waste

California Passes First U.S. Clothing Recycling Law

California Passes First U.S. Clothing Recycling Law

California is tackling the problem of textile and fashion waste with the country’s first law that requires clothing companies to implement a recycling system for the garments they sell. Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed SB 707, the Responsible Textile Recovery Act. The new law requires a clothing, apparel and textile extended producer responsibility (EPR) program, […]

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    This Start-Up Is Recycling Abandoned Wooden Homes in Baltimore

    This Start-Up Is Recycling Abandoned Wooden Homes in Baltimore

    By Natalie Marchant Wood accounts for 10% of yearly waste material in the US. The Baltimore Wood Project salvages wood from buildings to repurpose and resell locally to create a circular economy. The initiative also has social benefits, by creating job opportunities in a post-industrial city that has an 8.5% unemployment rate. An initiative in […]

    U.S. Nuclear Waste Sites Face Sea-Level Rise Threat

    U.S. Nuclear Waste Sites Face Sea-Level Rise Threat

    Nuclear power is a source of low-carbon electricity, but producing it creates dangerous radioactive waste that needs to be stored safely and permanently. Recent research suggests that as seas rise, some nuclear waste storage facilities are at risk of flooding or storm damage. “We really focused in to say, ‘OK, well, how many plants might […]

    E-Waste Management Is Not Keeping Pace With Consumer Electronics

    E-Waste Management Is Not Keeping Pace With Consumer Electronics

    By Callie Babbitt and Shahana Althaf It’s hard to imagine navigating modern life without a mobile phone in hand. Computers, tablets and smartphones have transformed how we communicate, work, learn, share news and entertain ourselves. They became even more essential when the COVID-19 pandemic moved classes, meetings and social connections online. But few people realize […]

    Can Fireworks Ever Become Eco-Friendly?

    Can Fireworks Ever Become Eco-Friendly?

    By Elliot Douglas First developed in China more than a thousand years ago, fireworks have since become an integral part of celebrations all over the world. From New Year’s Eve festivities, to U.S. Independence Day and Diwali in India, many events have become almost synonymous with the spark and spectacle of mini explosions lighting up […]

    These Four Companies Are Embracing the Circular Economy

    These Four Companies Are Embracing the Circular Economy

    By Sean Fleming What goes around comes around, according to the old saying. And in the case of the circular economy, that’s certainly true. The circular economy takes a different approach to the take-make-dispose model of consumption to which many have become accustomed. By reusing and recycling as much as possible, plus repurposing and selling […]

    Biden Faces Pressure to Tackle Backlog of ‘Unfunded’ Toxic Waste Sites

    Biden Faces Pressure to Tackle Backlog of ‘Unfunded’ Toxic Waste Sites

    By Jessica Corbett A joint report on Monday highlighted the pressure that President-elect Joe Biden is already facing to deliver on his environmental justice campaign promises—particularly when it comes to the 34 Superfund sites nationwide for which there is no reliable cleanup funding—the largest backlog of “unfunded” sites in 15 years. The federal Superfund program […]

    Free Returns Are Costing the Environment

    Free Returns Are Costing the Environment

    Many people shop online for everything from clothes to appliances. If they do not like the product, they simply return it. But there’s an environmental cost to returns. Meagan Knowlton is a sustainability manager at Optoro, a company that helps retailers process and resell returns. Optoro estimates that each year, returns in the U.S. create […]