Taiwan was once known as ‘Garbage Island’. Now it’s a model of recycling success
In the ’80s and ’90s, Taiwan had one of the world’s worst urban waste problems. Its landfills overflowed and mountains of rubbish clogged street corners, earning it the unflattering moniker “Garbage Island.” Fed up with the accumulation of waste, people across the country demanded action. Read More...
Much needed US recycling bill could reduce waste and save billions
Recycling is collapsing in the US because of inconsistent and confusing labels on bins. The public confusion causes people to throw millions of tons of 'garbage' in recycling bins throughout the country, which is crippling the economics of recycling. In a landmark move, a national recycling Read More...
Kids in Indian town pay their tuition fees with plastic waste instead of money
Used plastic is usually seen as a waste product, but for the students of a school in the northeastern Indian state of Assam, it is no less than a means to acquire free education. As a way to make school more accessible and help clean up their local community, the primary school of Akshar began to Read More...
This new type of plastic could be the answer to the recycling problem
It would be ideal if the reality of recycling plastic matched the recycling symbol we are all familiar with. But the thing is that plastic frequently uses a wide variety of chemicals which make them tough to transform into a desirable end product – that’s one of the reasons why only 10 percent Read More...
MIT scientists have created a recycling robot that sorts items by touching them
Sorting recycling can be a real pain for workers, both because of safety reasons and the sheer monotony of it. Using robots to do the sourcing would be a great alternative, but they don't have the sense of touch to be able to tell the difference between a can and a cardboard tube. That is, until Read More...
Your most basic household products will soon be available in reusable containers
While many of us may want to reduce our consumption of single use plastics, it can be difficult to do so due to the lack of reusable packaging options at conventional grocery stores. The New Jersey based company, TerraCycle, is looking to change this. The company, started by young entrepreneur Tom Read More...
Scientists developed a solvent that extracts precious metals from old batteries
Considering the tendency of people to buy a new phone every couple of years, it’s no wonder there are so many leftover batteries from old cellphones. These batteries are toxic when they end up in landfills, and typically require harsh processes to recycle. Scientists at Rice University have been Read More...
IBM has come up with a quick way to recycle all kinds of plastic
The problem with recycling is quite straightforward: only a small percentage of the plastic items we throw away are recyclable. Some items such as plastic bottles can easily be repurposed, but others that use different assortment of plastic or have special coatings cannot. New solutions are needed Read More...
Roads are being built using tons of recycled plastic waste
The road to a world with less plastic waste could come in the form of, wait for it, new roads. Dow Chemical, one of the world’s largest plastic producers, has started building roads using a combination of asphalt and plastic waste. In the past month, the company has constructed two private roads Read More...
Got junk? Here are 25 brilliant ways to repurpose your old stuff
They say all good things come to an end, and that’s certainly the case when it comes to everyday items such as light bulbs and bottle caps. But instead of throwing your worn-out items away, you can give them a second life with a few basic tools and a little imagination. In fact, just about any Read More...