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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Scientists from the National University of Singapore have found a new use for cotton-based fabric waste – they've devised a method of converting it into an aerogel. Among other things, the ultralight material could be used to keep water bottles cold, and to control bleeding from deep wounds.
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The perks of a cup of coffee don’t have to end when the grounds are dumped in the trash. Now a London-based company has partnered with Shell to turn the leftovers from this human go-juice into biofuel to help run the English capital’s expansive bus network.
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Discarded printer cardtridges can still contain up to 8 percent residual toner by weight. Not only is this wasteful, but the toner can also leach into landfill soil. Now, however, scientists have devised a method of recycling it into iron.
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