Menu Close

Articles on Waste management

Displaying 21 - 40 of 63 articles

Packaging for consumer products represents a large share of U.S. solid waste, and barely half of it is recycled. iStock via Getty Images

Packaging generates a lot of waste – now Maine and Oregon want manufacturers to foot the bill for getting rid of it

Maine and Oregon have enacted laws that require makers of consumer product packaging to pay for recycling or disposing of it. Will other states follow?
Situated on a plateau and surrounded by mountains, Mexico City – seen here in a haze on May 20, 2018 – is a ‘bowl’ that traps smog and dust. AP Photo/Marco Ugarte

Mexico City buried its rivers to prevent disease and unwittingly created a dry, polluted city where COVID-19 now thrives

The Aztecs had a shining city on a lake, with canals, causeways and aqueducts – until the Spanish came. Mexico City is still suffering the consequences of their bad public health decisions.
A discarded medical glove in Jersey City, N.J., April 27, 2020. Arturo Holmes/Getty Images

COVID-19 is laying waste to many US recycling programs

The COVID-019 pandemic has boosted use of disposable packaging and personal protective equipment, at the same time that many recycling programs are facing budget cuts. The upshot: More plastic trash.
Melbourne is one Australian city that’s moving to improve its waste management and reduce its reliance on trucks to collect waste. TK Kurikawa/Shutterstock

As cities grow, the Internet of Things can help us get on top of the waste crisis

Cities around the world are struggling to manage their mountains of waste. We can use the Internet of Things for smart waste systems that collect, sort, reuse and recycle most of what is thrown out.
Building construction and demolition create enormous amounts of waste and much of it goes into landfill. Sytilin Pavel/Shutterstock

We create 20m tons of construction industry waste each year. Here’s how to stop it going to landfill

China has put the onus back on Australia to take responsibility for our waste, and Germany has shown us the way with extended producer responsibility for construction and demolition waste.

Top contributors

More