recycling

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Malaysia Shuts Door to US Plastic Waste

This continues a trend, which has Western nations searching for new dumping grounds

(Newser) - Malaysia has effectively banned all imports of plastic waste from the US, presenting a dilemma: Where will all our discarded candy wrappers and bottles go next? With the US recycling less than 10% of its plastic, much of the rest is incinerated, landfilled, or sent abroad, per the New ...

In an Iconic Square, a Wild Scene of Waste

Colombian waste pickers protest falling wages

(Newser) - Dozens of Colombian waste pickers inundated Bogota's iconic Bolivar Square with about 15 tons of recyclable goods Tuesday to protest decreasing income and tougher conditions for scavengers. The demonstration was organized by 14 waste picker associations in Bogota, a city where approximately 20,000 scavengers work long hours gathering...

'Garbage Imperialism' of the '80s Never Really Went Away

New York Times columnist Alexander Clapp says the recycling story we've been told 'often isn't true'

(Newser) - In the '80s, hazardous waste from developed nations like the US began to get sent to undeveloped nations in bulk, with vows made to the recipients to pay them back with schools, hospitals, or cash for absorbing the rest of the world's trash. In 1992, the immorality of...

California Sues ExxonMobil Over Recycling 'Myth'

ExxonMobil has now filed a countersuit, months later

(Newser) - Months after California's blockbuster lawsuit against ExxonMobil over alleged "greenwashing," the oil and gas giant is suing California right back. ExxonMobil accuses the state's attorney general and a number of environmental groups of defamation and seeks unspecified damages and retractions, the AP reports. The lawsuit accuses...

The Big Grab for Metals Hiding in Our E-Waste

Companies are betting big on extracting copper from our old junk to power the digital future

(Newser) - In the shift to renewable energy, recycled copper is gold—and mining companies are therefore interested in our old electronics. "In the next 25 years we will consume more copper than humanity has consumed until now," Kunal Sinha, the global head of recycling at Glencore, the world's...

Sorting Trash Incorrectly? One City Will Publicly Call You Out

Come March, waste offenders in Fukushima, Japan, will be named and shamed

(Newser) - Japan has long been a leader in waste reduction, and now one city there is upping the ante for offenders of stringent trash rules. The BBC reports that come March, Fukushima will out people who shirk waste-disposal guidelines by naming and shaming them publicly. While the practice has been used...

'Hospital' for Misfit Toys Keeps Joy Going for a New Generation

Venezuelan nonprofit gives outgrown playthings a makeover, donates them to vulnerable kids

(Newser) - The doll's golden curls are intact, and soon her head is, too. One by one, the toys that show the wear and tear of love are restored for the holidays: sewed and combed, stuffed and dressed. From Barbie dolls to a Kung Fu Panda character with a paw raised...

Keurig Pays $1.5M Penalty for K-Cup Recycling Claims

SEC says company failed to disclose that big recycling companies didn't intend to accept the pods

(Newser) - Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. will pay $1.5 million to settle charges that it made inaccurate statements about the recyclability of its K-Cup single use beverage pods, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
  • In annual reports for fiscal years 2019 and 2020, Kuerig stated that its testing with recycling
...

The Very Green Problem With Blended Fabrics

Washington Post breaks down which materials to shop for so clothing can have a second life

(Newser) - Purchasing some new threads? Then check the label for this sustainability marker: 100%. That's what the Washington Post advises in a rundown of how consumers can help keep fabrics from clogging up landfills. They argue that we can make a difference by eschewing blended fabrics, made from multiple materials...

Newfangled Form of Plastic Recycling Called a 'Delusion'

A ProPublica investigation calls process of pyrolysis an industry-hyped bust

(Newser) - If the plastics industry is to be believed, a new type of chemical recycling called pyrolysis is poised to solve many of the well-documented —and alarming —problems with plastic. The only hitch? Pyrolysis is a "delusion," declares a ProPublica investigation. As journalist Lisa Song explains, pyrolysis...

The Inside of Your Amazon Box Looks Different Now

Those plastic air pillows are (mostly) a thing of the past

(Newser) - If you've long enjoyed the satisfying sound of popping the air pillows that come in your Amazon box, you'll have to settle for a crinkling noise instead. The company on Thursday announced it has made major strides in its effort to eliminate plastic packaging material from its boxes...

Big Apple Is Going to Lengths to Recycle Those Pizza Boxes

The containers of the city's most iconic food is getting its own personal recycling bin

(Newser) - New York City might as well be called the Big Pizza instead of the Big Apple, and Central Park is taking a rather unprecedented step toward recycling the boxes that hold that favorite pie: a recycling bin specifically designed to accept pizza boxes. "People want to do the right...

UN: Our E-Waste Problem Is Getting Out of Control

The planet generated 62M tons of it in 2022

(Newser) - UN agencies have warned that electrical and electronic waste is piling up worldwide while recycling rates remain low and are likely to fall even further. In a new report released Wednesday, the UN's International Telecommunications Union and research arm UNITAR said some 62 million tons of "e-waste"—...

QR Codes Set to Replace Confusing Recycling Symbols

Recycling scans on packaging will give more detailed info by location

(Newser) - What you can recycle depends on where you live, making the labels on paper, glass, metal, and plastic confusing. The Consumer Brand's Association (CBA) aims to remedy that using pretty simple technology. Axios reports that the group is working with brands to add QR codes to their packaging that...

Tennis Has a Recycling Problem
Tennis Has a
Recycling Problem
Sep 10, 2023 8:30 AM CDT

Tennis Has a Recycling Problem

Tennis balls can't be recycled, and experts are grappling with how to manage that waste

(Newser) - Tennis has a fuzzy yellow problem most players don't think about when they open can after can of fresh balls, or when umpires at US Open matches make their frequent requests for "new balls please." Because tennis balls are extremely hard to recycle and the industry has...

8 Busted in Alleged California Recycling Scam

They allegedly brought in tons of cans and bottles from Arizona

(Newser) - California charges an extra 5 or 10 cents on bottles and cans, which can be redeemed when they're returned to a recycling center—and those nickels and dimes can add up to a lot of money, especially if you're bringing in out-of-state containers by the ton. The state...

Researchers Find Unhappy Surprise in Plastic Recycling
Researchers Find Unhappy
Surprise in Plastic Recycling
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
May 27, 2023 6:00 AM CDT

Researchers Find Unhappy Surprise in Plastic Recycling

The process of breaking down the material releases microplastics into the air, says study

(Newser) - A new study on the recycling of plastic offers a disturbing surprise: In one way, the process may make the environmental problem worse. In the peer-reviewed study at ScienceDirect , UK researchers suggest that recycling plants create and release a troubling amount of microplastic pollution as they break down and wash...

PepsiCo Sets 'Not Easy' Packaging Goal for Doritos

Company wants all packaging for its snack brands to be compostable or otherwise green by 2030

(Newser) - Most people like their chips crunchy, but one of the nation's largest food and beverage conglomerates wants the bags they come in to dissolve softly and safely into the earth and ether. On Wednesday, the head of PepsiCo Foods North America, Steven Williams, popped up during the virtual CNBC...

Unwanted US Atom Bombs Become Parts for New Ones

Some experts call stockpile in warehouses dangerous and provocative to other nations

(Newser) - In warehouses and bunkers throughout the nation, parts pulled from disassembled atomic bombs are stored, ready to be recycled into new weapons. Atomic bombs aren't thrown away when they're pulled from service, the New York Times reports; they're pulled apart and sent to the equivalent of a...

Plastic Recycling Is a Farce
Plastic Recycling
Is a Fool's Errand
new report
Oct 25, 2022 3:17 PM CDT

Plastic Recycling Is a Fool's Errand

Greenpeace report says the problem is most plastic just can't be recycled

(Newser) - "Plastic recycling is a dead-end street." So proclaims a new Greenpeace report that makes that very case using an underwhelming set of stats regarding the scant amount of plastic that's recycled in the US. Per the report, at our peak in 2014, America recycled 9.5% of...

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