Read the full story at The Hustle.
Hotel guests leave behind millions of half-used bars of soap every day. A nonprofit is on a mission to repurpose them.
Category: Circular economy
Stem sell: An often-discarded mushroom part becomes a natural preservative
Read the full story at Food Engineering.
Startup Chinova Bioworks transforms mushroom stem fiber into a clean-label additive for food and beverage processing.
Working out the details of a circular solar economy
Read the full story from NREL.
A new software model helps researchers consider what to do with end-of-life solar modules, guiding society toward a circular economy for these materials.
Colorado set to become first state with right-to-repair wheelchair law
Read the full story in the Colorado Sun. See also Wheelchairs break often and take a long time to fix, leaving millions stranded from WBUR to better understand why this is important.
Repairing powered wheelchairs can be a long and costly process. But a new bill would require manufacturers to make it easier for owners and independent repairers to make fixes.
Trash or recycling? Why plastic keeps us guessing.
Read the full story in the New York Times.
Did you know the ♻ symbol doesn’t mean something is actually recyclable? Play our trashy garbage-sorting game. Then, read on about how we got here, and what can be done.
Tire dumps and aging mattresses may soon be relics of the past
Read the full story from Northwestern University.
Despite research and policy efforts, recycling initiatives have skidded on more complex materials like tires and mattresses, filling dumps and natural land across the country. Now, Northwestern University researchers have used simple chemistry to address long-standing barriers associated with recycling about a quarter of today’s plastics — materials that Northwestern’s John Torkelson say hold a tremendous amount of embedded energy.
Apple is now using more recycled products than ever – even gold
Read the full story at Tech Radar.
Apple has expanded the use of recycled materials and rare metals in the iPhone, Mac, and other devices as part of its efforts to reduce the environmental impact of its products.
For the first time Apple has introduced certified recycled gold into its supply chain and has doubled the use of recycled tungsten, rare earth elements and cobalt.
German experts closer to silicon PV recycling solution
Read the full story at Recycling International.
Around 10 000 tonnes of silicon from used solar panels is scrapped in Germany every year. There is no commercial recycling solution for the material but researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute are working on one.
A new brick building in Manhattan is made of 577,367 pounds of recycled waste
Read the full story from Fast Company.
Bricks in The West’s facade were made from industrial and construction waste—the first time this product has been used in the U.S.
Del Monte Foods doubles down on upcycled foods by reusing pineapple juice
Read the full story at Food Dive.
UPDATE: April 20, 2022: Del Monte Foods said its Del Monte Gut Love and Boost Me Fruit Infusions have been declared Upcycled Certified by the Upcycled Food Association, the latest of the company’s offerings to receive the designation.
The canned fruit and vegetable company estimated the products will redirect about 130,000 pounds of pineapple juice each year, helping to provide nutritious and affordable food while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The liquid comes from pineapple used in Gut Love, Boost Me and other products.
Del Monte Foods has announced what it said is the industry’s first canned vegetable product to be certified by the Upcycled Food Association under its new upcycled certification program.
The company’s Blue Lake Petite Cut and Blue Lake Farmhouse Cut Green Beans are made with 100% upcycled and sustainably grown green beans from Wisconsin and Illinois. Both products have been on the market for years. Del Monte said it is looking into reflecting the new certification on future cans.
Del Monte is among countless other companies in the CPG space looking to curtail product waste and find new ways to use foods that would otherwise be thrown out as the issue becomes more important to shoppers.
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