Despite billions of (often public) dollars being spent to facilitate the collection and recycling of plastic waste, less than 10% of all the plastic ever made has been recycled. Most plastic waste is incinerated, sent to landfills, or ends up littering our environment or the ocean. In February this year a report, ‘The Fraud of […]
Materials
EU’s Car Recycling Mandate: Are cars really getting greener?
The first part of this article focused on the impact of EU legislation in driving investment in recycling plastics end-of-life vehicles. Increasing the supply of recyclates is a worthy exercise but it can only deliver real environmental benefits if these materials are actually reused. Fortunately, EU policy has been designed to address the demand side […]
Legislation Sparks a Circular Revolution in the Automotive Industry
Much has been written about self-driving cars, but equally significant technological innovations and advances in the automotive industry are being driven by legislation. The European Commission has issued a directive requiring new vehicles to include at least 25% recycled plastics. The directive also requires valuable parts and materials to be removed from vehicles at the […]
Everyone likes a fungi
Mycelium, the vegetative part of fungi, grows by digesting organic material including low-cost agricultural waste streams (such as cotton, corn, wheat, hemp, and flax residues), and is being increasingly used to replace petroleum-based plastics, particularly in packaging and insulation. Fast growing, with minimal energy and water needs combined with unique aesthetic qualities mycelium offers the […]
Luxury Handbag Market Faces Eco Crisis—Who’s Fighting Back?
The luxury handbag market is estimated to be worth a staggering US$72.7 billion (in 2023) and consumes between 5 and 10% of global leather production (totaling around 2 billion square meters annually). All these bags are held together with plastic-based components with foams used for filling, making it impossible to recycle discarded bags. With such […]
What a load of wrap
It’s hard to deny that cling film is a useful product in the kitchen. When used to wrap prepared food or unused veggies it can help keep food fresher for longer and reduce food waste. But soft plastics are challenging to collect and sort for recycling, meaning most of it ends up in landfill, where […]
Are your trainers really green?
Running shoes and athletic footwear are usually made from a range of plastic foams and fabrics which are stitched or glued together, effectively preventing recycling at the end of life. Alarmingly many of the materials traditionally used for insoles and midsoles rely on chemical foaming agents, which can release VOCs (volatile organic compounds) during use, […]
An environmentally friendly alternative to strengthen plastics
Environmentally conscious designers and manufacturers are increasingly looking for recycled plastics and bioplastics to replace virgin fossil plastics. It is often challenging to find suitable materials for any project. Without seeking to make this challenge harder, it is important that potential purchasers establish what has been added to these materials to improve their strength or […]
Not just a new material – a new production ecosystem
It’s an exciting time in the world of materials with universities and start-ups seemingly announcing alternatives to virgin fossil plastics almost every day. Many research projects are focused on developing new materials that cause less environmental impacts when compared with the virgin fossil plastics they are designed to replace. Typically, these materials are designed to […]
Mass-balance – is it a con?
Mass balance is being promoted by plastic manufacturers (particularly BASF) as the solution to the recycling crisis. But are ‘mass-balanced’ plastics the same as recycled plastics? If you purchase a product made using mass-balanced plastic, does it contain only recycled plastics? Does your purchase result in lower environmental impacts? To create mass-balanced plastics relatively small […]