Waste

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.

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.

Swedish bike maker Vélosophy has used hundreds of thousands of used coffee pods to produce a line of stylish urban bikes.

​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.

Scientists at the University of Exeter have turned to Twitter for a better picture of the effect ocean plastics are having on sharks and rays. Summing these reports, they identified more than 1,000 individual sharks and rays seen entangled in ocean waste.

​Although glass is thought of as being eco-friendly because it's recyclable, the fact is that a lot of it doesn't get recycled. Now, however, scientists are suggesting that glass waste could be used to make concrete that's stronger and cheaper.

​Although many people throw milk away once it reaches its "best before" date, the fact is that the milk will still likely be good for several more days. In order to eliminate such waste, scientists at Cornell University are designing a "smart" carton.

​Although glass IS recyclable, the recycling process is generally limited to large pieces that can be easily sorted by color. Because it's not worth the effort to sort smaller fragments, they tend to simply be discarded. A new process, however, can convert them into a useful substance.

Recreational boaters looking to offload waste from sewage tanks can make a pit stop at pump-out stations on the marina, but there are also boats that can take away stored sewage. And the vessel recently delivered to Branford, Connecticut, is somewhat cleaner than most.

With 150 projects from the world’s leading design schools on show, the Global Grad Show in Dubai is an annual celebration of all the creativity student design has to offer. New Atlas was on the ground at this year’s edition to sniff out the brightest ideas.

​​The ways modern science has harnessed the waste products of the human body for good may surprise. Now a team from the University of Cape Town has developed what it says is the world’s first biological brick made with human urine, with the strength able to be tweaked to serve a range of needs.​

​It has been a long journey for the Ocean Cleanup Project, but after years of development and a 1,300-plus-mile trip through the open water, its first system is now installed at the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the single biggest accumulation of ocean plastics in the world.