Stories About Plastics
Found 612 stories. Page 28 of 31.
7 Reasons Why Recycling Is Not a Waste: A Response to 'The Reign of Recycling'
WASTE NOT - Recycling in the United States is an economically unsustainable trend — or at least that’s what New York Times writer John Tierney recently argued in his opinion piece, “The Reign of Recycling," published in the October 4th Sunday Review.
Loliware’s Edible Drinkware Attracts $600K Deal on ‘Shark Tank’
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION - Frustrated by the amount of disposable packaging discarded at events and the amount of time it takes for disposable cups (including biobased plastics) to degrade, Chelsea Briganti and Leigh Ann Tucker created a “biodegredible” – biodegradable and edible – cup. Last week, the women pitched their startup, Loliware, on the ABC show “Shark Tank” and secured a $600,000 deal for 25 percent of their company.
Ocean Conservancy Plan Could Cut Ocean Plastic Waste 45% by 2025, 100% by 2035
WASTE NOT - Ocean Conservancy on Wednesday released a report that proposes a four-point solution to cutting ocean plastic waste by 45 percent by 2025 with the ultimate goal of eradicating the issue by 2035. Stemming the Tide: Land-based strategies for a plastic-free ocean is a first-of-its-kind, solutions-oriented report in partnership with the McKinsey Center for Business and Environment that outlines specific, land-based solutions for plastic waste in the ocean, starting with the elimination of plastic waste leakage in five priority countries: China, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand.
Plastic, Other Man-Made Fibers Found in a Quarter of Fish Sold at Markets
WASTE NOT - Researchers found that roughly a quarter of the fish sampled from fish markets in California and Indonesia contained man-made plastic or fibrous material in their guts. The new study is from the University of California, Davis and Hasanuddin University in Indonesia and was published on Thursday.
Why a Circular Economy Is Key to Sustainable Development (and Why Business Must Lead the Way)
THE NEXT ECONOMY - This post is part of a series produced by The Huffington Post, "What's Working: Sustainable Development Goals," in conjunction with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The proposed set of goals will be the subject of discussion at the UN General Assembly meeting on Sept. 25-27, 2015 in New York; they cover 17 key areas of development — including poverty, hunger, health, education, and gender equality, among many others.
Keurig’s K-Cups Inch Closer to Being 100% Recyclable
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING - Keurig Green Mountain Inc. is making progress towards its goal of making all K-Cups recyclable by 2020. Following successful recycling research trials, the company has unveiled plans to transition the entire product line to polypropylene, according to Plastics News.
World's first top mount with polyurethane bearing and polyamide housing
PRESS RELEASE - BASF is now expanding its expertise in top mounts to enable car manufacturers an optimum combination of weight savings, pleasant acoustics and vibration damping. The unique NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) solution is made possible by combining two of BASF's plastic specialties: the micro-cellular polyurethane elastomer Cellasto® and the highly glass-fiber reinforced polyamide Ultramid® A3WG10 CR. The top mount with the Cellasto® element and the Ultramid® housing is around 25 percent lighter than conventional aluminum die-cast versions with rubber. It was developed and optimized for serial production using BASF's simulation tool Ultrasim®.Combination of polyurethane and polyamide
Can't Give Up the Bottle? Try Boxed Water
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING - Plastic bottles are some of the worst offenders in packaging waste, but sales of bottled water continue to grow: U.S. bottled water volume apparently rose 7 percent last year.
Trending: New Use for Coffee Grounds, 'Uber for Trash' Among Latest Innovations in Waste Reduction
WASTE NOT - You might already be using them in your garden or they might be fueling your commute — but now you can use them in your 3D printer: Coffee grounds seem to be wasted less and less by the day, thanks to waste-to-energy and upcycling efforts across the globe.
Trending: Biobased Microbeads, Flexible Foams Could Offer Renewable Materials for Hundreds of Products
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING - TerraVerdae BioWorks, an industrial biotechnology company developing advanced bioplastics and environmentally sustainable biomaterials, announced Monday that it has successfully achieved key milestones for the commercial production for its line of Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA)-based biomaterials. These include 10,000-liter production runs of its line of biodegradable, natural microspheres for use in personal care and cosmetic products.
Bureo's Upcycled Sunglasses Campaign Funded Within Hours of Launch
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION - We have been following Chile-based startup Bureo from its launch in late 2013 to its first incredibly successful Kickstarter campaign last year. Now the company, which got its start upcycling plastic marine waste lining Chile’s waters and shores, has expanded its product range to sunglasses.
Could Genetically Modified Algae Replace Petroleum in Plastic?
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING - Conventional plastic — found just about everywhere you can think of and in many places you wouldn’t — is made from ethylene, a cheap hydrocarbon made using petroleum and natural gas – through a process that emits more carbon dioxide than any other chemical process. At the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), researchers have been experimenting with ways to make ethylene production less toxic to the environment, and are apparently finding success with the help of cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, according to ClimateWire.
This Bio-Knit Shoe Will Be as Easy to Recycle as Plastic Bottles
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION - A new shoe based on textile biomimicry promises easy recycling and soft, robust textures with a single heat-treated material and 3D printers.Designer Amno Liao from the Royal College of Art in London has created the Bio-Knit shoe, which is knitted on a 3-D knitting machine and then treated to harden its various parts. Heat is used to change the stiffness of the threads, so a semi-rigid heel and sock-like textures are produced from the same material. Creating a shoe without composites, as most footwear contains, will dramatically reduce recycling costs.
Investor-Spurned Startup Turns to the Crowd to Fund Eco-Friendly Lunch Box
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION - San Francisco Bay Area startup ECOlunchbox has launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise $30,000 to bring to market its Blue Water Bento collection, a new line of lunch containers that combine no-leak silicone lids with non-toxic stainless steel bottoms.
P&G Fabric Care Overhauling Packaging to Make 230M Bottles a Year from Recycled Plastic
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING - Procter & Gamble (P&G) Fabric Care has announced a new initiative that will see 230 million bottles of flagship brands such as Ariel, Dash, Lenor and Unstopables made out of Post-Consumer Recyclate (PCR — aka recycled packaging). If laid out end-to-end, the 230 million bottles would stretch roughly the distance between the North and South Poles, the company says.
Nestlé Waters’ resource® Now Comes in 100% Recycled Bottles
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING - Yesterday resource® Natural Spring Water announced the debut of a remodeled bottle made entirely of recycled plastic (rPET). Part of the Nestlé Waters North America (NWNA) portfolio of bottled waters, the resource brand reflects Nestle’s exploration of environmentally sound packaging options across its family of beverages.The remodeled bottle, available in 700ml and 1L sizes, is sourced and bottled in the US. It is produced with 100 percent rPET, excluding the cap and label. resource says it hopes the new bottle will focus attention on the uses of rPET and encourage bottle-to-bottle recycling among consumers.
New Bioplastic Production Process May Increase Viability as Alternative to Oil-Based Counterparts
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING - The bioplastic known as polylactic acid (PLA) is already a part of our everyday lives — comprising items such as biodegradable drinking cups and vegetable wrapping foil — yet, it is not considered a fully viable alternative to traditional petroleum-based plastics, as it is costly to produce.Now, researchers from the KU Leuven Centre for Surface Chemistry and Catalysis have presented a way to make the PLA production process simpler and waste-free. Their findings were published this week in Science.
adidas, Parley for the Oceans Unveil First Footwear Made from Upcycled Ocean Waste
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION - This week at the United Nations headquarters, adidas celebrated its new partnership with Parley for the Oceans by showcasing the first innovative footwear concept born from the collaboration.Parley for the Oceans brings together creators, thinkers and leaders to raise awareness about the disastrous state of the oceans and to collaborate on promising projects that can protect and conserve them. As a founding member, adidas supports Parley for the Oceans in its education and communication efforts and its Ocean Plastic Program that aims to end the rampant plastic pollution of the oceans.
The Ocean Cleanup Sets Course for World’s Largest Landfill — On Water
WASTE NOT - The largest landfill in the world can’t be found on land at all — but in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The so-called “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” consists of millions of pounds of trash, mostly plastic, which have created an oceanic desert where only tiny phytoplankton can survive.
Coke Unveils World's First Entirely Plant-Based PET Bottle
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING - The Coca-Cola Company today unveiled the world’s first PET plastic bottle made entirely from plant materials at the World Expo — Milan.PlantBottle packaging is Coca-Cola’s vision to develop a more responsible plant-based alternative to packaging traditionally made from fossil fuels and other non-renewable materials. PlantBottle packaging uses patented technology that converts natural sugars found in plants into the ingredients for making PET plastic bottles. The packaging looks, functions and recycles like traditional PET but has a lighter footprint on the planet and its scarce resources.
