Tag: Sustainability

Bumpers on boats are helping to keep waterways clean. Now a young English couple is removing rotting yachts from Cornwall’s riverbanks. Their non-profit organisation’s focus: the abandoned fibreglass vessels from whose hulls plastic particles and toxic materials have leaked into surrounding waters. Recent on-site analysis showed there were more than 11,000 fibreglass shards in a single kilogram of oysters....

Waste wood isn’t just suitable as a sustainable polystyrene substitute. Now, a Finnish research team has created an alternative to petroleum-based resin using sawdust and straw. The presence of petroleum-based bonding agents makes it tricky to recycle composites, which are used for wind turbines, boats and RVs. The team extracted cellulose and hemicellulose from the waste wood, successfully developing...

A maze-like material keeps insects away from plants. In France, meanwhile, a startup is creating sustainable pesticides from plant scents as around 80% of harmful insects are drawn to by these odours. The team deciphers which scents are particularly attractive for different species, and replicates the molecules in the lab. These can be used for the targeted defence of...

Small villages can inspire innovation for the circular economy in cocoa production. Now an Oxford-based startup is working on a sustainable substitute to the cocoa bean. Sound familiar? This time rather than cell cultures the team is using the plant’s pod. First, the shells are chopped up and, using an age-old Japanese method, fermented with the help of fungi. The...

Paper could replace polystyrene packaging. In Germany, meanwhile, a research team has been developing a process whereby paper bags are made without adhesives. Materials found in paper, you see, already have adhesive properties. First an initial layer of paper is irradiated with a carbon monoxide laser, causing the cellulose and lignin within to break up - similar to melting...

Changing style doesn’t have to mean hitting the shops. Buying second-hand clothing also saves money. Now a Vienna-based startup has developed an app, which allows charity retailers and vintage stores to upload their second-hand stock to selected platforms with greater efficiency. Just supply a photo, and an AI detects the shape and colour of the item to be sold,...

The future of salmon could lie in cell cultures. Meanwhile, a California-based startup is betting on a similar process for cacao in a bid to avoid further deforestation. A reduction in rainforests not only causes drought, but increases the likelihood of flooding - both harming cacao yields. In a bioreactor, cell cultures from the cacao plant are naturally fermented...

A robot banishes harmful algae slicks to the ocean floor. And, according to an Australian research team, oil spills could soon be hoovered up by mini-robots. Key here: a new filter with small, air-filled pouches, coated with a water-resistant nanolayer of graphene oxide. It separates oil with 95% purity and can be extensively reused. The 3D-printed, electrically-operated mini-robot complete...