October 14 was International E-Waste Day - a day meant to highlight the problems of electronic waste. This year, the day was focused on "invisible" e-waste - things most people don't think of as electronics. The surprising category at the top of this group was toys.
Posts tagged as “recycling”
The LEGO Group has been working on a way to make LEGO bricks out of recycled plastic. The bricks aren't ready yet, but the company says it's making progress. Making bricks from recycled materials could cut pollution from the company's bricks by 70%.
In today's news roundup, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala becomes the first woman and the first African to lead the WTO, Greece gets hit by cold weather and heavy snow, and Coca-Cola will test selling drinks in paper bottles this summer.
Several large companies have begun creating paper bottles to replace glass and plastic ones. Paper bottles aren’t quite ready to go yet, but you may see them appearing on shelves over the next few years.
Recently, researchers have reported on two different ways to break down different kinds of plastic. The new advances could lead to easier, high-quality recycling, and help deal with toxic plastic pollution.
On Sunday, a new law banning single-use plastic bags in New York state came into effect. Though the move will have a positive effect on the environment, there could be some difficulties as New Yorkers adjust to the plan.
The 2020 Summer Olympics will be held in Tokyo next year. Japan has made 5,000 medals for the winners. But these Olympic medals are more special than most - they are made entirely out of recycled electronics.
David Katz was upset by all the plastic going into the oceans. To help solve the problem, he had an unusual idea - to treat plastic like money. Mr. Katz calls his idea the "Plastic Bank".
A six-year struggle between the Philippines and Canada over trash which was shipped as "recycling" is finally ending. Canada has agreed to take back its trash.
Taiwan was once known as "Garbage Island". Now it is a world leader, recycling more than half of its waste in a business that brings in over $2 billion a year.
Last week, almost every country in the world except the United States signed a new agreement to control plastic waste. The new agreement should help track plastic waste and make sure more of it actually gets recycled.