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.
The circular economy—the idea of "reduce, reuse and recycle"—has long been promoted as one solution to the environmental crisis. Instead of the old "take, make, use, throw away" model, it aims to keep materials in play for ...
Environment
Sep 11, 2025
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Household waste constitutes 30–40% of municipal solid waste globally. Separating waste at the household level into compostable, recyclable, and non-recyclable is a crucial first step for local governments to process solid ...
Environment
Sep 10, 2025
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38
We extract more than 100 billion tonnes of raw materials from Earth each year, then throw most of them away. The "circular economy" offers a different approach: instead of the linear "take-make-waste" model, we could reuse, ...
Environment
Sep 8, 2025
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24
New research from WMG at the University of Warwick has found that the carbon footprint of collecting and refurbishing abandoned trolleys adds up to the equivalent of flying from London to New York and back twice.
Environment
Sep 2, 2025
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21
Need a new gaming console? Just make one yourself with an old ventilator. Got an old payment terminal? Turn it into a camera.
Environment
Aug 27, 2025
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228
All the critical minerals the U.S. needs annually for energy, defense and technology applications are already being mined at existing U.S. facilities, according to a new analysis published in the journal Science.
Earth Sciences
Aug 22, 2025
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594
Kent biosciences researchers, working closely with RentACherryTree (a small agricultural business in East Sussex), have developed an innovative way to turn waste cherries into a valuable, health-boosting food ingredient. ...
Agriculture
Aug 22, 2025
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55
When I began my research on electronic waste in Pakistan, I quickly realized how deeply it touches both our environment and our daily lives. We live in an age where technology evolves faster than ever—phones, laptops, and ...
Human waste usually gets flushed away, but instead of going down the toilet, it can help the planet and solve global fertilizer shortages, according to a new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy ...
During the COVID-19 pandemic, pharmaceutical companies produced unprecedented quantities of vaccines. This helped save millions of lives, but on the other hand, many vaccines remained unused, expired, and had to be thrown ...
Bio & Medicine
Aug 12, 2025
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