Plastics pose a major threat to seabirds and other animals, and most don’t ever break down - they just break up. Every piece of petrochemical-derived plastic ever made still exists on the planet.
Plant worker at Gorham Paper & Tissue, Gorham, New Hampshire, 2015.
Erikabarker/Wikipedia
Gary M. Scott, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry
Pulp and paper production is a major industry with a large environmental footprint. Recently, though, paper companies have worked to reduce pollution and promote sustainable forestry and recycling.
This episode explores how one person's waste can be another's treasure. We talk to scientists trying to eke something useful out of big piles of rubbish and discuss making the economy more circular.
Pollution and debris off the Sri Lankan coast.
David Jones/plasticoceans.org
Coating paper with an inexpensive thin film can allow users to print and erase a physical page as many as 80 times. That reduces both the cost and the environmental effects of paper use.
There has been a rapid increase in the amount of resources tied up in buildings.
Shutterstock
Recycling, rental, durability: How three strategies from the “circular economy” can help automobile manufacturers reduce waste and improve profitability, all while helping preserve the environment
With the addition of minarets, Hagia Sophia was converted from a Christian basilica to an Islamic mosque.
Candace Richards
Adaptive reuse and recycling of heritage architecture may be all the rage, but are not new. Making new buildings from old has a long history in the ancient world.
Every little helps, but saving the environment requires a global effort.
Think of all the resources needed to transform Shenzhen, a fishing town 35 years ago, into a megacity of more than 10 million people.
Wikimedia Commons
André Stephan, The University of Melbourne; Alexei Trundle, The University of Melbourne; Dave Kendal, The University of Melbourne; Hayley Henderson, The University of Melbourne; Hesam Kamalipour, The University of Melbourne, and Melanie Lowe, The University of Melbourne
Our cities need to become much more efficient not just to conserve precious resources but to improve the economy, wellbeing and resilience to environmental change and disasters.
The world’s landfills are growing, which has prompted the search for new industrial processes that can use everyday waste items in some surprising ways.
Used tyres pose a serious environmental challenge. So far, traditional recycling methods have proved insufficient to solve the problem. New, eco-friendy alternatives are now being explored.