Circularity
Understanding the value of a circular economy and identifying circular solutions are essential to changing our world for good. Circularity, or the zero-waste principle of keeping materials in a closed loop and away from landfills and incinerators, is the future. Find out about the latest innovations and solutions accelerating the transition towards a circular economy in the articles here from The Optimist Daily.
Beyond recycling: plastic can be eaten!
Single use plastic waste is one of the largest problems facing humanity. According to Greenpeace, over 6.3 billion tons of plastic waste have been created and discarded, with only 9 percent of that number being recycled. This isn’t necessarily due to a lack of effort; plastics like polyethylene 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...
Scottish distillery unveils transport fleet that runs on whiskey waste
Like an increasing number of businesses around the world, whiskey giant Glenfiddich recently pledged to reduce its footprint on the environment. With that goal in mind, the company started adapting its delivery trucks to run on low-emission biofuel created from its own whiskey waste. Adopting a Read More...
This book made of recycled plastic features letters to future generations
At this point, we can all agree that our take-make-use-dispose model of consumption has been nothing but harmful for the planet and that it’s about time we part ways with one of the biggest contributors to this problem — single-use plastics. A creative agency in Vietnam, called Ki Saigon, Read More...
This campaign wants to remove single-use plastics from the big screen
Have you ever noticed that characters in your favorite movies and TV shows tend to use a lot of single-use plastics? Whether it’s a busy professional grabbing a cup of coffee on the go or an athlete drinking out of a plastic water bottle, modern media definitely normalizes the consumption of 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...
This toilet turns South Korean students’ poop into cryptocurrency
We live in a world driven by consumerism. So, it’s fitting that Cho Jae-weon, an urban and environmental engineering professor and researcher at the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), has invented a toilet that turns what’s been literally consumed into green energy, Read More...
True green fashion means just using less
Clothing rental and exchange companies certainly have their time and place; for example, if you need a dress for a special occasion or if your kids are growing out of their clothes faster than you can buy new ones. However, a new study published in Environmental Research Letters reminds us that Read More...
Apple co-founder advocates for right to repair policies
In Europe, right to repair laws are ensuring that customers don’t have to buy new goods when something breaks 一 saving them money and reducing waste. Many environmentalists and consumer advocates are urging the US and other countries to adopt similar measures, and want companies to step up to Read More...
This startup makes petrochemicals from captured CO2
Petrochemicals, chemicals made from fossil fuels, are present in an estimated 6,000 products (and probably more), but Bay Area startup Twelve thinks there is a better way to produce these chemicals. And maybe even help the planet while they’re at it. Rather than sourcing petrochemicals from Read More...