waste

An Italian town is rebuilding its school with 70% of the old building’s demolition waste; it will also collect rainwater

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An Italian town is rebuilding its school with 70% of the old building's demolition waste; it will also collect rainwater

An Italian town is replacing its existing primary school with a building designed to reuse the old structure’s demolition waste. The project in Castel Madama, called ‘New School: Innovation, Inclusion’, will reuse, recycle, or recover about 70% of the demolition waste from the existing school. According to the New European Bauhaus Prizesit will collect rainwater … Read more

In 1985, she started a paper business with with 3,800 US dollars; 21 years later, she became China’s richest person: How Zhang Yin turned America’s waste paper into a paper empire

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In 1985, she started a paper business with with 3,800 US dollars; 21 years later, she became China’s richest person: How Zhang Yin turned America’s waste paper into a paper empire

Zhang’s husband Liu Ming Chung, the CEO of Nine Dragons, is also a billionaire. In 1985, business tycoon Zhang Yin started a paper-trading business in Hong Kong with about 30,000 yuan, or 3,800 US dollars. More than two decades later, she would be named China’s richest person, with an estimated fortune of $3.4 billion on … Read more

Taiwanese students are turning discarded oyster shells and coral waste into 3D-printed structures for damaged reefs

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Taiwanese students are turning discarded oyster shells and coral waste into 3D-printed structures for damaged reefs

A group of students in Taiwan has found a way to give discarded shellfish waste a second life beneath the waves. Their project, named Reefvive, takes oyster shells and coral gravel that would otherwise be thrown away and turns them into 3D-printed bases for growing coral. According to the James Dyson Award, the structures have … Read more

Meet Benjamin Davis, the 16-year-old Massachusetts student who built a machine that turns 3D-printer waste into reusable filament and won $75,000

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Meet Benjamin Davis, the 16-year-old Massachusetts student who built a machine that turns 3D-printer waste into reusable filament and won $75,000

Davis, a student at Bishop Feehan High School in Attleboro, Massachusetts, built the machine as part of his science research project. The system uses waste plastic, including waste generated during 3D printing and converts it into filament that can again be fed into a 3D printer. A failed 3D print typically goes straight to the … Read more

In 2011, a Massachusetts dairy installed the state’s first agricultural digester; by 2020, manure and food waste were saving it $155,000 a year on heat, fertiliser, and bedding

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In 2011, a Massachusetts dairy installed the state's first agricultural digester; by 2020, manure and food waste were saving it $155,000 a year on heat, fertiliser, and bedding

For generations, cow manure was simply an unavoidable byproduct of running a dairy farm. At Jordan Dairy Farms in Rutland, Massachusetts, however, it became something much more valuable: a source of electricity, heat, fertiliser and even animal bedding. In 2011, the family-run dairy installed what it describes as the first agricultural anaerobic digester in Massachusetts. … Read more

In 2019, Britain laid tyre-rubber asphalt on the M1; after successful trials, it won UK industry approval in 2021, with up to 750 waste tyres reusable per kilometre

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In 2019, Britain laid tyre-rubber asphalt on the M1; after successful trials, it won UK industry approval in 2021, with up to 750 waste tyres reusable per kilometre

Britain began testing an unusual solution to its mounting tyre waste in 2019, when Highways England and construction company Tarmac laid a road surface containing recycled tyre rubber on the M1 near Leicester, according to a UK government press release published that August. The trial tested whether granulated rubber from waste tyres could be incorporated … Read more

Scientists found a surprising use for apple waste. It removed up to 100% of toxic lead from water in lab tests

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Scientists found a surprising use for apple waste. It removed up to 100% of toxic lead from water in lab tests

Lead contamination in water is being studied through different approaches, including the use of waste materials that can help remove metal ions from water. Apple pomace, the residue left after juice production, was among the waste materials researchers examined for its ability to remove lead ions from water in laboratory experiments.Researchers compared untreated raw apple … Read more

In 2026, researchers turned water-treatment waste into a filter for microplastics; real-water tests removed 86.9% to 97.1% of the particles

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In 2026, researchers turned water-treatment waste into a filter for microplastics; real-water tests removed 86.9% to 97.1% of the particles

Representative Image (AI-generated) Microplastics are now found across aquatic environments, creating a difficult challenge for water-treatment systems that must remove tiny plastic particles without generating more waste. A new approach investigated in 2026 takes an unusual route: instead of treating water-treatment waste as something that simply needs to be discarded, researchers turned it into a … Read more

Scientists are using worms that eat human waste to turn toilet waste into compost, but parasitic eggs can survive the process

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Scientists are using worms that eat human waste to turn toilet waste into compost, but parasitic eggs can survive the process

Tiger worm toilets are designed to turn human waste into vermicompost using worms that feed on and break down organic material. The approach can reduce the amount of waste that builds up in a toilet and has been studied as a form of non-sewered sanitation. Researchers tested whether tiger worms could destroy Ascaris eggs under … Read more

Meet Onndinadaho Rasilwela, the South African student who turned sugarcane and maize waste into biodegradable plastic

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Meet Onndinadaho Rasilwela, the South African student who turned sugarcane and maize waste into biodegradable plastic

​Representative Image of biodegradable plastic made from sugarcane and maize waste (AI-generated image) Onndinadaho Rasilwela, a chemical engineering graduate from South Africa, has won top honours at the 2026 Green Youth Indaba for developing a biodegradable plastic from agricultural waste. A member of the Tshwane University of Technology’s Student Women Economic Empowerment Programme, Rasilwela received … Read more