blog posts

• The EV battery tech that’s worth the hype, according to experts

  Dec 5, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Inside Climate News, 11/9/25

  Major battery breakthroughs seemingly happen every day, but only some of that tech ever leaves the lab. Here's what’s is actually going to change EVs and what’s just a dream.

• ‘It’s not too late’: New Cornell study maps the environmental cost of AI and how policy could limit the damage

  Dec 4, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Inside Climate News, 11/10/25

  When Cornell University systems engineer Fengqi You started modeling the environmental footprint of data centers three years ago, the AI boom was just beginning. Even then, You and his colleagues noticed that resource planning was missing from the conversation. They wanted to bring real numbers to AI's physical footprint. You and his team recently published a paper in Nature Sustainability that quantifies their enormous resource consumption.

• A growing number of ‘repair cafes' are popping up around the world to curb consumer waste

  Dec 3, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Inside Climate News, 11/11/25

  Local communities are hosting events where people can bring in their broken goods for repairs—free of charge.

• Startup ‘SeaSol’ seeks to convert seaweed into compostable food packaging, replacing plastic

  Dec 1, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: University of Connecticut, 10/8/25

  University of Connecticut PhD candidate Yidan Zhang is CEO of a startup called SeaSol Technologies, Inc. (DBA SeaSol), which is converting seaweed into a functional coating that makes food packaging compostable and high performance. The SeaSol team has developed a low-cost process that pares down the seaweed conversion process from 14 steps to one.

• Space pollution levels in the atmosphere are rocketing

  Nov 27, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Chemical & Engineering News, 11/18/25

  As more rockets and satellites in low Earth orbit burn up in the atmosphere at the end of their lives, the amount of introduced vapors and particulate matter there is dramatically rising. A new study under review in Advances in Space Research calculates just how much waste this traffic is injecting into Earth’s upper atmosphere. The results show that last year, the mass of metals introduced to the atmosphere by human activity annually nearly doubled from the levels seen from 2015 to 2020. For 24 different elements, this influx now contributes more mass than natural sources. Both records are on track to be shattered this year.

• Scientists find gold hiding in food waste

  Nov 21, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: American Chemical Society 10/12/25

  Researchers are finding extraordinary new uses for what we throw away. Beet pulp may help crops resist disease, while composted coconut fibers could replace peat moss. Discarded radish and beet greens are rich in bioactive compounds that boost gut health and protect cells. Food waste is rapidly becoming a source of sustainable solutions for both agriculture and health.

• Scientists turn flower fragrance into a mosquito killer

  Nov 20, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: University of Maryland, 10/27/25

  A team of researchers has developed a floral-scented fungus that tricks mosquitoes into approaching and dying. The fungus emits longifolene, a natural scent that irresistibly draws them in. It’s harmless to humans, inexpensive to produce, and remains potent for months. This innovative biological control could be crucial as mosquitoes spread with climate change.

• Wetlands help remedy agricultural pollution. Some Illinois farmers are installing new ones.

  Nov 14, 2025 3:00 pm

  Source: Inside Climate News, 10/23/25

  Farmers trying to minimize nitrate running off their fields and contaminating water are partnering with the Wetlands Initiative to build “smart wetlands.”

• Powered by mushrooms, living computers are on the rise

  Nov 13, 2025 2:00 pm

  Source: Ohio State News, 10/24/25

  Researchers from The Ohio State University recently discovered that common edible fungi, such as shiitake mushrooms, can be grown and trained to act as organic memristors, a type of data processor that can remember past electrical states. Their findings showed that these shiitake-based devices not only demonstrated similar reproducible memory effects to semiconductor-based chips but could also be used to create other types of low-cost, environmentally friendly, brain-inspired computing components.  The study was recently published in the journal PLOS ONE.

  
  

• New UC Davis tool helps industry upcycle food byproducts and reduce waste

  Nov 6, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: New Food Magazine, 10/6/2025

  Researchers at the University of California, Davis have launched an online tool designed to track agricultural byproducts and help industry find new uses for them, potentially turning food waste into valuable resources. The Byproduct Database, developed by the AI Institute for Next Generation Food Systems, catalogues leftovers such as fruit skins, nut shells and pulp, highlighting opportunities for reuse across the food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical sectors.

• Buildings are turning to ‘ice batteries’ for sustainable air conditioning

  Nov 4, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Associated Press, 10/7/25

  Every night some 74,000 gallons (280,000 liters) of water are frozen at Norton Audubon Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky. The hospital used to get all of its air conditioning from a conventional system found in most U.S. buildings, but now 27 tanks of ice sustain a network of cold-water pipes keeping operating rooms at safe temperatures and patients comfortable. This type of thermal energy storage, also known as ice batteries, is being added to buildings in the U.S. for its ability to provide cool air without releasing planet-warming emissions.

• Recovering arsenic from wastewater sludge

  Oct 30, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Chemical & Engineering News, 10/17/25

  Arsenic is a potent carcinogen and one of the world’s most dangerous drinking-water contaminants, particularly in South Asia, where millions are exposed through groundwater. Removing the toxin from groundwater helps protect public health but leaves behind sludge laced with arsenic, which is expensive and hazardous to dispose of properly. Researchers in Denmark have now found a way to turn that toxic waste into something valuable: high-purity elemental arsenic, a material in growing demand for green electronics and batteries (Sci. Adv. 2025, DOI:10.1126/sciadv.adz5816).

• Slime-like electrolyte promises safe, recyclable batteries

  Oct 29, 2025 3:30 pm

  Source: Chemical & Engineering News, 10/17/25

  Lithium-ion batteries can catch fire because they use liquid electrolytes made of flammable organic solvents. A new water-based electrolyte with the texture of kids’ play slime promises to make batteries safer. Because it dissolves in water, the quasi-solid electrolyte also allows for easy recycling of valuable metals from batteries, says Shintaro Yasui of the Institute of Science Tokyo, who reported on the work at the Materials Science and Technology conference in Columbus, Ohio, on Sept. 29. In addition, the material is easy to make from lithium salts and water at ambient conditions using mechanochemistry. “We don’t need any dry rooms or glove boxes,” Yasui says.

• Why The Search Is On For PFAS-Free Batteries

  Oct 28, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Forbes, 10/22/25

  The demand for Lithium-ion batteries might be on the rise, but how many of us are aware they contain harmful PFAS compounds, otherwise known as “forever chemicals”? The use of such compounds is obviously not good for the environment, and the search is now on for alternative compounds, which can be used in the next generation of batteries.

• Microwave technique allows energy-efficient chemical reactions

  Oct 16, 2025 1:30 pm

  Source: University of Tokyo via Phys.org, 10/10/25

  Some industrial processes used to create useful chemicals require heat, but heating methods are often inefficient, partly because they heat a greater volume of space than they really need to. Researchers, including those from the University of Tokyo, devised a way to limit heating to the specific areas required in such situations. Their technique uses microwaves, not unlike those used in home microwave ovens, to excite specific elements dispersed in the materials to be heated. Their system proved to be around 4.5 times more efficient than current methods.

• 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.

• Phthalates in everyday products may fuel breast cancer, new study warns

  Sep 30, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: U.S. Right to Know, 9/5/25

  Common chemicals in plastics, personal care products, and food packaging may drive the onset, growth, and spread of breast cancer—the second-leading cause of cancer deaths in women, new research suggests. The findings, published this month [September 2025] in Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, suggest phthalates hijack the body’s hormone systems, activate cancer-promoting genes, and make tumors easier to form. and harder to treat. The study raises new questions about the safety of chemicals that millions of Americans encounter every day in air, food, and water.   

• The chronic risks from single-use plastic water bottles are dangerously understudied, new Concordia research shows

  Sep 29, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Concordia University, 9/9/25

  In a paper published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials, Sarah Sajedi and colleagues from Concordia University look at the science around the health risks posed by single-use plastic water bottles. They are serious, Sajedi says, and seriously understudied. In her review of over 140 scientific articles, Sajedi writes that individuals on average ingest between 39,000 and 52,000 microplastic particles per year, and bottled water users consume 90,000 more particles than tap water consumers. Once inside the body, these small plastics can cross biological boundaries, enter the bloodstream and reach vital organs. This can lead to chronic inflammation, oxidative stress on cells, hormonal disruption, impaired reproduction, neurological damage and various kinds of cancer. However, the long-term effects remain poorly understood due to a lack of widespread testing and standardized methods of measurement and detection.

• AI’s ballooning energy consumption puts spotlight on data center efficiency

  Sep 25, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: The Conversation, 9/3/25

  A Georgia Tech computer engineering professor who specializes in high-performance computing explains how data centers can be designed and managed to reduce their energy use.

• Scientists create biodegradable plastic stronger than PET

  Sep 23, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Kobe University, 9/4/25

  A Japanese research team successfully harnessed E. coli to produce PDCA, a strong, biodegradable plastic alternative. Their method avoids toxic byproducts and achieves record production levels, overcoming key roadblocks with creative fixes. 

• He crossed 26 miles in a kayak made from mushrooms – and lived to tell the tale

  Sep 19, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: The Guardian, 9/7/25

  Sam Shoemaker’s record-setting voyage shows the promise – and limits – of fungi as a plastic alternative. 

• Slow burn: The vital need for benign flame retardants

  Sep 18, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Chemical & Engineering News, 9/3/25

  Flame retardants slow the spread of fires but they can have serious, unintended human health and environmental impacts. Inadequate toxicity testing and inconsistent regulations make it difficult to keep potentially harmful fire-resisting chemicals out of products. Researchers in industry and academia are trying to develop safer chemistries and working on next-generation biobased flame retardants.

• Banned pesticides found in clouds, sparking new health concerns

  Sep 16, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: U.S. Right to Know, 9/11/25

  Pesticides banned years ago in the European Union are drifting through the skies and turning up in clouds above France, raising concerns about how long these toxins persist and how far they can travel, with potentially harmful global health impacts, according to a pathbreaking new study.  The research, published in Environmental Science & Technology, is the first to detect dozens of agricultural chemicals—including insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, and other substances—suspended in cloud water droplets. That means pesticides not only linger in the environment but also move through the atmosphere and fall back to Earth in rain or snow, sometimes at levels exceeding European safe drinking water limits, the research suggests. 

• 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.

• 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.

• Data centers consume massive amounts of water – companies rarely tell the public exactly how much

  Sep 9, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: The Conversation, 8/19/25

  University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee researchers analyzed public records, government documents, and sustainability reports compiled by top data center companies and found that technology companies don’t always reveal how much water their data centers use.

• UMaine unveils app to gauge AI’s environmental cost

  Sep 8, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: University of Maine, 8/5/25

  A new app, “What Uses More,” aims to reveal the environmental footprint of tasks completed with artificial intelligence, encouraging users to examine critically the energy and water consumption of their digital activities. 

• New wastewater tech tackles fatbergs at the source

  Sep 4, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: RMIT University via Phys.org, 8/20/25

  A new wastewater treatment system developed by RMIT University researchers could help prevent fatbergs—solid masses of fat, oil and grease (FOG) that clog sewers and cost water utilities globally billions to remove each year. A team from RMIT's Effective Technologies and Tools (WETT) Research Center has developed a solution that combines a redesigned grease interceptor with a smart chemical treatment—more than doubling fat removal rates in commercial kitchen wastewater. The new design features a series of physical barriers, or baffles, inside a grease interceptor to slow wastewater flow and separate larger fat particles. A small dose of alum, a common water treatment chemical, is then added to clump smaller, suspended fats for easy removal.
  
  The research article, "Performance optimization for the removal of fat, oil, and grease from food service establishment wastewater using a novel grease interceptor," is published in ACS ES&T Water.

• A potential ‘green’ alternative to formaldehyde and PFAS in fabric finishing

  Sep 2, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: American Chemical Society, 8/18/25

  More than half of the 7.5 million bales of cotton produced annually in the U.S. will be used in clothing manufacturing. The finishing techniques used to make cotton fabric smooth, water-repellant and resistant to wrinkling can be detrimental to the environment and the wearer. Now, researchers propose a method for using cottonseed oil as a “greener” and safer alternative to formaldehyde and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), often called forever chemicals, when finishing cotton fabrics.

  Taylor Kanipe, a graduate student at North Carolina State University (NC State), presented her results at the fall meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS), held Aug. 17-21.

• 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.

• Exposure to PFAS, ‘forever chemicals’, linked to increased type 2 diabetes risk

  Aug 20, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Medical News Today, 7/24/25

  Vishal Midya is the corresponding author of a new study recently published in the journal eBioMedicine that found exposure to a class of synthetic chemicals called perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)Trusted Source — also known as "forever chemicals" — may increase a person's risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

• New research uncovers gene impacts of PFAS exposure in firefighters

  Aug 19, 2025 9:00 am

  Medical Express, 7/25/25

  Researchers at the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health found that certain kinds of long-lasting chemicals firefighters are exposed to may affect the activity of genes linked to cancer and other diseases. The findings appear in the journal Environmental Research. The study is among the first to connect common industrial chemicals called PFAS—per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances—to changes in microRNAs, or miRNAs, which are molecules that act as guardrails to help control gene expression.

• Researchers at Notre Dame detect ‘forever chemicals’ in reusable feminine hygiene products

  Aug 18, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: University of Notre Dame, 7/22/25

  The results of a study conducted by researchers from Notre Dame and Indiana University focusing on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in reusable feminine hygiene products have been published in Environmental Science & Technology.  Most of the samples contained PFAS concentrations low enough to be characterized by study authors as "non-intentionally fluorinated." But period underwear (33 percent) and reusable pads (25 percent) had the greatest rates of "intentional fluorination." 

• From masterpieces to makeup: eco-friendly art conservation gentle enough for human skin

  Aug 11, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Horizon Magazine, 7/1/25

  Green art conservation methods developed by EU-funded researchers are setting new standards and proving useful far beyond museums, from cosmetics to agriculture. 

• Pollution solution with a pinch of clay

  Aug 7, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: University of Cambridge, 7/28/25

  A low-cost material made from clay and vitamin B2 could one day help clean up pollution using only sunlight. Developed by researchers in the University of Cambridge Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology (CEB), the new material – Flaponite – combines a clay base with compounds derived from vitamin B2, also known as riboflavin, to create a sustainable photocatalyst. It’s affordable, recyclable, and designed to work in water under visible light – offering a promising new approach to breaking down environmental pollutants without harsh chemicals or high energy use. The study demonstrates how the material can break down model pollutants in lab conditions – a crucial first step in developing real-world water purification or green chemical processing technologies. 

• Long-term exposure to outdoor air pollution linked to increased risk of dementia

  Aug 6, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: University of Cambridge, 7/27/25

  An analysis of studies incorporating data from almost 30 million people has highlighted the role that air pollution – including that coming from car exhaust emissions – plays in increased risk of dementia...In a paper published in The Lancet Planetary Health, a team led by researchers at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge, carried out a systematic review and meta-analysis of existing scientific literature to examine this link further. This approach allowed them to bring together studies that on their own may not provide sufficient evidence, and which sometimes disagree with each other, to provide more robust overarching conclusions. In total, the researchers included 51 studies, including data from more than 29 million participants who had been exposed to air pollutants for at least one year, mostly from high-income countries. Of these, 34 papers were included in the meta-analysis: 15 originated in North America, 10 in Europe, seven in Asia, and two in Australia. The researchers found a positive and statistically-significant association between 3 types of air pollutant and dementia.

• 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.

• Indoor air contains thousands of microplastics small enough to penetrate deep into our lungs, study finds

  Aug 4, 2025 9:00 am

  CNN, 7/30/25

  Thousands of microplastics so small they can penetrate deep into the lungs are in the air you breathe in your home and car, a new study has found.
  
  The particles are likely the result of the degradation of plastic-filled objects such as carpet, curtains, furniture and textiles and the plastic parts of car interiors, according to the study published Wednesday in the journal PLOS One.

• Canadian researchers harness genetic mushroom variations to create packaging material

  Jul 31, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Packaging Insights, 6/11/25

  Researchers at McMaster University in Canada have cultivated a mushroom species that can be used to produce a biodegradable material suitable for use in packaging.

• 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.

• Microplastic contamination detected in milk and cheese raises food safety concerns

  Jul 25, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: AZO Cleantech, 7/18/25

  A recent study, published in npj Science of Food, investigated microplastic contamination in milk, fresh cheese, and ripened cheese, providing one of the most detailed assessments yet of plastics in dairy products. The research team used advanced spectroscopic techniques to analyze the size, shape, colour, and concentration of microplastics in these widely consumed foods. 

• Microplastics can cause malignant changes in lung cells

  Jul 24, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Medical University of Vienna, 7/15/25

  Although the respiratory system is one of the main entry points for microplastics and nanoplastics (MNPs) from the air into the body, little is known about the effects of these tiny particles on the lungs. Researchers at MedUni Vienna have now demonstrated for the first time that MNPs can trigger malignant changes in lung cells that are associated with the development of cancer. The findings were published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials and once again underline the urgent need for action to reduce plastic waste.

• New cooling tech could curb data centers’ rising energy demands

  Jul 23, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: University of California San Diego, 6/13/25

  As artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing continue to expand, the demand for data processing—and the heat it generates—is skyrocketing. Currently, cooling accounts for up to 40% of a data center’s total energy use. If trends continue, global energy use for cooling could more than double by 2030. Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a new cooling technology that could significantly improve the energy efficiency of data centers and high-powered electronics. The technology features a specially engineered fiber membrane that passively removes heat through evaporation. It offers a promising alternative to traditional cooling systems like fans, heat sinks and liquid pumps. It could also reduce the water use associated with many current cooling systems.

  The advance is detailed in a paper published on June 13 in the journal Joule.

• 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.

• Biobased lignin gels offer sustainable alternative for hair conditioning

  Jun 26, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Stockholm University, 2/21/25

  Hair conditioners typically contain 20–30 ingredients, many derived from petroleum and oleochemicals, raising concerns about sustainability and environmental impact. A new study published in Science Advances, demonstrates that micellar lignin gels can effectively stabilize emulsions with natural oils, reducing the need for synthetic surfactants and complex stabilizers commonly used in commercial formulations. The research team, led by Mika Sipponen at Stockholm University, sought to explore lignin, a common and renewable component in wood biomass, as a multifunctional component for hair conditioning.

• 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.

• PFAS could be replaced with safe graphene oxide solution

  Jun 20, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Northwestern University, 5/29/25

  Current food packaging often relies on plastics and toxic PFAS coatings, which pose environmental and health risks and are difficult to recycle or compost. Current food packaging often relies on plastics and toxic PFAS coatings, which pose environmental and health risks and are difficult to recycle or compost. This innovation offers a scalable, sustainable alternative to harmful materials, enabling safer, stronger, and more eco-friendly food packaging that meets growing regulatory and consumer demands.

• Industry’s Path to a Greener Future: A Perspective on Current Sustainable Practices and Areas of Opportunity

  Jun 19, 2025 9:00 am

  Lozano-Onrubia, G., Castillo-Pazos, D. J., Grieger, K., Wheeler, M., Grignon, E., Pazoki, F., Gallenstein, R., Castilla-Acevedo, S. F., Fan, F., Musa, E. N., Beena, N. C., Ahuja, H., Popoola, O., Battaglia, A. M., Kaur, G., Alahakoon, I., Chipangura, Y. E., Aransiola, E., Moumbogno Tchodimo, F. C., … Moores, A. (2025). Industry’s Path to a Greener Future: A Perspective on Current Sustainable Practices and Areas of Opportunity. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 13(19), 6849–6874. https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.5c00741

  Abstract: Chemistry is directly and indirectly related to some of the most polluting industries, making it exceptionally critical for chemists to act and develop novel solutions toward more sustainable industrial practices. In this perspective, participants of the 2023 ACS Summer School on Green Chemistry & Sustainable Energy describe state-of-the-art developments that the chemical industry has spearheaded to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and contribute toward achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Herein, we illustrate a variety of methods that the chemical industry has employed, ranging from technological factors, such as using catalysis, implementing AI to reduce energy-intensive processes, and developing carbon capture technology and sustainable fuels, to socioeconomic factors─incorporating circularity, society targeted innovation and education, and developing successful collaborations between the private and public sectors. This perspective aims to trigger discussions and highlight how multifaceted approaches are necessary to support the transition to a greener industrial sector.

• Plant-based plastics could help reduce the millions of tonnes of medical waste hospitals generate each year

  Jun 4, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: The Conversation, 3/13/25

  There’s a growing push to find eco-friendly alternatives to traditional plastics. Bioplastics, such polylactic acid (PLA), may be promising alternatives to the plastics used in medical products.

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

  Jun 2, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Trellis, 4/30/25

  Years of persistence and experimentation led to a biodegradable coffee pod that improves brewing performance. Keurig Dr Pepper backed the innovation once it proved both sustainable and appealing to consumers. Collaborating with customers and potential competitors were key for development.