Recyclable

Plastics are made to last, which is great while they’re being used but not so great after they’re discarded. Chemists have now developed a new kind of plastic that has all the durability of regular plastic, but biodegrades within months or even days.

Plastic waste is one of the most pressing environmental problems of our time. Now, engineers at MIT have developed an effective new catalyst that breaks down mixed plastics into propane, which can then be burned as fuel or used to make new plastic.

Early last month, Siemens Gamesa reported that recyclable turbine blades had been successfully installed at the Kaskasi offshore wind farm in the North Sea. Now the company has announced the market availability of an onshore equivalent.

Consumer electronics giant Acer has released a new Chromebook that could have you turning a little green – not with envy, but in an eco-friendly sense. The Vero 514 makes use of recycled and recyclable materials, while also embracing repairability.

Siemens Gamesa has developed a fully recyclable blade that can be used to create new products when its wind-catching days are done, and it's just been installed on a turbine at a commercial wind farm in the North Sea.

Plastics are tough, which is great when in use but not so good in the environment. Scientists have developed a new PET-like plastic derived from waste plant matter that can be chemically recycled or degrade into harmless sugars in the environment.

Nike looks to make shoe recycling simpler with its new ISPA Link, a glue-less sneaker that quickly separates into three pieces to presort itself for recycling. The company hopes to scale the program to make sneaker recycling a more universal concept.

While the recycling of paper is all very well and good, reusing it is even better. A new pollen-based paper was designed with this fact in mind, as text can be printed onto it and then chemically erased multiple times.

While all non-recyclable plastics aren't very eco-friendly, expanded polystyrene foam is particularly problematic, as it's bulky and often used in disposable packaging. It could be replaced by a new biodegradable material, however, made from sawdust.

Not only are most thermoset resins made from non-renewable sources, but they're also hard to recycle. Scientists have set about addressing those problems, by developing a new lignin-based, thermoset-like material that can be reused several times.

Although carbon fiber can be repaired and recycled to a certain extent, it's typically just discarded once damaged. According to a recent study, however, a new type of the material can be easily fixed or reused through the simple application of heat.

In most grocery stores, all of the fresh produce is either pre-wrapped in plastic film or it gets placed in plastic bags – both of which are often discarded by consumers. A new bioactive paper bag, however, could serve the same purpose while being easily recyclable.