How to turn plastic waste in your recycle bin into profit

Consumers can turn plastic waste into valuable products at minimal cost using the open source technologies associated with DRAM – distributed recycling and additive manufacturing.

Joshua M. Pearce, Wite Professor of Materials Science & Engineering, and Electrical & Computer Engineering, Michigan Technological University • conversation
Jan. 11, 2021 • ~9 min

Ranked: the environmental impact of five different soft drink containers

Here's how to quench your thirst in an environmentally responsible way.

Alice Brock, PhD Candidate in Environmental Science, University of Southampton • conversation
Nov. 17, 2020 • ~7 min

How five different drink containers affect the environment – ranked from worst to best

Here's how to quench your thirst in an environmentally responsible way.

Alice Brock, PhD Candidate in Environmental Science, University of Southampton • conversation
Nov. 17, 2020 • ~7 min

A circular economy could end waste – at the cost of our privacy

Manufacturers will increasingly track the products they sell to make recycling them more profitable.

Anitha Chinnaswamy, Assistant Professor of Computing, Coventry University • conversation
Nov. 9, 2020 • ~7 min

Plastics could help build a sustainable future – here's how

Plastics are strong, durable, waterproof, lightweight, easy to mould, and recyclable – all key properties for construction materials.

Sibele Cestari, Research Fellow in Polymeric Materials, Queen's University Belfast • conversation
Aug. 12, 2020 • ~8 min

Britain's first major recycling drive fell apart 80 years ago – it's a warning to UK government today

The 'pots to planes' appeal in the summer of 1940 helped inspire a mass recycling effort, but problems soon emerged.

Henry Irving, Senior Lecturer in Public History, Leeds Beckett University • conversation
June 26, 2020 • ~7 min

COVID-19 is laying waste to many US recycling programs

The COVID-019 pandemic has boosted use of disposable packaging and personal protective equipment, at the same time that many recycling programs are facing budget cuts. The upshot: More plastic trash.

Julie Rieland, PhD Candidate in Macromolecular Science and Engineering, University of Michigan • conversation
June 23, 2020 • ~9 min

Why we'll still need waste in a circular economy

We shouldn't try to banish waste entirely. We need to rethink it.

Julia Stegemann, Professor of Environmental Engineering, UCL • conversation
June 17, 2020 • ~6 min

Plastic: the new fantastic?

On World Environment Day, hear how Cambridge researchers are working towards eliminating plastic waste and making best use of one of the most successful materials ever invented.

Cambridge University News • cambridge
June 5, 2020 • ~2 min

What a sustainable circular economy would look like

From take-make-waste to reuse, repair and remanufacture.

Phil Purnell, Professor of Materials and Structures, University of Leeds • conversation
May 6, 2020 • ~9 min

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