Waste treatment and disposal encompasses the engineered processes and systems used to manage solid, liquid, and gaseous wastes to minimize environmental and human health impacts. It includes physical, chemical, and biological treatment methods such as sedimentation, filtration, adsorption, oxidation–reduction, incineration, composting, anaerobic digestion, and advanced thermal or physicochemical processes, often integrated with resource recovery (e.g., energy, nutrients, materials). Disposal refers to the final placement of residuals in landfills, deep-well injection, or other long-term containment systems designed with liners, leachate collection, gas management, and monitoring to control emissions, prevent groundwater contamination, and ensure regulatory compliance.
Microfiber pollution from large-scale laundry operations is emerging as a significant and largely unseen environmental issue. New research led by the University of Portsmouth is using Cleaner Seas Group's industrial filtration ...
Environment
Apr 18, 2026
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When 240 million gallons of raw sewage spilled into the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., starting in mid-January 2026 and running through mid-March, it was estimated to be the largest sewage spill in U.S. history. But it ...
Environment
Apr 16, 2026
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40
The Environmental Protection Agency is reconsidering whether facilities that recycle plastic chemically should be held to the same strict air pollution standards as incinerators.
Environment
Apr 15, 2026
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Nutrients recovered from animal and human waste could drastically reduce synthetic fertilizer use in the U.S., according to a new Cornell University study that takes into account real-world implementation challenges like ...
Biotechnology
Apr 15, 2026
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970
Microplastics and nanoplastics are tiny plastic particles that result from the breakdown of larger plastic products due to sunlight, waves, and other environmental conditions. In recent years, these particles have been increasingly ...
Environment
Apr 14, 2026
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217
Human urine—often flushed away without thought—could be key to making agriculture and wastewater treatment more sustainable and energy efficient, according to new research from the University of Surrey. Although urine only ...
Environment
Apr 14, 2026
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After a successful trip around the moon, everything has been going smoothly on the Orion spacecraft's journey back to Earth—except for the $23 million toilet, which has gotten clogged.
Space Exploration
Apr 9, 2026
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41
Billions of tons of carbon dioxide are being classified as "dealt with" in global climate plans before anyone can know whether that is true. UT Researcher Rosalie Arendt has given a name to this problem in a new Correspondence ...
Environment
Apr 7, 2026
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33
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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29
A new study shows that systems designed to capture methane from cow manure, called dairy digesters, are highly effective. But on the rare occasions they fail, the leaks are large enough to offset their climate benefits.
Environment
Mar 31, 2026
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