blog posts

• This surprising building material is strong, cheap, and sustainable

  Oct 9, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: RMIT University, 9/22/25

  A team at RMIT University has created a cement-free construction material using only cardboard, soil, and water. Strong enough for low-rise buildings, it reduces emissions, costs, and waste compared to concrete. The lightweight, on-site process makes it ideal for remote areas, while its thermal properties naturally cool buildings. Researchers see it as a key step toward greener, more resilient architecture.

• America is throwing away the minerals that could power its future

  Oct 8, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Colorado School of Mines, 9/18/25

  America already mines all the critical minerals it needs for energy, defense, and technology, but most are being wasted as mine tailings. Researchers discovered that minerals like cobalt, germanium, and rare earths are discarded in massive amounts, even though recovering just a fraction could eliminate U.S. dependence on imports. 

• Harvard’s salt trick could turn billions of tons of hair into eco-friendly materials

  Oct 7, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Harvard University, 9/17/25

  Scientists at Harvard have discovered how salts like lithium bromide break down tough proteins such as keratin—not by attacking the proteins directly, but by altering the surrounding water structure. This breakthrough opens the door to a cleaner, more sustainable way to recycle wool, feathers, and hair into valuable materials, potentially replacing plastics and fueling new industries.

• EPR emerges to tackle vapes and a growing list of household hazardous wastes

  Oct 2, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Waste360, 9/18/25

  Household hazardous waste (HHW) is showing up on states’ and local jurisdictions’ radar, fueled by safety concerns and the exorbitant cost to manage these materials. As batteries, vapes, compressed gas cylinders, and certain other products flood waste and recycling streams, they spark fires and injure waste workers while leaving governments to shoulder most of the cleanup costs. In response, a few jurisdictions are looking at extended producer responsibility (EPR) laws, requiring producers to take responsibility for dealing with these materials at the end of life. 

• Study assesses state-by-state efforts to take on plastic waste

  Oct 1, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Waste360, 9/16/25

  A new report by Ocean Conservancy assessed how states are doing against six benchmarks and scored them based on a five-point scale. The average score was a meager 1.5. Benchmarks included the presence or absence of policies in four areas: 1) single-use plastics, 2) microplastics, 3) reduce and reuse, and 4) producer accountability, as well as access to recycling and recycling rates. Ocean Conservancy went on to recommend what it considers the best of existing policies for improvement, and red-flagged policies it believes are thwarting progress.

• A simple metal could solve the world’s plastic recycling problem

  Sep 22, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Northwestern University, 9/3/25

  Scientists at Northwestern University have developed a groundbreaking nickel-based catalyst that could transform the way the world recycles plastic. Instead of requiring tedious sorting, the catalyst selectively breaks down stubborn polyolefin plastics—the single-use materials that make up much of our daily waste—into valuable oils, waxes, fuels, and more. 

• Allbirds debuts waste-based shoes

  Sep 12, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Trellis, 8/21/25

  In a footwear first, a new Allbirds’ sneaker features material that has been recycled from polycotton waste. The Remix runners, which retail for $140, are made with lyocell recycled by startup Circ from used polycotton T-shirts and other textiles. The midsoles are recycled from manufacturing-scrap foam by partner Blumaka, and the laces are made of recycled polyester.

• Using pollen to make paper, sponges, and more

  Sep 11, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Knowable Magazine, 8/8/25

  At first glance, Nam-Joon Cho’s lab at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University looks like your typical research facility — scientists toiling away, crowded workbenches, a hum of machinery in the background. But the orange-yellow stains on the lab coats slung on hooks hint at a less-usual subject matter under study. The powdery stain is pollen: microscopic grains containing male reproductive cells that trees, weeds and grasses release seasonally. But Cho isn’t studying irksome effects like hay fever, or what pollen means for the plants that make it. Instead, the material scientist has spent a decade pioneering and refining techniques to remodel pollen’s rigid outer shell — made of a polymer so tough it’s sometimes called “the diamond of the plant world” — transforming the grains to a jam-like consistency.

• Recycling lithium from old electric vehicle batteries could be done cheaply with new electrochemical process

  Sep 10, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: University of Wisconsin, 8/26/25

  With ever more electric vehicles on the road, regulators and automakers are considering what can be done with the millions of batteries that power EVs after they’re spent. Even when their useful life is over, EV batteries contain valuable lithium that could theoretically be recycled and used in new batteries, but coming up with a cost-effective way to do so is critical. A group of University of Wisconsin–Madison chemists are hopeful they’ve found a solution and they’re already filing patents and courting global carmakers.

• Scientists turn grapevine waste into clear, strong films that vanish in days

  Aug 28, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: South Dakota State University, 8/13/25

  Amid growing concerns over plastic waste and microplastics, researchers are turning agricultural leftovers into biodegradable packaging. Using cellulose extracted from unlikely sources, including grapevine canes, they have created strong, transparent films that break down in just 17 days without leaving harmful residue.

• Inside Rothy’s quest to create recycled velvet shoes

  Aug 27, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Fast Company, 8/12/25

  The brand’s recycled plastic shoes have a distinct look and texture. Now Rothy’s is bringing a new material to its roster.

• These industrial chic benches are made out of an unexpected material

  Aug 25, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Fast Company, 8/11/25

  Concert barriers are built to be baked in the hot sun, transported through busy venues, battered by excited concertgoers, and, ultimately, disposed of. A company in Paris is giving them a second life. 

• A dram good idea – turning whisky waste into sustainable packaging

  Aug 22, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: University of Dundee, 8/11/25

  Arbikie Distillery has partnered with Dr Dongyang Sun, Edinburgh Napier University, and Dr. Wenbin Zhou, University of Dundee, to use mycelium, the root structure of fungi, and distillery by-products like spent grain to create durable, lightweight packaging. The material created is impact-resistant, fire-retardant, and fully compostable, offering an eco-friendly alternative to plastic. Over the next 10 months, the project team will focus on proof of concept, testing the material, and the design. Funded by Scotland Beyond Net Zero – a coalition of leading climate and sustainability experts from Scotland's universities – this project is one of 11 new research collaborations aimed at accelerating Scotland's transition to net zero. Each project involves cross-sector collaborations to address sustainability challenges in energy, finance, food, the built environment, natural systems, and transport.

• Researchers advance effort to turn spent coffee grounds into food packaging

  Aug 21, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Oregon State University, 3/21/25

  Researchers from Oregon State and the Rural Development Administration in South Korea have made a key advance in turning spent coffee grounds into food packaging materials that can extend the shelf life of products. Their findings were published in the Journal of Food Science.
  
  An estimated 60 million tons of spent coffee grounds are generated worldwide annually. Most end up in landfills and release methane, a potent greenhouse gas. That has led researchers to study other uses for coffee grounds, such as incorporating them into biofuels, cosmetics, catalysts and composite materials, including concrete, and now food packaging materials. The researchers believe coffee grounds could be used to make different food packages, including sheets between sliced cheese, pads underneath fresh meat and pads in clamshell containers used to package strawberries.

• The unexpected beauty and deep meaning of plastic-waste art

  Aug 13, 2025 12:00 pm

  Source: Inside Climate News, 7/5/25

  Amid a global plastic-pollution crisis, artist Erik Jon Olson turns his own plastic waste into quilted works of art in which the medium is the message.

• Solarcycle produces recycled glass test module with ‘peak performance’

  Aug 8, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: PV Tech, 8/4/25

  US solar PV recycling firm, Solarcycle, has produced a pilot module using 50% recycled glass from other decommissioned panels, which it says matches the performance of entirely new products. The company said that the "mini module", developed in partnership with Arizona State University's (ASU) Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, marks "a critical step toward a closed-loop solar manufacturing process."

• How Ben & Jerry’s is recycling food waste into energy

  Aug 5, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: PBS News Hour, 7/28/25

  It may sound like the stuff of sci-fi movies, but diverting food waste from the landfill and converting it into electricity has become a real thing. William Brangham visited Ben & Jerry's Vermont ice cream factory and the operations next door to find out how it works.

• Synthetic hair contains toxic chemicals. Black women are looking to ‘ditch the itch.’

  Jul 29, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: The 19th, 6/9/25

  Black women have long relied on braids for beauty and care. Research on toxic chemicals in synthetic hair is prompting a movement toward alternative plant-based hair options.

• This Illinois startup turns steel and aluminum waste into usable metals

  Jul 28, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Canary Media, 6/9/25

  Chicago-area Sun Metalon removes gunk and grime from metal slivers normally thrown away, helping to reduce emissions from aluminum and steel production.

• The unrealized promise of circular diapers

  Jul 18, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Trellis, 6/23/25

  From big brands to startups, efforts to create circular diapers are crawling forward — but landfills are full of unrealized promises.

• The power of storytelling to boost resale and reuse

  Jul 16, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Trellis, 6/23/25

  Stories can help build emotion and meaning and brands have used them for decades, but not as successfully with resale or circular products. Too often, circularity stories end on cold, emotionless or even patronizing tone. By following a three-act narrative structure that’s time-tested, brands can add value and meaning to their circular efforts.

• Scientists use bacteria to turn plastic waste into acetaminophen

  Jul 14, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: University of Edinburgh, 6/23/25

  Chemists have discovered that genetically reprogrammed E coli can be used to transform a molecule from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) into the active ingredient in paracetamol, also known as acetaminophen. Researchers used a fermentation process, similar to the one used in brewing beer, to accelerate the conversion from industrial PET waste into paracetamol in less than 24 hours. 

• Golden opportunity to reduce toxic waste

  Jul 10, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Flinders University, 6/27/25

  A major discovery by an interdisciplinary team of experts in green chemistry, engineering and physics at Flinders University in Australia has found a safer and more sustainable approach to extract and recover gold from ore and electronic waste. The glistening gold-extraction technique, unveiled in the leading global journal Nature Sustainability, promises to reduce levels of toxic waste from mining and shows that high purity gold can be recovered from recycling valuable components in printed circuit boards in discarded computers. 

  The new process uses a low-cost and benign compound to extract the gold. This reagent (trichloroisocyanuric acid) is widely used in water sanitation and disinfection. When activated by salt water, the reagent can dissolve gold. Next, the gold can be selectively bound to a novel sulfur-rich polymer developed by the Flinders team. The selectivity of the polymer allows gold recovery even in highly complex mixtures. The gold can then be recovered by triggering the polymer to “un-make” itself and convert back to monomer. This allows the gold to be recovered and the polymer to be recycled and reused.

• Critical minerals don’t belong in landfills – microwave tech offers a cleaner way to reclaim them from e-waste

  Jul 3, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: The Conversation, 5/28/25

  Researchers at West Virginia University are developing a new technology to change how electronics are recycled. Instead of using toxic chemicals, their approach uses electricity, which makes recovering critical materials from electronics safer, cleaner, and more affordable. 

• Waste to value: the 11 startups leading on carbon capture and utilization

  Jul 2, 2025 12:15 pm

  Source: World Economic Forum, 4/22/25

  Carbon capture and utilization (CCU) transforms CO₂ into valuable products and has particular value for hard-to-abate sectors aiming to decarbonize. The UpLink Carbon Capture and Utilization challenge is currently supporting 11 startups offering ways of utilizing CO2 that could play a role in industry decarbonization.

• Lessons from the emerging effort to advance ‘circular’ textiles in health care

  Jun 30, 2025 12:15 pm

  Source: Trellis, 4/22/25

  New regulations and global pressure are accelerating the shift toward more sustainable medical garments. Most medical textiles are not recycled, contributing to health care’s large climate and plastic waste footprint. Startups FIGS and AmorSui are serving sector professionals seeking to reduce those impacts, with “circular” scrubs and lab coats.

• Recycled cements drive down emissions without slacking on strength

  Jun 25, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Princeton University, 3/18/25

  Giving a second life to construction materials after demolition, engineers at the University of São Paulo and Princeton have developed an approach for recycling cement waste into a sustainable, low-carbon alternative that is comparable in performance to the industry standard. In addition to lowering the carbon intensity of the cement and concrete industry, the process could enable new uses for construction and demolition waste, of which concrete is a significant component. In 2018 in the United States, the total amount of construction and demolition waste was more than twice that of household waste. In their paper, published in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, the researchers demonstrated that mixtures containing up to 80% of this recycled cement were just as strong as conventional Portland cement by itself while generating a fraction of the carbon emissions.

• The CO2 Tree: The Potential for Carbon Dioxide Utilization Pathways

  Jun 18, 2025 9:00 am

  LeClerc, H. O., Erythropel, H. C., Backhaus, A., Lee, D. S., Judd, D. R., Paulsen, M. M., Ishii, M., Long, A., Ratjen, L., Gonsalves Bertho, G., Deetman, C., Du, Y., Lane, M. K. M., Petrovic, P. V., Champlin, A. T., Bordet, A., Kaeffer, N., Kemper, G., Zimmerman, J. B., … Anastas, P. T. (2025). The CO2 Tree: The Potential for Carbon Dioxide Utilization Pathways. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 13(1), 5–29. https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.4c07582 [open access]
  
  Abstract: Among the most active areas of chemistry research today is that of carbon dioxide utilization: an area of research that was viewed as futile and commercially impractical not so long ago due to the energetic stability of the CO₂ molecule. The breakthroughs that largely began in earnest in the 1990s have accelerated and now make up a diverse and plentiful portfolio of technological and scientific advances and commercialized technologies. Here, “The CO₂ Tree” is presented as a tool to illustrate the breadth of potential products from CO₂ utilization and to communicate the potential of these chemical breakthroughs to address the greatest challenge that society faces today: climate change. It is intended to be useful for scientists, engineers, legislators, advocates, industrial decision-makers, policy makers, and the general public to know what is already possible today and what may be in the near future.

     

• Feat of ‘dung-gineering’ turns cow manure into one of world’s most used materials

  Jun 16, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: University College London (UCL), 5/7/25

  A new technique to extract tiny cellulose strands from cow dung and turn them into manufacturing-grade cellulose, currently used to make everything from surgical masks to food packaging, has been developed by researchers from UCL and Edinburgh Napier University. The study was published in the Journal of Cleaner Production.

  
  

• A new recycling process for silicones could greatly reduce the sector's environmental impacts

  Jun 5, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: CNRS, 4/24/25

  A study describes a new method of recycling silicone waste (caulk, sealants, gels, adhesives, cosmetics, etc.). It has the potential to significantly reduce the sector's environmental impacts. This is the first universal recycling process that brings any type of used silicone material back to an earlier state in its life cycle where each molecule has only one silicon atom. And there is no need for the raw materials currently used to design new silicones. Moreover, since it is chemical and not mechanical recycling, the reuse of the material can be carried out infinitely. 

• Breakthrough in fuel cell recycling turns ‘forever chemicals’ into renewable resources

  May 29, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: University of Leicester, 5/2/25

  A new technique that uses soundwaves to separate materials for recycling could help prevent potentially harmful chemicals leaching into the environment.  Researchers at the University of Leicester have achieved a major milestone in fuel cell recycling, advancing techniques to efficiently separate valuable catalyst materials and fluorinated polymer membranes (PFAS) from catalyst-coated membranes (CCMs). 

• Study of velvet worm slime could revolutionize sustainable material design

  May 26, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: McGill University, 3/19/25

  A new discovery about the slime ejected by velvet worms could revolutionize sustainable material design, according to a study by McGill University researchers. Their findings outline how a naturally occurring protein structure, conserved across species from Australia, Singapore and Barbados over nearly 400 million years of evolution, enables the slime’s transformation from liquid to fibre and back again. It’s a discovery that could inspire next-generation recyclable bioplastics. 

• Lessons from the emerging effort to advance ‘circular’ textiles in health care

  May 21, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Trellis, 4/22/25

  New regulations and global pressure are accelerating the shift toward more sustainable medical garments. Most medical textiles are not recycled, contributing to health care’s large climate and plastic waste footprint. Startups FIGS and AmorSui are serving sector professionals seeking to reduce those impacts, with “circular” scrubs and lab coats.

  
  

• Eco-friendly aquatic robot is made from fish food

  May 13, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), 5/8/25

  An edible robot made by EPFL scientists leverages a combination of biodegradable fuel and surface tension to zip around the water's surface, creating a safe -- and nutritious -- alternative to environmental monitoring devices made from artificial polymers and electronics.
  

• Plastic pyrolysis − chemists explain a technique attempting to tackle plastic waste by bringing the heat

  May 7, 2025 10:00 am

  Source: The Conversation, 3/18/25

  Because plastic is so commonly used, finding new ways to manage and recycle plastic waste is becoming ever more important. Plastic waste pyrolysis is one technology that could help address this issue.

• Behind Keurig’s bid to make coffee pods without plastic

  May 1, 2025 5:00 pm

  Source: Trellis, 4/30/25

  Years of persistence and experimentation led to a biodegradable coffee pod that improves brewing performance. Inspired by baristas tamping down grounds for espresso, the Keurig team sought to compact the coffee tightly enough to maintain its patty shape without a container. Along the way, the new format also yielded a stronger brew. However, the team realized those naked coffee pods would not survive distribution. They tried beeswax before landing on an algae-based coating that kept the pods intact. Their prototyping advanced in 2021 in the company lab with a small pilot line of coffee pods. The team used a hand crank to encapsulate roasted and ground coffee in a layer of alginate. This coating was found to tolerate pressure levels up to approximately 200 pounds per square inch, meaning the pods could be used to brew espresso. Today, about 200 consumers are beta-testing the pods, called K-Rounds, in their homes, providing daily data that helps with product refinement.

• Researchers recycle wind turbine blade materials to make improved plastics

  Apr 17, 2025 3:30 pm

  Source: Washington State University, 4/3/25

  A new method to recycle wind turbine blades without using harsh chemicals resulted in the recovery of high-strength glass fibers and resins that allowed researchers to re-purpose the materials to create stronger plastics. The innovation provides a simple and environmentally friendly way to recycle wind turbine blades to create useful products. 

• Waste not, want not: turning food waste into fertile soil for sustainable growth

  Apr 17, 2025 3:30 pm

  Source: Horizon Magazine, 12/3/24

  EU-funded researchers are turning food processing waste into a valuable resource, transforming discarded biomaterials into natural fertilizers.
  

• Federal researchers find new ways to recycle minerals from electronics

  Apr 4, 2025 4:30 pm

  Forbes, 3/30/25

  Federal researchers are making gains in experiments to ease the process of harvesting recyclable materials in electronic waste from discarded cellphones and computers. 

  Two new methods developed by Richland, Wash.-based Pacific Northwest National Laboratory scientists may hold the keys for how to better salvage critical minerals in e-waste. Traditional methods are time consuming, require a great deal of energy and involve handling hazardous chemicals. 

  Scientists at Illinois-based Argonne National Laboratory spearheaded a project to make and recycle luminescent polymers in semiconductor materials that light up such electronics as computer screens and car dashboard navigation displays.

• From high school science project to $18.3M: AI-accelerated enzymes are coming for fast fashion’s plastic waste

  Mar 25, 2025 2:00 pm

  Source: TechCrunch, 3/5/25

  A U.K. startup, originating from founder Jacob Nathan’s high school science project on using enzymes to break down plastic waste, has secured an oversubscribed $18.3 million in Series A funding.

• How 2 startups are turning imperfect clothes into a business opportunity

  Mar 21, 2025 3:00 pm

  Source: Trellis, 3/21/25

  Alternew and Revive are partnering with fashion brands to profit from repairs and alterations while keeping clothes out of closets, warehouses and landfills.

• Plastic recycling gets a breath of fresh air

  Mar 17, 2025 5:00 pm

  Source: Northwestern University, 3/11/25

  Harnessing moisture from air, Northwestern University chemists have developed a simple new method for breaking down plastic waste. The non-toxic, environmentally friendly, solvent-free process first uses an inexpensive catalyst to break apart the bonds in polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the most common plastic in the polyester family. Then, the researchers merely expose the broken pieces to ambient air. Leveraging the trace amounts of moisture in air, the broken-down PET is converted into monomers — the crucial building blocks for plastics. From there, the researchers envision the monomers could be recycled into new PET products or other, more valuable materials. Safer, cleaner, cheaper and more sustainable than current plastic recycling methods, the new technique, published in the journal Green Chemistry, offers a promising path toward creating a circular economy for plastics.

• This sponge soaks up pollutants but saves valuable minerals

  Mar 17, 2025 4:45 pm

  Source: Northwestern University, 2/5/25

  Northwestern researchers have developed a specialized sponge that slurps up pollutants, offering a reusable and cost-effective solution to water contamination. As more waterways contend with algae blooms and pollution caused by minerals from agricultural runoff and industrial manufacturing processes, new methods to remove pollutants like phosphate, copper and zinc are emerging across fields. While solutions exist, they tend to be costly and can be used just once. The sponge, coated with nanoparticles that have an affinity for pollutants, can collect metals like zinc and copper, as well as phosphate, and in previous iterations has successfully pulled lead from water, and microplastics and oil from lakes and oceans. It then releases these valuable resources when it is exposed to different pHs. 

  See https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsestwater.4c01234 for the study describing this research.

• Recycling the unrecyclable: Reclaiming materials from epoxy resins and composites

  Mar 6, 2025 12:30 pm

  Source: University of Tokyo, 2/6/25

  Epoxy resins are coatings and adhesives used in a broad range of familiar applications, such as construction, engineering and manufacturing. However, they often present a challenge to recycle or dispose of responsibly. Now a team of researchers has developed a method to efficiently reclaim materials from a range of epoxy products for reuse by using a novel solid catalyst.

• Nature’s puzzle: cracking walnuts for a greener tomorrow

  Dec 24, 2024 4:00 pm

  Source: Horizon Magazine, 12/24/24

  EU-funded researchers are exploring how to make strong and sustainable new materials from hard-to-crack nutshells.        

• Game, Set, Mouse | Meet the beneficiaries of Wimbledon’s recycled tennis balls

  Aug 8, 2024 9:00 am

  Source: Great Big Story, 8/8/24

  Harvest mice are the smallest mammals in Britain. They are only about the size of your thumb, and live in tall grass across the countryside, usually in small nests. But with their habitat infringed upon, animal conservationists found an object that makes for a perfect harvest mouse home: the tennis ball.