The rapid evolution of society’s current linear waste management systems to one that is circular, is critical to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to reduce extraction of raw materials from nature. A new initiative to promote sustainable waste management practices, SWEEP, or the Solid Waste Environmental Excellence Performance Standard, can transform the 20th-century garbage-centered waste system into a sustainable and […]
Lithium-ion batteries are the driving force behind products that have redefined life over the past two decades, from smartphones to laptops. However, when they fail, lithium-ion batteries can cause fires that produce toxic fumes. A bulging battery is a clear sign of a malfunction that requires immediate attention. Still, you can recycle it if you handle it safely. Recycling lithium-ion […]
The escalating plastic pollution crisis and inefficiencies in the plastic recycling system have turned many against single-use plastics and led to national and state bans on some plastic packaging. Now, the fossil fuel and petrochemical industries have launched a category of plastic processing technology called chemical recycling or advanced recycling. The plastic industry describes it as a potential panacea that […]
Ah summertime, hooking up the sprinkler for the kids to run through, washing the dog in the backyard, filling up the watering can from the hose. But after dragging the hose out of the garage, some of us might notice it has cracks, holes, or leaks. You can try to repair them, but if that doesn’t work, you might be […]
Nitrile, vinyl, and latex gloves are a staple in the medical world and have become common in everyday life during the pandemic. They are not biodegradable and will endure for decades or longer in a landfill. Learning how and where to recycle them can help make more single-use gloves into downcycled products like curbside recycling bins or park benches. Gloves […]
SuperCircle, a textiles recycling startup, has cracked the circular economy code for fashion brands. Meet Chloe Songer and Stuart Ahlum, co-founders of SuperCircle, which provides clothing takeback and recycling services to leading clothing brands, including tentree, Reformation, Mate the Label, and the circular sneaker brand Thousand Fell — which Songer and Ahlum also co-founded in 2018. SuperCircle launched in 2022 […]
Robin Wiener, president of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), joins the conversation to explore the evolution of the circular economy and how the role of recycling will evolve. Today’s recycling infrastructure is closely aligned with the waste management system. There are growing signs that the reuse of products is essential and that recycling services can be built into […]
Electronic waste is a global problem. Despite the immense value of the gold and other critical minerals they contain, 80% of computers, mobile phones, tablets, laptops, and other electronics end up in landfills. But we can do better. Meet Aaron Kamenash, the founder and chief innovation officer at Camston Wrather, a Carlsbad, California, e-waste recycler that launched its first “green […]
In the U.S., the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) regulates what is permitted in landfills nationwide. There are over 1,250 landfill locations in the U.S., and beyond a few national bans on materials each state is free to create laws that specify what materials must be recycled and what cannot be accepted at landfills. The RCRA established universal bans […]
From garbage gyres that choke aquatic life to microplastics that accumulate in the human body, plastic pollution in the ocean is a huge problem. People are starting to pay attention to ocean plastic. Another type of ocean pollution still doesn’t get much notice – fiberglass. On the coasts as well as along lakes and rivers, abandoned and derelict vessels (ADVs) […]