Recycling

It takes a lot of raw material to manufacture a car, so if some of that material comes from eco-friendly sources … so much the better. European scientists are going one step further, utilizing agricultural waste that would otherwise be discarded.

The bananas that we buy in stores grow off of a central trunk-like structure, known as the pseudostem. And while that part of the plant is typically discarded during harvesting, it may soon find use in a plastic that biodegrades and is recyclable.

According to Queen's University Belfast, EU breweries dispose of about 3.4 million tons of spent grain every year. That could be about to change, though, as scientists at the university have created a method of converting that waste into charcoal.

Although chemicals, foods and other odorous substances are often sold in recyclable plastic containers, sometimes the smells absorbed by the plastic make it unsuitable for recycling. A new process, however, is claimed to get the stink out.

Concrete is made of a combination of cement, an aggregate such as gravel, and water. If that mixture dries too fast, then cracks can form within it as it cures. Now, however, scientists have determined that the use of coal-ash spheres can help keep that from happening.

Some solar panel components are more easily recycled than others, and scientists in Australia may have just figured out how to repurpose one of the trickiest and most valuable: the silicon that serves as its semiconductor.

In the chemical-production industry, energy-intensive processes are constantly being used to remove unwanted molecules from liquids. It now looks like much of that energy could be saved, however, by utilizing filters made from plastic bottles.

A new juice kiosk recycles its own orange peels into the cups used by the customers.

The UK's Matthew Perks has been running a YouTube channel for about five years, where he walks viewers through the ins and outs of making their own gadgets. For his latest project, he's rescued some broken televisions and computer monitors and turned them into artificial daylight panel lighting.

​Every day, dairies dispose of milk that for one reason or another is deemed unfit for human consumption. A Los Angeles-based startup by the name of Mi Terro is taking some of that milk and using it to create T-shirts, that reportedly have some big advantages over regular cotton Tees.

​When buildings are being insulated or torn down, a lot of waste "mineral wool"-type insulation ends up in the landfill. Thanks to new research, however, that material may soon instead find use in an improved type of construction mortar.

​Although many people do send paper off to be recycled, the recycling process isn't entirely eco-friendly – it requires a lot of power, and incorporates toxic chemicals. Now, however, scientists have developed a method of simply removing the printed text from sheets of paper, so they can be reused.