Recycling

Ever wonder what happens to those old Teflon-coated frying pans? Not a lot. Most get chucked into landfills. However, a new recycling technique developed by Japan's National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST) promises 100% effectiveness.

While we're used to seeing cigarette butts littering public roads, such butts may soon be making their way into those roads, strengthening them in the process. It's all part of a recycling effort, which should also reduce the need for road repairs.

Researchers at the University of Portsmouth in the UK have developed a way to use powdered discarded glass in building blocks for construction, which could make this versatile material a lot more sustainable.

Pirelli has launched its first full production tires with over 70% bio-based and recycled materials. The new line of P Zero tires was developed for Jaguar Land Rover, and include Forest Stewardship Council certification for natural rubber.

There may be a new use for that urine you've been so thoughtlessly flushing. Scientists say it could be an alternate source of a valuable bone- and tooth-repair material, with a little help from a genetically modified type of yeast.

Recycling wind turbine blades is hard because they're built to weather the elements for decades. Researchers have devised a way to use discarded blades to create strong and durable plastics – without resorting to the use of harsh chemicals.

It isn't easy to recycle high-voltage batteries from electric cars, but Porsche wants to take a stab at it. The plan: extract raw materials from old EV batteries to make fresh ones for its own electric models.

Lego is the largest tire manufacturer by volume in the world – even though its tires are among the smallest on the planet. The Danish toy company is now making those tires out of recycled materials like fishing nets, engine oil, and rope.

It's both challenging and crucial to recycle wind turbine blades, because they are built to last decades and don't degrade quickly in landfills. An Australian firm has hit upon a radical solution: it's turning those old fins into surfboards.

Old, discarded wind turbine blades don't biodegrade. They do, however, float if sealed. Finnish startup Reverlast is capitalizing on that fact, by taking end-of-use blades and converting them into stylish floating docks.

Although it is possible to recycle Plexiglass, it's a complex and inefficient process, so it generally just isn't done. A simple new technique, however, is claimed to break the plastic down into all of its building blocks for near-complete recycling.

While it's great that many types of paper can now be recycled, textile waste is still mostly dumped or burned. A new technique could change that by combining the two materials, using discarded cotton clothing to boost the strength of packaging paper.