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.
Undergraduate and graduate students took a lead role in a Virginia Tech study that analyzed global research on marine debris, uncovering surprising sources of ocean trash and pointing out solutions for a growing environmental ...
Environment
Oct 21, 2025
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18
"Reduce, reuse, recycle." For more than 50 years, those three Rs have been the world's go-to environmental mantra.
Environment
Oct 20, 2025
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34
Ever wonder what happens to those old, broken electronics after tossing them? How about how new ones are being produced despite dwindling resources? The seemingly endless supply of gadgets hides an increasingly critical problem: ...
Cell & Microbiology
Oct 17, 2025
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34
Starting university doesn't just change where students live or study; it can also lead to changing their habits. New research from the Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations (CAST) at the University of Bath ...
Environment
Oct 15, 2025
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18
A global study has found that adding biochar to organic waste composting can significantly reduce emissions of potent greenhouse gases, offering a promising pathway for sustainable waste recycling and climate change mitigation.
Agriculture
Oct 10, 2025
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35
Online supermarket shopping is fueling Britain's plastic waste crisis because packaging is less visible to consumers, according to new research from the Revolution Plastics Institute at the University of Portsmouth.
Environment
Oct 3, 2025
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40
Researchers have transformed food waste sugars into natural plastic films that could one day replace petroleum-based packaging, offering compostable alternatives to commonly used plastics for food and agricultural films like ...
Biotechnology
Oct 3, 2025
1
353
Imagine you have just finished a delicious to-go meal or morning coffee, or used the last drop of moisturizer. Without thinking too hard, you may be ready to toss another container into the trash, adding to the 82 million ...
Environment
Oct 1, 2025
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19
The accumulation and poor management of plastic fibers and particles remains a pressing global issue, with serious consequences for both human health and environmental sustainability.
Environment
Sep 29, 2025
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43
Every year, as the presses churn and the sweet smell of cider fills the autumn air, more than 4 million tons of apple byproducts are hauled off as animal feed, compost or landfill waste. But a new Cornell study offers apple ...
Biotechnology
Sep 18, 2025
2
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