Good News Notes: “When the Hefty EnergyBag recycling program was announced in Boise about three years ago, it asked residents to separate those hard-to-recycle No. 4-7 plastics into orange bags. The bags were shipped to a Utah company which planned to chemically deconstruct the plastic into diesel fuel. Equipment problems quickly forced the end of that destination,…
Category: upcycle
Solar panel “upcycling” venture gears up for first factory in Victoria
Good News Notes: “A new solar panel “upcycling” plant should be up and running in Victoria by the end of 2023, with further facilities in the development pipeline, according to an update from the team behind the project. A research update published by the University of Melbourne, a partner on the project with RMIT University and…
French Fry Oil-Powered Fast Charger Makes It Possible For EVs To Cross Australia’s Vast Emptiness
Good News Notes: “Australia is a lot like the U.S. — a large country with major cities on the coasts and vast stretches of nothing in between. And, much like in America, convincing car buyers that an EV can handle driving through such large empty stretches has proven a challenge. A retired engineer partnered with…
Recycling Soda Bottles Into Filament To Print Smaller Soda Bottles
Good News Notes: “…Soda bottles are usually made out of PET plastic, or polyethylene terephthalate, which is one of the most popular thermoplastics in modern society. A soda bottle can be cut into a continuous long, thin strip with the use of a simple hand-operated machine that slices the bottle with a blade. This strip…
A sweet breakthrough: Scientists develop recyclable plastics based on sugars
Good News Notes: “Researchers from the University of Birmingham, U.K., and Duke University, U.S., have created a new family of polymers from sustainable sources that retain all of the qualities of common plastics, but are also degradable and mechanically recyclable. The scientists used sugar-based starting materials rather than petrochemical derivatives to make two new polymers,…
Levi’s Is Upcycling the Liquified Remains of Old Jeans
Good News Notes: “The denim industry is fraught with environmental problems. This is largely because denim is made with cotton, a pesticide-fed, resource-intensive crop. In fact, it takes around 10,000 liters of water to grow enough cotton for just one pair of jeans (that’s about 65 times the amount an average person uses in one…
PA parks make switch to paper, compostables at concession stands
Good News Notes: “Pennsylvania state parks are making a move to go plastic-free and reduce waste, starting with their concession stands, to help meet the Commonwealth’s sustainability goals. By the end of this year, more than 15 state park food concessionaires will have updated contracts, including eliminating plastic straws, cutlery and food packaging. The renewed agreements…
Proverb Skin moves to eco-friendly packaging with compostable paper pouches
Good News Notes: “Proverb Skin’s skincare trial samples are now available in paper home compostable sachets, a world first, according to the company. In addition, their best selling Cleanse & Shave Nutrient Mud and Energising Facial Scrub now have new aluminium packaging. Layers of paper and biofilm According to the brand, the process of filling a liquid serum into paper…
Better Natured Partners with Terracycle to Make Its Product Packaging Recyclable Nationwide
Good News Notes: “Better Natured, a Henkel professional-level hair care and styling line, has partnered with TerraCycle to make their hair color product packaging nationally recyclable across the United States. As an added incentive, for every shipment of Better Natured hair color packaging waste sent to TerraCycle, collectors earn points that can be donated to a non-profit, school or charitable…
Meet Mr Trash Wheel – and the other new devices that eat river plastic
Good News Notes: “The Great Bubble Barrier is just that – a wall of bubbles. It gurgles across the water in a diagonal screen, pushing plastic to one side while allowing fish and other wildlife to pass unharmed. The technology, created by a Dutch firm and already being used in Amsterdam, is being trialled in the Douro…