Tag: Recycling

Naturally-occurring colour pigments in purple maize have anti-inflammatory properties. Clothes, meanwhile, are rarely manufactured using natural colours. But all that could be about to change thanks to the work of two textile engineers and their New York-based startup. The team is using biotechnology to create colourful yarn without using dye. First, in a fermentation process, special bacteria produce natural...

Used, starch-based juice bottles dissolve in water. If only recycling printed circuit boards (PCBs) from plastic and glass fibre were as easy. Enter a US-based research team which has manufactured a PCB prototype using cutting-edge sustainable polymers known as vitrimers. When exposed to mild heat, their molecular compounds loosen so that tears or holes can be repaired. The team...

Some jeans can be composted after use. Yet, in the Netherlands, a design and furniture company is investing in the circular economy, having developed a unique process which gives used furnishings a new lease of life. Tiny fibres, i.e. offcuts when jeans are recycled, are mixed with a water-based adhesive. The solution is sprayed onto the surface of newly...

In India, leaves are being converted to fertiliser and farm stubble used to make packaging material - instead of being burned. Organic waste can be used in a variety of sustainable solutions. But what if you lack the material to implement a solution in practice? Enter a US-based startup and their platform which allows biological waste to be both...

A glassy mousse-like mineral powder can insulate houses without using oil-based materials. Shoe soles, however, are still mainly composed of plastic. Enter a Canadian startup aiming to cushion our steps sustainably while recycling a precious resource: wine corks. After years of research, its product is now ready to hit the market. Both recycled corks and the waste from cork...

Sweet coffee cups provide a solution to throwaway culture. Coffee grounds, meanwhile, are an effective substitute in the construction industry. And as a startup from Ukraine has recently proved, they have other uses too. In this case, as spectacle frames. The team collects the grounds from cafes in Kyiv. After they’ve been dried, the grounds are mixed with natural...

Coffee grounds are a key ingredient in sustainable concrete, while tiles made from eggshells are perfect for naturally-made interior fittings. Corn cobs, too, can help reduce CO2 emissions in the building trade. A Dutch startup shreds dried corn waste and presses the scraps mixed with binding agent into panels at temperatures of up to 150 degrees. These panels are...

With a simple box, cars could be safe from theft. Tags on consumer goods are increasingly fitted with an integrated wireless module, which triggers an alarm if the item is stolen. Still, the mix of paper, electronics and adhesives used to make them is equally alarming. Now, a London-based startup is hoping to combat the hard-to-recycle combination with a...