Recycling

Scallops' soft bodies are well-protected by their hard shells, so … could those same shells protect human heads? That question was asked by the Japanese designers of the Shellmet, which is a helmet made partially of scallop shells.

Greenhouse gases and plastic waste are two of the biggest environmental problems the world faces today. A new reactor from Cambridge tackles both at once, converting CO2 and used plastic bottles into useful materials, powered entirely by sunlight.

Loose plastic bags can be a hassle to store for recycling, plus they may blow away and become litter if they're left outside at the recycling depot. The Clear Drop SPC is made to help, by compressing loads of your bags into compact bricks.

Advances in chemistry continue to bring new materials into the realm of recyclability, and new work from a research team at the University of Michigan has taken aim at one of the most problematic to reuse.

A new report has looked at activity at a broad range of recycling facilities across the US and found that the vast majority of plastic waste generated by households wound up in landfill, with less than 5% actually recycled.

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.

In a bid to reduce the environmental burden associated with both the manufacturing and disposal of plastics, scientists have demonstrated a new upcycling technique that turns one common form of it into another.

Although there are now a number of systems that capture carbon emissions from smokestacks, many people may still wonder – what is that captured carbon used for? Well, Swiss company On is making shoes out of the stuff.

While many companies claim that their products contain recycled (as opposed to 100% virgin) plastic, how can we know if they're telling the truth? According to a new study, a fluorescent molecule could blow the whistle on manufacturers who are lying.

As compared to traditional agriculture, hydroponic farming uses less space and less water, plus it requires no soil. It still does require a growth medium, though – and scientists have recently created a better such medium, derived from human hair.

Although discarded printer cartridges may be low on toner, they still do contain some toner which can't simply be reused in its present form. Instead, Canon has started recycling it into a pelletized asphalt colorant and binding agent.

Polystyrene is a problematic material when it comes to recycling, but a team of Virginia Tech researchers is hoping to change this with a novel method that turns it into a product of relatively high value.