We still don’t know how to recycle these five common products, but scientists are busy finding answers. Recycling has become second nature for many of us, but what products in Europe still struggle to find a second life? Municipalities collected half a tonne of waste per person living in the EU in 2023, the latest […]
Cutting down on the production of virgin plastics is essential, campaigners say, in the face of such low reuse rates. Global plastic recycling rates are now stuck at under 10 per cent, a comprehensive new study shows. Plastic production has exploded in the meantime, creating a “pressing global environmental challenge”, according to researchers from Tsinghua […]
Harnessing moisture from air, Northwestern University chemists have developed a simple new method for breaking down plastic waste. The non-toxic, environmentally friendly, solvent-free process first uses an inexpensive catalyst to break apart the bonds in polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the most common plastic in the polyester family. Then, the researchers merely expose the broken pieces to […]
Ali Al Dhaheri is the managing director and chief executive of Tadweer Group The issue of how to manage waste is not a new one. Tackling the vast amounts of it that countries generate is a task for no one nation. Global waste is projected to reach 3.8 billion tonnes by 2050, growing more than twice […]
Air pollution, pesticide use, and plastic litter at sea are down, but more action is needed for the bloc to meet its clean goals by 2030. While the internet was abuzz with the Oscars, a very different set of results was unveiled in Brussels this morning: the runners and riders in Europe’s race to zero […]
A UAE non-profit organisation has teamed up with authorities in the Philippines to revitalise a vital waterway in Manila. An agreement was reached on Wednesday at the World Governments Summit for UAE-based Clean Rivers to commit up to $20 million towards initiatives that support the clean-up of the Pasig River and prevent dumping into the […]
Tadweer Group on Wednesday unveiled plans to cut emissions across its operations by 40 per cent by 2035 in support of the UAE’s sustainability programmes. The group announced the key environmental goal for the next decade during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week. Ali Al Dhaheri, managing director and chief executive officer of Tadweer, told The National that the […]
Yeast and white rot fungus could have a small but ingenious role to play in the energy transition. Fungi could be used to power batteries in remote regions thanks to a new breakthrough by Swiss researchers. Their fungal battery invention is 3D-printed – with fungal cells mixed into the printing ink – and has the […]
We know a lot about how much fossil-derived carbon is emitted to the atmosphere but less about how much is stored in human-made products. In a study publishing December 20 in the Cell Press journal Cell Reports Sustainability, ecological economists estimate that each year, humans add around 400 million tons of fossil carbon to long-lasting products such […]
The talks were about phasing out plastic production, improving waste management, design requirements for plastic products and funding the global transition away from plastic. Talks to reach an agreement on how to tackle the epidemic of plastic waste have collapsed. Countries spent the past week trying to create the first ever legally binding treaty on […]
