Collaborate Disseminate
The James Dyson Award is an international competition to recognize and encourage engineering students to get creative to solve some of the most pressing problems facing the world. The national finalists from 28 regions have been announced for 2021, ahe… Continue reading Braille eBooks and mask recyclers among James Dyson Award finalists
Single-use plastic packaging may help keep produce fresh, but subsequently becomes a huge environmental problem when tossed in the trash. Looking to repurpose waste from our throw-away society, a social enterprise/industrial design studio has created a… Continue reading ZUV electric cargo trike 3D printed from recycled plastic waste
Since it first emerged with the bold vision of cleaning plastics from the seas way back in 2013, the Ocean Cleanup Project has made many tweaks to the design of its trash-catching barriers. The latest might be the most significant one yet, with the tea… Continue reading Ocean Cleanup’s biggest system sweeps into Great Pacific Garbage Patch
We know that plastic pollution continues to build up in the ocean at alarming rates, and we know this poses a risk to the creatures that call it home, but scientists continue to dive into the complex interactions underlying this relationship. The lates… Continue reading Plastic pollution is laying “evolutionary traps” for developing turtles
Despite the efforts of good-hearted folks that sweep beaches for trash others have left behind, such is the magnitude of our plastic pollution problem that it can be hard to collect it all, particularly the smaller debris. The BeBot is a robot designed… Continue reading Beach-cleaning BeBot sifts through sand to gather small pieces of trash
The battle against plastic pollution is one being fought on many fronts, but a particularly critical one centers on the material’s capacity to persist in the environment for a long time, even centuries in some cases. By tweaking the process by which pl… Continue reading Five forms of eco-friendly plastic that break down fast
By making alterations to the plastic manufacturing process, scientists hope to produce forms of the ubiquitous material that can break down far more safely and quickly in the environment than current versions do. Researchers in China have now demonstra… Continue reading Novel plastic disintegrates in a week in sunlight and oxygen
Central to the environmental damage caused by plastics is the length of time they take to break down, but researchers are starting to demonstrate how naturally occurring microbes could lend a helping hand. The latest example of this comes from scientis… Continue reading Stomach fluid of cows found to break down common plastic
We are seeing a lot exciting advances being made in the world of eco-friendly plastics, where forms of the material are being produced that safely break down in the environment in a few years or even months. While these are a decidedly green alternativ… Continue reading Compostable cutlery turned to foam in soda-inspired recycling process
Over past few years, Lego has been taking some steps toward more sustainable practices for its plastic toys, outlining plans for more eco-friendly playthings. The company has just revealed the first prototype of its classic brick element crafted from r… Continue reading Lego reveals first ever bricks made from recycled plastic bottles