The Victorian government is auditing every recycling facility in the state after a disastrous fire at Coolaroo. It raises a bigger issue: we don't know how many plants Australia has or where they are.
What will we do for bin liners now?
AAP Image/James Ross
Banning single-use plastic bags makes sense, as long as it doesn't usher in behaviours that are just as bad, or worse – like over-using heavier bags made of even more plastic.
What if you had somewhere quick and easy to put food waste, instead of being blamed for wasting it?
Gary Perkin/Shutterstock
Many people are confused about what they can and can't recycle, and whether they need to clean everything before it goes in the bin. The best plan is to check the details with your local council.
Larvae of longhorn beetle feeding on pine stump.
Michał Filipiak
Plastics pose a major threat to seabirds and other animals, and most don't ever break down - they just break up. Every piece of petrochemical-derived plastic ever made still exists on the planet.
Plant worker at Gorham Paper & Tissue, Gorham, New Hampshire, 2015.
Erikabarker/Wikipedia
Gary M. Scott, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry
Pulp and paper production is a major industry with a large environmental footprint. Recently, though, paper companies have worked to reduce pollution and promote sustainable forestry and recycling.
This episode explores how one person's waste can be another's treasure. We talk to scientists trying to eke something useful out of big piles of rubbish and discuss making the economy more circular.
Pollution and debris off the Sri Lankan coast.
David Jones/plasticoceans.org
Coating paper with an inexpensive thin film can allow users to print and erase a physical page as many as 80 times. That reduces both the cost and the environmental effects of paper use.
Recycling, rental, durability: How three strategies from the "circular economy" can help automobile manufacturers reduce waste and improve profitability, all while helping preserve the environment
With the addition of minarets, Hagia Sophia was converted from a Christian basilica to an Islamic mosque.
Candace Richards
Adaptive reuse and recycling of heritage architecture may be all the rage, but are not new. Making new buildings from old has a long history in the ancient world.
