Professor Veena Sahajwalla’s innovative thinking has led to the idea of “green ceramics” — products made from technology that is set to revolutionise manufacturing and the way we furnish our homes.
World Recycling
Plastic packaging innovations get recyclability nods
A slew of packaging products – a plastic aerosol can, multi-layer HDPE bottle, bottle and film labels – recently received recognition for their compatibility with plastics recycling processes.
Coca-Cola company trials first paper bottle
Coca-Cola is to test a paper bottle. The prototype is made from an extra-strong paper shell that still contains a thin plastic liner, but the goal is to create a 100% recyclable, plastic-free bottle capable of preventing gas escaping.
Michelin announces first tyre recycling plant
Tyre producer Michelin is beginning construction on its first tyre recycling plant in collaboration with Enviro, a Swedish company that has developed a patented technology to recover carbon black, oil, steel and gas from end-of-life tyres.
Plastic waste not just a ‘developing country problem’
Practically nowhere on Earth has been untouched by plastics. This difficult-to-destruct material has been found at the furthest extremes of our planet, from the top of Mount Everest to the bottom of the world’s deepest ocean trench.
Opera singer swaps arias for recycling to ensure waste efforts hit the right note
Former opera singer Rachel Ordonez heads a dedicated team of sorters at Christchurch’s Riverside Market, working throughout the week to ensure tenants sort their waste properly and any re-usable items are recycled.
Volkswagen begins battery recycling pilot project
Volkswagon has begun a pilot to recycle its electric car batteries. “Our goal is to create our own circular process in which more than 90 percent of each of our batteries is recycled,” says Thomas Tiedje, head of technical planning.
The world’s most littered item
Cigarette butts are the most littered item in the world, with an estimated 4.5 trillion littered annually. Each butt can take 5 to 400 years to completely break down.
WRAP launches second round of £1.4 million circular plastics grant programme
The funding is in partnership with UKRI, and will award up to £150,000 to projects which “trial ways to implement refill infrastructure”. The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has announced the second round of its £1.4 million grant funding
5 best recycling practices from around the world
UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12 sets out the need to foster sustainable and environmentally-responsible consumption and production patterns. Within the scope of this goal, one of the key strategies that countries need to embrace is the so-called “three Rs”
What does the future hold for reusables post-Covid?
From reusable coffee cups to circular packaging solutions, packaging-free shops to refillable water bottles, it appeared as if the tide was beginning to change, albeit slowly, away from single-use towards reusables before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Cup and bottle waste – reducing efforts
The number of disposable coffee cups used in Queenstown could begin to tumble thanks to one of six initiatives granted council funding to reduce waste. Queenstown-Lakes District Council general manager property and infrastructure Peter Hansby said the $60,000 Waste Minimisation