Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

Search Results

You searched for: -

There are 338 results  for your search.  View and Refine Your Search Terms

  • The chewing gum you don't mind stuck to your shoe Audio icon

    Did you know that the main ingredient in most chewing gum is a synthetic rubber, which resembles a close relationship to plastic? "It's called polyisobutylene," explains Anna Bullus, a British designer, "the same stuff you find in the inner tube of bicycle wheels." After realizing this, Anna decided to embark on a mission to recycle used chewing gum as a means of cleaning up the streets. What resulted was a way to create everyday products that include at least 20% gum, while simultaneously saving institutions money on what otherwise would have gone toward cleanup efforts.

    Read More

  • Dutch Supermarket Introduces Plastic-Free Aisle

    As part of a global initiative to reduce the use of plastic, a supermarket in Amsterdam has implemented a plastic-free aisle that houses approximately 700 items packaged in compostable materials, glass, metal or cardboard. “There is absolutely no logic in wrapping something as fleeting as food in something as indestructible as plastic," explains Sian Sutherland, the co-founder of advocacy group A Plastic Planet. Although the first of its kind in Amsterdam, similar efforts are simultaneously underway in other parts of the world.

    Read More

  • It turns out vodka and icy roads can be a good mix

    Although alcohol and driving don't typically go hand-in-hand, researchers found one way to successfully and safely combine the two. By taking the by-products of the distilling process and combining them with the typical road salt that is used to help melt snow during winter conditions, these researchers created a super mixture which enhances the capabilities of melting the ice.

    Read More

  • Bioeconomy: A global trend?

    Bioeconomy is the practice of using biological processes and organic materials to reduce waste, and it's gaining traction as a means of business. Finland is home to one of the largest bioproduct mills, where "a whole ecosystem of companies" work together on projects such as converting sustainably logged wood into pulp before selling it to Europe and Asia and producing solid biofuels which will eventually create electricity.

    Read More

  • These women in the Philippines scour a dump site for trash to turn into 'something beautiful'

    After a typhoon hit Dumaguete City in the Philippines’ Central Visayas region, Whitney Fleming began to work with local women “ to create jewelry from materials found in the local dump site.” Eventually their collaboration led to the creation of Lumago Designs, a social enterprise. The jewelry is made from found reusable items and the local women are paid fair wages.

    Read More

  • An Argentine startup that makes shoes from discarded tire scraps and employs single mothers

    In Argentina, a trio of friends wanted to curb tire pollution, while simultaneously create financial opportunities for single mothers. That’s exactly what they did. Xinca, is a shoe company that uses rubber from old tires. So far 20,000 kilograms of tires have been recycled, and 25 women from rural areas have been hired. “This opportunity is very good because you are not just learning, you are meeting incredible people in the job and earning money at the same time.”

    Read More

  • In Cremona, ideas to make the ‘circular economy' real for cities

    Cremona is dedicated to decreasing the amount of waste it produces and educating its residents in the process. It intends on creating a 'circular economy' where products are recycled, waste is costly, training programs educate the public on decreasing waste and other methods that are now also reaching all around Europe as well.

    Read More

  • Abandoned at Burning Man, bicycles now head for Houston and the Caribbean

    Many argue that the Burning Man festival has become an exclusive and wasteful indulgence for the wealthy - an opinion that was exacerbated this year when thousands of perfectly good bicycles were left among the debris in the desert. But a few enterprising individuals and organizations saw an opportunity to aid the victims of hurricanes Irma and Maria by rescuing, fixing, and transporting the abandoned bikes to communities where many people had lost all other forms of transportation, stifling their recovery efforts. Now hope is being restored for some, two wheels at a time.

    Read More

  • ‘Upcycling' Ocean Plastic Trash Comes into Fashion

    When global oil prices drop, so do incentives to recycle plastic materials, and even more plastic debris and trash ends up collecting in our oceans and ecosystem. An alternative solution in the form of "up-cycling" is helping to combat plastic pollution, as nonprofits and do-gooders who gather beach and ocean trash partner up with companies and retailers to produce desirable products crafted from materials collected out of the oceans.

    Read More

  • Ghost Gear Busters: Paying Fishers to Collect Derelict Nets, Traps

    "Ghost gear" describes the nets, lines, and other debris lost off the back of commercial fishing boats in staggering amounts each year, and it spells death for hundreds of thousands of marine animals and birds who get tangled in it. Previously, there was little financial incentive to pull this litter back out of the water, but a new public-private partnership called Fishing For Energy is paying fishers to gather up ghost gear and help recycle it, as well as developing new technologies to prevent bycatch and educating communities about the issue.

    Read More