from discarded orange peels
Earlier this year, we wrote about how the city of Sevilla, Spain, is using leftover oranges to generate clean energy. Driven by the same mission to turn waste from citrus into something useful, Milan-based startup Krill Design has 3D printed orange peels into a sleek, compostable lamp, dubbed Read More...
MIT scientists recycle plastic bags to develop a new sustainable fabric
Plastic grocery bags are one of the most pernicious types of plastic waste. Now, scientists say they have developed a technique that could recycle plastic bags into the fabrics of the future. MIT researchers have come up with a method that can transform polyethylene into lightweight fabrics that Read More...
Retired wind turbine blades get reincarnated into bridges and railway links
Even renewable energy has waste byproducts that become a major recycling problem for the industry. Many wind turbine blades are reaching the end of their lifespan, and plenty more are taken out of service early to be replaced by blades that can produce more energy. This means that by 2023, Read More...
This innovative plant proves that polystyrene isn't impossible to recycle after all
Did you know that styrene naturally occurs in foods like strawberries and cinnamon? It’s only when it’s combined with other chemicals to create packaging and foam insulation to protect fragile items in transit does it become polystyrene — that white, staticky, and virtually Read More...
This UK initiative will pay you to recycle flexible plastic
Flexibility is considered an all-around positive thing, but when you put the words “flexible” and “plastic” together, the meaning has a far more negative connotation. Flexible plastic, also called soft plastic, is what most plastic bags, wrappers, pouches, packets, and sachets are made of. Read More...
Circular rugs: Scientists develop innovative process to recycle carpets
Though they may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of trash, carpets make up over 4 billion pounds of waste in American landfills — that’s 3.5 percent of all landfill waste in the entire country. Whether they end up in landfills or burned at the end of their life, carpets Read More...
Networks of recycled waste heat to help keep UK homes warm
The heating of homes in the UK accounts for almost a third of the country’s total carbon emissions. This means that finding greener ways to heat homes is key to achieving the government’s goal of bringing emissions down to net-zero by 2050. In an effort to reach that ambitious target, UK Read More...