New Atlas

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World-first aerogel is made from plastic bottles, and has many potential uses

Ben Coxworth November 2, 2018

Pop bottles are one of the most common types of plastic waste, so the more ways that we can find of recycling them, the better. With that in mind, researchers at the National University of Singapore (NUS) have developed an inexpensive method of converting such bottles into a very useful aerogel.

The process, which is said to be easily scalable for mass production, can produce an A4-paper-sized ...

Environment

Reversible adhesive could boost recycling of electronics

Ben Coxworth November 1, 2018

Electronic waste is a growing problem, and if we're ever going to get on top of it, then we need to be able to recycle electronic devices as thoroughly as possible. Thanks to a new temperature-sensitive adhesive, doing so could soon be easier than ever.

According to the United Nations, 20 to 50 million metric tons (22 to 55 US tons) ...

Health & Wellbeing

Self-contained station recycles water for hand-washing

Michael Irving October 21, 2018

Water used for hand-washing is relatively easy to treat for reuse, and now engineers at ETH Zurich have built and tested a standalone hand-washing station for use in public places and developing countries that can do just that.

The BAMBi water recycling system was tested for 100 days in a public place in Zurich

3D Printing

Inexpensive houses could be 3D-printed from peat

Ben Coxworth July 10, 2018

Some of the earliest houses in Northern Europe were made out of slabs of peat, as it was a cheap and abundant building material. Now, Estonian scientists are revisiting the idea of peat houses, only this time they're looking at 3D-printing the things.

The University of Tartu's Prof. Toomas Tenno, with test pieces of the material

Materials

New polymer could make for infinitely-recyclable plastics

Michael Irving April 27, 2018

As useful as it is, plastic isn’t the most environmentally-friendly material. To try to wean us off it, chemists at Colorado State University have now developed a polymer that apparently has all the benefits, but can be easily broken down and recycled over and over.

A sample of the infinitely-recyclable polymer developed at Colorado State University

Robotics

Apple's new recycling robot takes apart 200 iPhones an hour

Ben Coxworth April 20, 2018

It's often tempting to think that if Apple had its way, iPhone users would be replacing their phones every year. As it is, there are a lot of traded-in iPhones that need recycling – and that's where the company's new Daisy robot comes in.

Materials

Recycled wood waste makes concrete stronger and more watertight

Rich Haridy April 12, 2018

A team of researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) has developed a novel new method to recycle wood waste by incorporating it into cement and mortar mixtures, making the resulting materials both stronger and more watertight.

On the left is the enhanced concrete, and on the right is a sample of biochar ...

Environment

Microfactory gives e-waste new value

Paul Ridden April 5, 2018

Electronic waste is a growing problem, and one which the University of South Wales Centre for Sustainable Materials Research and Technology has an answer to. The SMaRT project has launched the world's first microfactory designed to transform e-waste into materials that can be re-used.

Environment

Plastic Whale makes office furniture from plastic waste

Paul Ridden March 15, 2018

Plastic Whale has been scooping plastic trash from Amsterdam's canals for a number of years, and transforming it into boats to collect even more plastic. The company has now found another use for this floating environmental nightmare – office furniture.

Plastic Whale's latest venture transforms waste plastic into high-end office furniture

Materials

Carbon fiber waste used to improve water-draining concrete

Ben Coxworth March 1, 2018

Although the production of carbon fiber goods may be steadily increasing, recycling the material still remains challenging. It may soon be possible, however, to grind up carbon fiber waste and use it in new-and-improved pervious concrete.

A sample of the carbon fiber-augmented material produced by the researchers