Category: Plastics

Trash-devouring ‘sharks’ patrol the Port of Rotterdam

Read the full story from Mother Nature Network.

Rotterdam, the innovation-minded Dutch city that relies on the unexpected and the unorthodox to tackle issues such as aging infrastructure and air pollution, is at it once again.

This city’s newest left-field problem-solving scheme involves the deployment of four particularly ravenous sharks to clean up the waters surrounding the city’s sprawling seaport — the largest and busiest in Europe. True to their given status as one of ocean’s most opportunistic feeders, the sharks in question have been “trained” to gobble up marine litter and debris — plastic refuse, in particular — before it drifts out of the port and into the North Sea.

90 NGOs Asking the World to #BreakFreeFromPlastic

Read the full story at Sustainable Brands.

A network of 90 NGOs from around the world including big names such as Greenpeace, Oceana, the Story of Stuff Project, GAIA, 5Gyres and Clean Water Action have come together to launch a massive global movement to achieve a “future free from plastic pollution.” Under the banner Break Free From Plastic, the group aims to change society’s perception and use of plastics, as well as identify and pursue solutions that reduce and prevent plastic pollution.

A car made from tequila? Ford Motor Co says it’s good for the planet

Read the full story in The Guardian.

When you put tequila and cars side-by-side, the story doesn’t usually end well. But Ford is trying to change the narrative.

The car manufacturer has plans to introduce a new kind of plastic for some of its automobile parts using waste material generated by Jose Cuervo, the tequila manufacturer. Tequila is made by juicing the heart of an agave plant, a spiky desert succulent with a core composed of very strong fibers. These fibers are left over during the juicing process, and are usually thrown away or burned.

Now, Ford hopes to use these agave fibers to create a so-called bioplastic to replace synthetic materials, such as fiberglass, which are used to strengthen plastic components in cars – things such as storage bins, air-conditioning ducts and fuse boxes.

‘Sporks in space’: Bothell firm brings recycling to final frontier

Read the full story at Herald.net.

Can recycling be successfully launched in outer space?

Tethers Unlimited, Inc., a Bothell-based aerospace technology company, plans to find out when its recycling/3D printing system is tested aboard the International Space Station.

The company has been awarded a NASA contract to develop and deliver a Positrusion Recycler to sterilize and recycle plastic waste such as packaging materials, utensils, trays and food storage containers into high-quality 3D filament.