Diaper waste is a real problem, with an estimated 300,000 of them disposed of every single minute worldwide. Now, scientists may have come up with a solution.
World Recycling
Gamifying Sustainability: How Binpong is Turning Recycling into a Fun and Rewarding Experience
The principal goal of Binpong is to reduce landfill waste by turning recycling into a fun experience with the help of gamification.
New recycling technology deconstructs mixed plastics
A team of US chemists has found a way to convert unrecyclable mixtures of plastic into useful chemicals. Mixed materials usually end up in landfill because they are very difficult to recycle.
Your pictures on the theme of ‘recycled’
The BBC asked its readers to send in their best pictures on the theme of “recycled”. Here is a selection of the photographs we received from around the world.
Inside the UK’s biggest phone recycling facility
A study last year revealed the worth of smartphones in our drawers was £1bn, while five billion handsets were thrown away worldwide in 2022. Sky News visits a recycling facility that aims to make sure no device goes to waste.
These innovations are pulling plastic pollution out of rivers
The TrashBoom consists of floats made from standard plastic piping, attached to wire mesh barriers that resemble fencing. The mesh barrier extends down into the water to capture pieces of plastic floating below the surface.
This House Was Built Partly From Recycled Diapers
Meet the house that diapers built. Researchers have designed and erected a house that has shredded, disposable diapers mixed into its concrete and mortar.
The future of recycling could one day mean dissolving plastic with electricity
The team’s method relies on electricity and some nifty chemical reactions, and it’s simple enough that you can watch the plastic break apart in front of your eyes.
‘A real material for the future’: Could homes made of fungi?
Architects have created Lego-like bricks of fungi that could slash construction’s carbon footprint. Almost 40 per cent of annual global CO2 emissions are attributed to the built environment, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Shark in the water: This robot can collect 21,000 plastic bottles in a day
A daily feed for the WasteShark is around 500kg of debris or the equivalent of guzzling roughly 21,000 plastic bottles. Any rubbish collected in the robot’s belly is then brought back to shore, sorted and recycled or disposed of responsibly.
How Microbes Could Revolutionize Plastic Recycling
Deep in the Swiss Alps and the Arctic, scientists recently discovered microbes that can digest plastic, without the need for applying excess heat.
With a zap of electricity, recyclable (and recycling) polymers can form
A little electricity has helped a team of chemists to make sustainable polymers that could improve e-waste recycling, precious metal mining and perhaps even work as antimicrobials.