Recycled plastics are not safe if the chemicals used in creating them in the first place are harmful.
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Articles on Recycled plastics
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As a sustainability researcher, I know how quickly we could make big changes to reduce plastic pollution. Here’s what we – both individually and globally – should be doing more of, and what to avoid.
Researchers have developed a method for producing strong plastic materials by tweaking the chemical structure of superglue.
The recovery rate from construction and demolition waste has been rising steadily in Australia. However, the use of recycled materials is still not the norm across the construction industry.
Apartments have lower waste recycling rates than houses, which means the growing numbers of apartment dwellers could add to Australia’s waste management crisis. But there are solutions to the problem.
Increasing recycled-fibre clothing offerings should not absolve the fashion industry from the urgent need to reduce production overall.
A year after China stopped accepting most scrap material exports, other Asian countries are following Beijing’s lead, forcing wealthy nations to find domestic solutions for managing their wastes.
Biodegradable bags still strong enough to carry shopping after three years in the ground show that ‘biodegradability’ isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
Truly green plastic requires more than sustainable raw materials.
Magnets, air blowers, centrifuges, crushers: your recyclables go through a lot before they get turned into something else.
Tonnes of plastic end up in the ocean each year, but a switch away from petroleum-based products to bio-derived and degradable composites could lessen marine pollution.
Top contributors
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Associate Deputy Vice Chancellor, Research & Innovation, College of Design & Social Context, RMIT University
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Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Business, Law and Art, Southern Cross University
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Professor of Sustainable Development, Keele University
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Lecturer, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University
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Professor of Global Environmental Politics, University of California, Berkeley
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Professor of materials science and engineering, University of Waikato
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Research Chair, Indigenous Approaches to Environmental Management, Keele University
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Senior Lecturer, School of Property, Construction and Project Management, RMIT University
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Associate Dean and Head of Project Management, RMIT University
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PhD Researcher, Centre for Sustainable Chemical Technologies, University of Bath
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DECRA Fellow, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University
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Associate professor, University of Technology Sydney
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Graduate Research Assistant, Boise State University
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Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Boise State University
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Associate Professor, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg
