Whether plastic or natural, Christmas trees are generally bad for the environment. However, a new chemical process could recycle dead trees into all kinds of useful products.
Christmas is hectic, and it can be easy just to go with the flow and vow to cut your plastic use in the new year. But here are some easy steps you can take now to make your Christmas plastic-free.
While the world gathers to negotiate on climate change, governments must recognise the public desire for action on plastic pollution and work together to solve it.
A year ago, the world’s largest lithium-ion battery began dispatching power to South Australia’s grid. It has been a remarkable success but there are some concerns that have so far escaped scrutiny
Cleaning up plastic pollution in the ocean is good – and long overdue. But where will the waste go? Recycling isn’t always an option. Bacteria and enzymes could process it, raising new questions.
This year’s recycling crisis has prompted the federal government to pledge a move towards an economy in which materials are kept in use for as long as possible. But it still has a long way to go.
Incineration of household waste has gotten a bad name, argues an economist, who sees today’s recycling crisis as an opportunity to reconsider how the U.S. handles its waste.
To reduce the impact of its activity on the environment, a company must take into account not only the effects generated by its production, but also the end of life of its products.
Since China stopped importing ‘foreign garbage’ in March 2018, scrap – especially plastic – has built up in the US. Will this shock trigger long-overdue investments in plastic recycling here?
Research is yielding strategies for making plastics greener and more sustainable. But without support as they scale up, new versions will struggle to compete with well-established synthetic plastics.
New types of biodegradable or compostable plastic products seem to offer an alternative to conventional plastics. But they may be no better for the environment.