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Meet Caymus Maxson, the 16-year-old California teen who started Trash Turtles at 10, led 50+ beach cleanups, removed 6+ tons of debris, recycled 75,000+ cigarette butts and became a 2026 Barron Prize winner

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Meet Caymus Maxson, the 16-year-old California teen who started Trash Turtles at 10, led 50+ beach cleanups, removed 6+ tons of debris, recycled 75,000+ cigarette butts and became a 2026 Barron Prize winner

Maxson said the decision to start Trash Turtles came from seeing rubbish being pushed towards the sea (Photo: Surfrider) At 10, Caymus ‘CO’ Maxson noticed something wrong on a beach in Madeira Beach, Florida. In February 2020, she saw beach trash being raked towards the water’s edge. She realised that the incoming tide could carry … Read more

Florida is sinking 3 million pounds of repurposed concrete culverts off Destin-Fort Walton Beach; the discarded structures will form three artificial reefs, each built from about 500 tons of concrete

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Florida is sinking 3 million pounds of repurposed concrete culverts off Destin-Fort Walton Beach; the discarded structures will form three artificial reefs, each built from about 500 tons of concrete

More than 1,300 tonnes of old concrete pipes are being dropped into the Gulf of Mexico to create a series of artificial reefs off the coast of Destin-Fort Walton Beach, Florida. The project uses three million pounds of recycled concrete culverts to create three separate underwater habitats. Each site will receive about 500 tons of … Read more

Rhode Island pilot recycled 80 short tons of fibreglass from old boats using a $105,000 NOAA grant, turning shredded hulls into cement material

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Rhode Island pilot recycled 80 short tons of fibreglass from old boats using a $105,000 NOAA grant, turning shredded hulls into cement material

A Rhode Island pilot is demonstrating how fibreglass boat recycling could provide an alternative to sending old and derelict vessels to landfill. The programme shredded fibreglass hulls and sent the material to a cement manufacturer for use in cement production. According to a Rhode Island Marine Trade Association Foundation report, the pilot recycled 80 short … Read more

Belgium sank 23 concrete blocks weighing 22,000 tons each in the North Sea to build the world’s first artificial energy island in a €7B project

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Belgium sank 23 concrete blocks weighing 22,000 tons each in the North Sea to build the world's first artificial energy island in a €7B project

Forty-five kilometres off the Belgian coast, in the middle of the North Sea, humans are creating something that did not naturally exist in the water. It is the world’s first artificial energy island the size of eight football fields, being built with 23 giant concrete caissons, each weighing approximately 22,000 tons. While one might assume … Read more

After losing about 140.5 billion tons of ice a year for two decades, Antarctica temporarily reversed course, gaining a record 695 billion tons in 2021-23 as tropical warmth drove heavy snowfall

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After losing about 140.5 billion tons of ice a year for two decades, Antarctica temporarily reversed course, gaining a record 695 billion tons in 2021-23 as tropical warmth drove heavy snowfall

Representative Image (AI-generated) Antarctica has been losing mass for years as glaciers shed ice into the ocean, contributing to rising sea levels. But between 2021 and 2023, the continent experienced an unusual and temporary reversal. Instead of continuing to lose mass at its recent rate, Antarctica gained about 695 billion tonnes over 22 months, marking … Read more

Scientists discover nearly 1 billion tons of water locked inside Utah’s rocky glaciers, using gravity measurements to map ice buried beneath mountain debris

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Scientists discover nearly 1 billion tons of water locked inside Utah's rocky glaciers, using gravity measurements to map ice buried beneath mountain debris

At first glance, Utah’s rocky mountain slopes may look completely dry, with loose stones and boulders covering the ground. But beneath some of those rocks lies an enormous store of frozen water. Researchers have now estimated that Utah’s rock glaciers contain about 0.99 gigatonnes, or nearly 1 billion tons, of water equivalent. These unusual formations … Read more

In 2002, Idaho buried nearly 300 tons of crushed waste glass beneath Highway 75; the material formed 8 to 12 inches of fill under a 200-foot road section

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In 2002, Idaho buried nearly 300 tons of crushed waste glass beneath Highway 75; the material formed 8 to 12 inches of fill under a 200-foot road section

Idaho buried nearly 300 tons of crushed waste glass beneath Highway 75 Transport authorities in Idaho turned nearly 300 tonnes of discarded glass into road foundation material under Highway 75, creating a durable structural base while solving a local landfill crisis. The engineering trial, executed along a 200-foot stretch of highway near Ketchum, placed an … Read more

Tons of fish die in Polish canal as toxic golden algae bloom sparks fears of another major ecological disaster

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Tons of fish die in Polish canal as toxic golden algae bloom sparks fears of another major ecological disaster

Tons of dead fish have been removed from the Gliwice Canal in southern Poland after a toxic golden algae bloom triggered a new environmental crisis in the Oder River system. Polish authorities said the fish deaths were linked to Prymnesium parvum, a microscopic organism capable of producing toxins that can be lethal to aquatic life. … Read more

In the early 1970s, Virginia Beach compacted 640,000 tons of garbage into a 60-foot hill; the dump became America’s first landfill park and now spans 165 acres

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In the early 1970s, Virginia Beach compacted 640,000 tons of garbage into a 60-foot hill; the dump became America’s first landfill park and now spans 165 acres

Mount Trashmore Park (Image Credit: Wikipedia) In Virginia Beach, one of the city’s most recognisable parks began with something most communities would rather hide: a mountain of garbage. According to the City of Virginia Beach, a 640,000-ton pile of garbage was converted into a 60-foot-high hill that became Mount Trashmore Park. What had once been … Read more

Britain is dropping 20 concrete reef cubes and 44 tons of scallop shells into the sea in the hope to bring back its native oysters who have reduced by 95% since 1800s

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Britain is dropping 20 concrete reef cubes and 44 tons of scallop shells into the sea in the hope to bring back its native oysters who have reduced by 95% since 1800s

While one might assume that lowering huge white blocks of concrete into the sea was an attempt at dumping construction waste offshore, in Britain’s North Sea it is a conservation effort. The country is dumping 20 carefully designed structures into the deep waters to restore the population of the European native oyster, Ostrea edulis, along … Read more