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.
Switching to biodegradable plastics could slash toxic pollution by more than a third and dramatically reduce global waste by mid-century, but only if cities and companies invest in the right disposal systems, a Yale School ...
Environment
Jan 28, 2026
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Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientists have developed a patented breakthrough system that marks a major step forward in insect biomanufacturing, waste reduction and sustainable protein production.
Biotechnology
Jan 27, 2026
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149
The adverse health impacts associated with emissions across the full life cycle of plastics could double by 2040 unless immediate action is taken, new research suggests. The study identified health harms at every stage of ...
Environment
Jan 27, 2026
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If there's one material that defines modern life more than any other, it's plastic: present from the moment we're born in newborn stool, in product packaging, in the soil beneath our feet and the air we breathe.
Environment
Jan 22, 2026
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515
Excavated soil from construction sites usually ends up in landfills, but it has great potential. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) show how excavated soil can be enriched with organic waste so that it ...
Environment
Jan 13, 2026
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Plastic is everywhere in modern society. While it has paved the way for enormous progress, the pollution it leaves behind is now creating major challenges.
Environment
Jan 12, 2026
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The small, spongy black beads used as fill material in most artificial turf fields are called crumb rubber, which has long been touted as a major win for recycling. However, conflicting studies have alternately identified ...
Environment
Jan 12, 2026
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With an estimated 30–40% of the United States' food supply ending up as waste, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, food science and horticulture experts teamed up to study if it could lay the foundation for ...
Biotechnology
Jan 9, 2026
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851
In the last century, synthetic fertilizers have changed the face of the planet. The current world population might be halved if not for this useful development.
Environment
Jan 7, 2026
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Like much of the Western world, Canada is facing a crisis in waste disposal as landfills reach their capacity. In Ontario, a live countdown gives municipal landfills just eight more years before they are full. We urgently ...
Environment
Dec 25, 2025
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