blog posts

• 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.

• 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.

• A new technology for extending the shelf life of produce

  Jun 11, 2025 4:00 pm

  Source: MIT, 5/21/25

  We’ve all felt the sting of guilt when fruit and vegetables go bad before we could eat them. Now, researchers from MIT and the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) have shown they can extend the shelf life of harvested plants by injecting them with melatonin using biodegradable microneedles. Refrigeration is the most common way to preserve foods, but it requires energy and infrastructure that many regions of the world can’t afford or lack access to. The researchers believe their system could offer an alternative or complement to refrigeration. For the open access version of their paper, see https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/159257.

• 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.

• 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. 

• 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.
  

• A Greener Way to Read: Summer reading program helps the community—and the earth

  Jun 3, 2024 4:00 pm

  Source: American Libraries, 6/3/24

  Summer reading program prizes are a fun way to spark children’s participation. But those prizes often consist of nonrecyclable plastic items that—once the fun has worn off—end up as trash. Montgomery County (Md.) Public Libraries recently chose a greener, more community-focused way to get kids excited about books during their summer break.