Disclosure statement Ian Williams receives funding from EU Horizon 2020 and EPSRC. Ian Williams is a member of the International Solid Waste Association, the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management, and the Royal Society of Chemistry. Partners The University of Southampton provides funding as a member of The Conversation UK. View all partners We believe in the free flow of information Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license. Republish this article Email Twitter5 Facebook31 LinkedIn Print Where does our rubbish go? - Tsubame, aged nine, London, UK Modern life causes lots of different types...

  Disclosure statement Torik Holmes receives funding from the UKRI-ISCF Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging Fund (NE/V01045X/1). He works for The University of Manchester within the Sustainable Consumption Institute. Adeyemi Adelekan, Maria Sharmina and Michael Shaver are also part of the 'One Bin to Rule Them All' research project team. Helen Holmes receives funding from the UKRI-ISCF Smart Sustainable Packaging Fund (NE/V01045X/1). Kristoffer Kortsen receives funding from the UKRI-ISCF Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging Fund (NE/V01045X/1). Partners The University of Manchester provides funding as a member of The Conversation UK. View all partners We believe in the free flow of information Republish our...

  Disclosure Statement Michaela Barnett, the owner and founder of KnoxFill, is a company that sells refillable and bulk household and personal care products. Shahzeen Attari has received funding from the National Science Foundation. Leidy Klutz and Patrick I. Hancock have not disclosed any relevant affiliations other than their academic appointment. They do not consult or own shares of companies or organizations that could benefit from the article. Partners The Conversation U.S. members Indiana University and the University of Virginia provide funding. View All Partners  We believe in free information flow You can republish our articles online or in print for free under Creative...

  In the United States, recycling rates have increased from less than 7% in 1960 to more than 34% in 2015. We have a lot of work to do, despite the promising progress. This guide will help you get started with recycling at home, work and school. The Importance of Recycling Why recycle? It is a simple concept. It's beneficial to the environment when you turn something old into something else. Resources and materials are not wasted. During the manufacturing process, energy is conserved. Less waste is sent to landfills. It also helps to keep wildlife safe. Recycling can also...

In today's society, recycling is essential if you want to preserve this planet for future generations. Recycling is beneficial to the environment, as we can create new products out of old ones that are no longer useful. Recycling starts at home. Recycling is when you reuse your old items for new products. Reduce, reuse, and recycle should be the main focus when you consider recycling. It's time for us to stop being so careless with our Earth. Volume 0% of 1 second in 30 seconds Businesses are changing packaging and recycling because consumers want it.  Good Natured Stackable Recycling Bin...

  The recycling system in the United States is broken. By 2017, Americans produced an average of 4,51 pounds per day. While many Americans put their recyclables in the bins, a lot of them are not recycled. This article will discuss the reasons why and possible solutions. Why recycling doesn't work in the U.S. When items are put in the wrong bin or a dirty container of food is placed into the recycling bin, many recyclables can become contaminated. Contamination may prevent the recycling of large quantities of material. Certain facilities can't process certain materials. Many items collected, such as yogurt containers,...

The modern industry has made huge strides to turn trash into new products of tomorrow, but it is still far from perfect. New technologies can help. Updates on chemical recycling, design, and dirty recycling. Design for recycling They take your stuff to be re-cycled, right? They don't just dump all the carefully separated newspaper, cardboard boxes, and metal cans with the rest. Relax. Rest assured that your recyclables will (probably) end up where they are supposed to. The same trucks are going to different destinations -- usually a sorting facility, similar to the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) that Michael Taylor...

  A MRF (pronounced "murf") is an essential component of the recycling process for municipal waste, including household and commercial waste. A MRF, or Material Recycling Facility is a recycling plant. The MRF accepts mixed recycling from homes and business across the country. It uses mechanical and technical equipment in order to separate recyclates into single material streams before shipment to the market. MRFs are available in a variety of sizes and capacities. From smaller MRFs that process a few hundred tons per week, to "Super" MRFs, like Biffa’s Edmonton facility which processes thousands tonnes per week. Biffa has five MRFs in its infrastructure, including...

In 2015 it became mandatory for large businesses to charge for all single-use plastic carrier bags, leading supermarkets, and other retailers to cut the number of single-use carrier bags and introduce a variety of 'bag for life' alternatives. According to the government: "The scheme aims to reduce the use of single-use plastic carrier bags, and the litter associated with them, by encouraging people to re-use bags" but what are the most environmentally friendly carrier bags? When answering this question, there certain factors that need to be considered, from the initial sourcing of materials, manufacturing, and transportation of the carrier bag...

The increased awareness about global issues has led to 70% of Brits going green for Christmas. They will also increase their recycling efforts and buy gifts made of recycled material. Two out of five people feel guilty about the amount of food waste that will be produced during our celebrations. However, almost a fifth of those surveyed said they would not bother even though they have a separate bin of food at home. There are three easy steps to take if you don't want to be on the "naughty" list. Refuse This year, and we have all become experts at living...