Photo by Bao lab, via Stanford University Researchers have developed a biodegradable polymer for electronics, which could complicate e-scrap recycling if it were ever adopted for widespread use. Conducted by researchers from Stanford University, the University of California, Santa Barbara and Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, the study aimed to cut down on mounting volumes of e-scrap. The team approached that goal by...

Avangard Innovative is continuing its efforts to optimize plastics recycling streams with the assistance of new technology, and the results are playing into bale price negotiations. For several months, the Houston-based recycling and waste optimization company has been rolling out its Sustayn hardware-software system, which provides information on all aspects of a company's recycling stream. The impetus behind the system...

With the frequency of container deposit-related legislation, advocates often look to other states for examples of what to expect when a new law is proposed, and there's no shortage of states to refer to. This year alone, container deposit programs have been introduced in Illinois and Virginia, and expansions have been proposed in California, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts and Vermont. “It...

A legal petition filed last week claims a mixed-waste processing facility being built by Waste Management in California could harm source-separation efforts. The facility in question is a Waste Management project at its Davis Street Transfer Station, a 53-acre site in San Leandro, Calif, which is outside of Oakland. The phased project, estimated to cost more than $120 million, will include...

The Golden State's container redemption program differs from bottle bills in other states, and according to a new study, that might be bringing it down. More than 300 collection centers, which accept drink containers covered by the California Redemption Value (CRV) program, have closed their doors in the past 16 months, according to the state Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO). In...

A recently released study quantifies the massive shift in device composition over the past 25 years. Researchers tackled the task with an eye toward predicting where materials usage is headed in the future. The analysis provides an in-depth look at the rise of lightweighting in consumer technology, noting that the total weight of consumer electronics sold annually in the U.S....

As more and more communities switch to single-stream recycling collection to increase participation and material volumes, a New Jersey city is holding on strong to its source-separation system. And the municipality’s recycling coordinator believes the approach is the key to community-wide sustainability. Clifton, N.J., like all municipalities in the state, was required to offer recycling services after state-level legislation passed...

The world's largest retailer has identified packaging recyclability as a key component of Project Gigaton, its recently announced effort to reduce greenhouse gases in its supply chain. “Packaging we pulled out on its own because it's a really big area in terms of consumer goods, fast-moving retail selling products, and our role in that, so we kind of made that...

The Golden State's container redemption program differs from bottle bills in other states, and according to a new study, that fact might be hindering the system's effectiveness. The California Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) recently stated a convoluted system that is used to determine subsidies to redemption centers has contributed to the closing of more than 300 of those sites in the...

Many municipalities struggle to find downstream uses for recovered glass, but one study offers a bit of hope for a modest new end market. University of California, Riverside researchers have successfully used a chemical process to utilize recycled glass bottles in producing anodes for lithium batteries. The method requires minimal cost, using crushed glass bottles and an inexpensive chemical reaction...