This unexpected material might be in your next sweater

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.

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.

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.

Joebliss Enterprise purchases and collects paper waste from homes, businesses, and collection agents in Abuja, Nigeria, and processes it for recycling, reducing the amount that produces methane emissions in landfills.

The California-based startup Magrathea Metals is producing magnesium with renewable energy to make the process less expensive and material-intensive. The company aims to make the more environment-friendly metal competitive with steel and aluminum.

The Philadelphia-based company Solar States offers a paid training opportunity for city residents to learn to install solar panels and earn the necessary credentials to help them start careers in the industry. The company’s newest program, Find Your Ladder, is a training opportunity for people who have been through the criminal justice system.

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.

Marine carbon capture, a term for various methods that trap carbon deep in the ocean, can help mitigate climate change by reducing the amount of the greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. Startups around the U.S. are advancing helpful technologies.

Two Texas-based companies are 3D printing homes in an effort to combat the housing crisis and produce fewer emissions than a typical home construction. The companies lay the foundation and rebar for support. Then, a machine with a robotic arm builds up the walls by printing layers of a cement-like material.

Landscaping businesses in California are trading in the typical tools and chemicals for goat herds. The practice of bringing in goats to munch on unwanted vegetation, called targeted grazing, is cheaper and more environmentally friendly than traditional landscaping.