Plastic recycling remains a 'myth': Greenpeace study

Plastic recycling rates are declining even as production shoots up, according to a Greenpeace U.S. report out Monday that blasted industry claims of creating an efficient, circular economy as "fiction."

The mighty Nile, threatened by waste, warming, mega-dam

Early one morning in Cairo, volunteers paddle their kayaks across the Nile, fishing out garbage from the mighty waterway that gave birth to Egyptian civilisation but now faces multiple threats.

Scientists make renewable plastic from carbon dioxide and plants

Stanford scientists have discovered a novel way to make plastic from carbon dioxide (CO2) and inedible plant material, such as agricultural waste and grasses. Researchers say the new technology could provide a low-carbon ...

Polyethylene waste could be a thing of the past

An international team of experts undertaking fundamental research has developed a way of using polyethylene waste (PE) as a feedstock and converted it into valuable chemicals, via light-driven photocatalysis.

Will 3-D printing launch a new industrial revolution?

Peter Schmitt, an MIT doctoral student, printed a clock in 2009. He didn't print an image of a clock on a piece of paper. He printed a three-dimensional clock -- an eight-inch diameter plastic timekeeping device with moving ...

Are ecobricks the answer to plastic pollution?

The use of single-use plastics in households has become a pariah. Many people are trying to reduce the use of single-use plastics or to recycle them. One such innovation is creating "ecobricks"—filling empty two-litre plastic ...

Sustainable 'plastics' are on the horizon

A new Tel Aviv University study describes a process to make bioplastic polymers that don't require land or fresh water—resources that are scarce in much of the world. The polymer is derived from microorganisms that feed ...

How to turn plastic waste in your recycle bin into profit

People will recycle if they can make money doing so. In places where cash is offered for cans and bottles, metal and glass recycling has been a great success. Sadly, the incentives have been weaker for recycling plastic. ...

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