Goats grazing in your backyard? This climate solution is gaining ground in California

The startup Pipedream Labs is running small, electric vehicles in tunnels under Peachtree Corners, Georgia, to make last-mile deliveries for local restaurants. The aim is to reduce emissions, traffic, and delivery costs for businesses.

Entrepreneurs are encouraging reuse models like return-from-home systems to transition towards a circular economy without single-use plastics. In this model, consumers pay a deposit to use takeout boxes, cups, and other containers. They get their deposit back when the containers are picked up from their home by a courier.

Planet 3R is putting a dent in the amount of waste on the streets of Ibadan, Nigeria, by collecting waste from residents and turning it into usable products like clothes, accessories, and home decor. After collection, the waste is sorted, washed, dried, shredded, and woven together to create something similar to fabric.

The Denmark-based startup LastObject manufactures reusable menstrual products that produce less waste than the typical throw-away versions. Its reusable pad is made of polyester and bamboo and can be washed and reused for up to 10 years.

In Paris, building-based agriculture, like rooftop gardens, allows for the production of nutritious food close to where they will be eaten. The practice helps eliminate carbon emissions, improve food security, and improve climate resilience.

One of China’s many “sponge cities,” Haikou, experiences virtually no flooding after transitioning to primarily green, nature-based infrastructure instead of gray infrastructure like concrete and flood barriers. Prioritizing things like parks, wetlands, mangroves, and permeable pavement allows the city’s ground to soak up more rain.

Companies are beginning to grow offshore seaweed for human consumption as a protein option that’s better for the environment. Growing seaweed on ropes in the ocean is less land-intensive, sequesters carbon, and doesn’t require fertilizer or pesticides.

A junk removal service in Athens, Georgia, is slowing the growth of the local landfill by recycling, donating, and giving away the items it can before taking the rest to the landfill.

The Shred Up Halabja Recycling Center is the first successful plastic collection and recycling system in Halabja, Iraq. The project collects plastics from schools, homes, and public places to recycle and turn into usable products. It also educates students about the importance of recycling to encourage understanding and innovation.

The Kenyan start-up Gjenge Makers creates pavers that are stronger and cheaper than typical concrete by heating a mixture of shredded plastic waste and sand and then compressing it to form the blocks.