Trump's plan to slap $200 billion more in tariffs on Chinese goods is premised on yesterday's waste-fueled economy. Tomorrow's economy is 'circular.'
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Articles on Recycling
Displaying 1 - 20 of 116 articles
Old landfills could be, quite literally, untapped gold mines.
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.
In 2015, over 320 million tons of polymers, excluding fibers, were manufactured across the globe.
Every day we throw away plastic and every day we're reminded of its environmental impact. Why can't something be done about it?
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.
Plastic bags are commonly mistaken for food by sea animals. They require a lot of energy and resources to be made, and have caused floods in some countries.
You might know expanded polystyrene as packing foam, but it's a nightmare to recycle. Why not just turn it into something useful (or beautiful) instead?
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but plastic straws are ruining the ocean.
The residents of Freetown Christiania have lived by degrowth values for decades.
Waste byproducts from rice and glass combined with fungus can create a construction material with the potential to save lives and the planet.
Illegal dumping is costing governments millions – but satellite technology could help put a stop to it.
If the US were to stop dumping these valuable metals in landfills and to cease exporting them as cheap scrap, its imports could fall, and there would be less of these metals being made from scratch.
In Asia, human hair is sold and recycled into products, but in the West it is treated with either disgust or veneration. A new exhibition explores our bizarre attitudes to hair.
Health care produces 7% of Australia's carbon emissions. And hospitals produce about half of this. Not to mention all the single-use items thrown away every day.
No amount of post-consumer recycling can recoup the waste generated before consumers purchase their devices.
Plastic can only be recycled a few times before it becomes useless. But even non-recyclable plastic can be used to help produce petrol and diesel. Could this process help overcome the recycling crisis?
Top contributors
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Research Consultant, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney
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Lecturer, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University
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Professor of Resource Futures, University of Technology Sydney
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Research Director, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney
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Senior Research Consultant, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney
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Birkbeck, University of London
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Reader in Geography and Environmental Politics, Keele University
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Research associate, Nottingham Trent University
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Lecturer in Environmental Science, Keele University
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Director, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney
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Personal Chair (Chair Professor), Institute for Frontier Materials, Deakin University
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Lecturer, Curtin University
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André Stephan is a Friend of The Conversation.
Lecturer in Architectural Engineering, University of Melbourne
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Professor and Director of the Centre for Sustainable Materials Research and Technology (SMaRT), UNSW
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Research Scientist, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania
