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  • You Flushed the Toilet. They Made Some Bricks.

    A civil engineer at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University in Australia is converting biosolids, or disinfected leftovers from the water treatment process, into bricks for building. He claims they look, smell, and work the same as conventional fired clay bricks, but with an added benefit of saving land and energy and reducing carbon emissions.

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  • The shopping mall where everything is recycled

    In Eskilstuna, Sweden, there is a different kind of shopping mall – one that sells used and upcycled goods. In an effort to combat consumerism and bolster sustainability, the mall, called ReTuna, is nicely curated and organized, making second-hand shopping mainstream. The mall sees 700 people each day, on average, and has sold nearly $3.5 million worth of items.

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  • This microplastic biodegrades instead of sitting around for hundreds of years

    Microfiber company PrimaLoft has developed a new insulation material for clothing like fleece jackets that is made from recycled fiber. Other materials can take hundreds of years to biodegrade, but the new material breaks down quickly in landfills and oceans.

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  • The natural products that could replace plastic

    As many governments and societies are waking up to the negative effects on the environment that comes with an overreliance on plastics, scientists, engineers, and designers are developing myriad new materials. From stone wool, in which igneous rocks are spun into fibers, to mycotecture, in which mushrooms and other fungi are turned into packaging and insulation, these new materials are helping turn the tide of climate change.

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  • How Teenage Sisters Pushed Bali To Say 'Bye-Bye' To Plastic Bags

    The island nation of Indonesia is the world's second biggest polluter of marine plastics, which can be disastrous for its tourism industry, setting aside the obvious environmental hazards. But two sisters in Bali took on the problem head on in 2013 with Bye Bye Plastic Bags. After an online petition, the sisters launched massive beach cleanups, awareness campaigns, and community workshops. After enough momentum, the governor of Bali banned single-use plastic.

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  • These designers transform plastic waste into public furniture

    Diverting trash from the landfill and into productive use is one way to help close the loop on consumer waste. In the Greek city of Thessaloniki, the Zero Waste Lab is turning plastic waste into new furniture for public spaces. The plastic is melted down and, using a 3D printer, reformed. The lab is supported by the Print Your City initiative, started by The New Raw a design studio based in the Netherlands, as well as by Coca-Cola.

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  • The inspiring thing that happened when a Japanese village went almost waste-free

    Kamikatsu, a small Japanese village on an island, is on track to become a zero-waste village. The community is made up of only 1,700 residents and—through a combination of community conversations and sorting the waste to be profitable—they managed to keep more than 80% of their waste out of landfills and incinerators. On top of the environmental impact, the Zero Waste Academy brings together a largely-elderly population as a group focused on a mission and has led to an increased sense of community and well-being.

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  • Three promising new technologies could help send stormwater to taps in thirsty cities

    With water scarcity becoming a reality for many cities, people are looking towards the premise of recycling stormwater into drinkable water collected from urban runoff. One major limitation of this is that the water often is too polluted for consumption, however researchers have piloted several new technologies that may hold the key to being able to scale the stormwater recycling solution.

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  • China gets tough on US recyclables. How one Maine town is fighting back.

    When China, the country that processes much of the United State's recyclables, became much more stringent about how much contaminated recycling it would accept, municipalities had to figure out how to avoid the fines that could come with recycling done wrong. In Sanford, Maine, they manages to cut their contamination rate from 15-20% to 0-3% by investing in more serious inspections and helping residents learn what is recyclable and what isn't.

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  • Taiwan has one of the highest recycling rates in the world. Here's how that happened.

    Taiwan, despite housing 23 million people on a densely populated island, claims one of the highest recycling and reuse rates in the world. The government has created incentives for private companies, which throw some catchy tunes in the mix. But whether or not a country recycles remains, largely, a question of willpower.

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