Recycling, as a topic, encompasses the collection, separation, processing, and reintroduction of post-consumer or post-industrial materials into manufacturing cycles to displace primary raw resources. Scientifically, it involves material-specific pathways such as mechanical and chemical recycling for polymers, re-smelting and refining for metals, and deinking and pulping for paper fibers. Research addresses process efficiency, contamination control, life cycle assessment (LCA), and system-level optimization of material flows within circular economy frameworks. Key metrics include recovery rates, material quality retention, embodied energy, and net environmental impact relative to landfilling, incineration, or virgin-material production.
A new University at Buffalo study finds that people in the United States generate similar amounts of plastic packaging waste regardless of income, education level or where they live. Yet wealthier and more college-educated ...
Environment
Apr 8, 2026
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The stockpile of German ammunition left in Norway in 1945 could have been cleared and dismantled by the Germans. Norway declined the offer and began dumping it in Lake Mjøsa and other lakes instead.
Environment
Mar 31, 2026
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28
The world is struggling to deal with ever-growing quantities of waste. A new World Bank Group report, What a Waste 3.0, shows that more than 2.6 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste (which includes rubbish from households, ...
Environment
Mar 29, 2026
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New research from a team at Trinity College Dublin has unearthed a cheap and environmentally friendly new option for removing pollutants from our water. The key? Oyster shells that would ordinarily end up in landfill sites ...
Earth Sciences
Mar 26, 2026
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Potentially harmful chemicals can contaminate untreated water used in recycling plants to clean plastics before they're processed into new products, according to a new study by an Iowa State University research group. Researchers ...
Environment
Mar 25, 2026
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Billions of dirty diapers end up buried or burned every year in Japan—more from seniors than babies—but a recycling breakthrough has given them a new lease on life, one hot mess at a time.
Environment
Mar 25, 2026
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Climate change is one of the most pressing global challenges in the present times. Increasing carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations in the atmosphere are a major factor contributing to this phenomenon. Activities such as the ...
Environment
Mar 17, 2026
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Energy-from-waste facilities are often positioned as a cleaner alternative to landfill, transforming rubbish into electricity and reducing the UK's waste burden. But new research suggests that there may be a hidden cost to ...
Environment
Mar 17, 2026
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A drug to treat Parkinson's disease can be made from waste plastic bottles using a pioneering method, a study shows. The approach harnesses the power of bacteria to transform post-consumer plastic into L-DOPA, a frontline ...
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 16, 2026
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187
A clean energy future hinges on minerals such as copper, cobalt, lithium, and rare earth elements. But the race to secure them puts pressure on the places where they are mined. With some supply and processing concentrated ...
Environment
Mar 6, 2026
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