• Textile recycling trio joins forces to scale Green Machine Recycling International

    The international collaboration was announced at the textiles recycling expo in Brussels. It highlights growing commercial interest in technologies that can process blended textiles, including denim and mixed-fibre garments. As brands, recyclers and manufacturers look for scalable circular solutions, technologies that can recover high-value fibres from post-consumer textiles are becoming increasingly important. At the centre of the project is The Green Machine, a polyester and cellulose recycling system that uses hydrothermal treatment and dissolution treatment to separate cotton-polyester blends. It is based in a pilot developed by R D specialist HKrita. By decomposing cotton into cellulose powder, polyester fibres are separated while maintaining quality, allowing fibre-to-fibre recycling. The recycled cotton cellulosic powder can be used in re-spinning and agriculture, supporting a broader range of circular applications. The next phase aims to develop the Green Machine into a complete treatment process within an industrial set-up. By separating the blended textiles, the system recovers PET fibre for re-spinning while converting cotton fibre into cellulosic powder for uses including composite fibre, water-retaining material for cotton farming and PFC-free durable water-repellent surface finish. In this way, it supports the goal of end-to-end recycling, where post-consumer textiles are recovered as raw materials for the production cycle. The Green Machine is attracting attention because it can handle difficult textile stream including denim and mixed textiles. Denim is a particular challenge for recyclers, which makes Jeanologia’s involvement especially relevant. The process uses only heat, water and a small amount of environmentally safe chemicals, with a recovery rate of over 97% for polyester fibres within two hours. A major advantage is that it requires only 30% of the energy needed to produce virgin PET fibres. Based in Gresham, Oregon, Looptworks spe...

    Mais »
  • Looking to get rid of old electronics or hazardous waste? – The Daily Gazette

  • Organic fertiliser produced from forest leaf litter

  • Farmers turn restaurant food scraps into very valuable commodities

  • The Post

Atualizações

Historia de una incineradora que nunca se construyó (pero que en Asturias sigue dando que hablar)

Asturias, región abonada a los debates interminables, afronta ahora, en 2026, un problema silencioso, a menudo ajeno al ciudadano de a pie, pero que no deja de crecer y que, cuando rebose, tendrá difícil solución. Hay algo en lo que coinciden todos los consultados —políticos, técnicos y operarios—: Asturias sigue sin saber qué hacer con una parte importante de la basura que genera. El Principado pasó años enredado en una discusión eterna sobre el Consorcio para la Gestión de Residuos Sólidos de Asturias (Cogersa) y la posibilidad de construir una incineradora para quemar parte de los residuos que ya no tenían cabida en el vertedero. Aquello puso en jaque a la política asturiana, provocó manifestaciones, recursos judiciales, enfrentamientos entre PSOE e IU —socios de gobierno cuando comenzó el debate y también en la actualidad— y alimentó interminables discusiones parlamentarias. Sus defensores la presentaban como una infraestructura imprescindible para evitar el colapso del sistema de residuos. Sus detractores la consideraban incompatible con un modelo basado en la reducción, la reutilización y el reciclaje. La planta nunca llegó a construirse. Sin embargo, más de veinte años después de que Cogersa incorporase por primera vez la idea a sus planes, la pregunta que pretendía responder sigue encima de la mesa. Y hoy, tras una semana frenética en el consorcio, está más vigente que nunca. —"Ojalá se hubiese hecho"—, reconoció esta semana en el Parlamento el presidente del Principado, Adrián Barbón. La polémica sobre la incineración comenzó apenas unos años después de la creación de Cogersa, en 1982. Ya en los años noventa existían dudas sobre la conveniencia de quemar residuos y se perfilaban dos corrientes claramente diferenciadas: quienes defendían la incineración como una herramienta más dentro de la gestión de residuos y quienes la rechazaban, considerándola una solución de último recurso por su impacto ambiental. El año 2003 marcó un punto de inflexión. Por pr...

Mais »

Don’t miss tomorrow’s waste industry news

The legislation divided major recyclers, organics recyclers and trade groups over mass balance accounting, plastics in compost and more. The California legislature crosses a key deadline Friday for bills to have a shot at becoming law in the second half of its session, which runs through Aug. 31. Multiple packaging-related bills cracking down on recycled content and compostable labeling advanced. “AB 2253 helps ensure honesty and accountability in the marketplace while protecting consumers and supporting real sustainability efforts,” said Assemblymember Tasha Boerner, who sponsored the Protecting Consumers Against Greenwashing Act. The California Product Stewardship Council, Californians Against Waste and other advocacy groups were among the supporters. “California has a chance to lead again by making recycled-content claims mean what people think they mean,” Nick Lapis, CAW’s director of advocacy, said in a statement. The bill was also supported by recyclers such as Republic Services, PureCycle and the Ecology Center. Opposition as of April included Ameripen, the American Beverage Association, American Chemistry Council, Glass Packaging Institute, Plastics Industry Association and others. The bill, sponsored by Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, would prohibit the sale of “compostable” or “home compostable” products that are made entirely or partially of plastic come 2027. Packaging groups have worried that such a move could limit solutions during a time when California is also trying to implement extended producer responsibility and source reduction law SB 54 and organics separation mandate SB 1383. “At its core, AB 1812 treats all compostable polymers as inherently problematic rather than distinguishing between applications that create operational challenges and those that directly advance state environmental goals,” CAW previously said, wishing instead for legislation with tailored exemptions, potentially for food scrap bin liners, compostable coatings...

Mais »

Supercharge Your Soil: How to Brew Compost Tea or Worm Castings Tea at Home – AOL

Compost tea is easy to make and can add a huge boost to your garden - Shutterstock Gardeners spend fortunes on fertilizers every spring, yet some of the best plant boosters already sit in compost bins and worm buckets right at home. Compost tea and worm castings tea pack gardens with beneficial microbes, gentle nutrients, and natural soil-building power that synthetic fertilizers simply cannot match. Tomato plants grow fuller, herbs smell stronger, and vegetable beds often produce better harvests after regular applications of these homemade brews. Backyard gardeners love these teas because they cost very little and recycle materials that might otherwise head to the trash. A bubbling bucket of compost tea may not look glamorous, but many experienced gardeners swear by the dramatic difference it makes in tired soil. Worm castings tea delivers many of the same benefits but often contains even higher concentrations of beneficial microbes and plant-friendly nutrients. Worm castings come from composting worms digesting organic matter, and gardeners frequently call the material “black gold” because of its rich texture and incredible gardening results. The tea created from worm castings can help seedlings establish roots faster and recover more quickly after transplanting. Many gardeners spray diluted worm tea directly onto leaves because the microbes may help plants resist common fungal problems. Roses, peppers, cucumbers, and leafy greens especially seem to respond enthusiastically to regular applications. A good batch of compost tea does not require fancy equipment, expensive gadgets, or a chemistry degree. Most gardeners only need a five-gallon bucket, non-chlorinated water, mature compost or worm castings, and an aquarium air pump with tubing to keep the brew oxygenated. Oxygen matters because beneficial microbes flourish in aerated conditions, while harmful bacteria can multiply inside stagnant water. Some gardeners also add unsulfured molasses because the sugars ...

Mais »

Partnership to manage organic waste – The Fiji Times

THE Recycle Organics Program has signed a partnership with the Lautoka City Council on organic waste management. Speaking at the signing on Thursday, consultant Wayne Fuakilau said many countries around the world are facing an urgent need to reduce emissions and find innovative solutions that deliver impact quickly. Fiji, our country, and many like it, and here in Lautoka also face significant waste management challenges due to limited land availability for landfill and dumpsite expansion, he said. And the difficulty of finding new sites for future development. He said the Recycle Organics Program is dedicated to addressing these challenges through international co-operation. Having built a platform across the Global South since 2017 that brings together governments, NGOs, the private sector, and communities across more than 25 countries. The program promotes opportunities to invest in the valorisation of organic waste and reduce the amount of material going to final disposal. Mr Fuakilau said Fiji and Samoa were the first Pacific countries, for this project. And for the municipality three councils were selected based on interest to partner and pilot this program. Savusavu Town Council, Nausori Town Council and Lautoka City Council, and we thank the Fijian Government through the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, for submitting this project as a cabinet paper endorsed by our leaders in Parliament.

Mais »

US garbage incinerators are failing to eliminate ‘forever chemical’ air pollution, experts warn

The virtually indestructible Pfas waste puts largely low-income neighborhoods at risk, public health advocates say The nation’s garbage incinerators are largely failing to eliminate Pfas “forever chemicals” air pollution, and are putting people in largely low-income neighborhoods at risk, public health advocates and independent experts warn. The powerful waste management industry is increasingly pushing incinerators as a solution to virtually indestructible Pfas waste, and a new industry trade group report alleges Minnesota’s incinerators are reducing their forever chemical emissions by 99.6%. Other incinerator operators have made similar reduction claims. The report also comes amid fights to shut down incinerators in Miami, Philadelphia and Baltimore, and a lawsuit filed against the Environmental Protection Agency over what it characterizes as a weak update to its emissions standards for the facilities, which do not include Pfas. Nearly 100 municipal or hazardous waste incinerators operate nationally, including seven in Minnesota. The new Minnesota report is full of bad assumptions, incomplete data, misleading language, and fails to conduct proper testing, according to an analysis by the Zero Burn Coalition advocacy group and reviews by independent incineration experts. Instead, advocates say, Minnesota’s facilities are probably poisoning the surrounding neighborhoods with Pfas and a cocktail of other dangerous pollutants that garbage incineration often emits. The report “deceives the public into thinking [incineration] is safe”, said Nazir Khan, executive director of the Minnesota Environmental Justice Table. “This trash becomes the problem of the poor and marginalized to deal with in their bodies,” he added. In a statement, the Minnesota Resources Recovery Association (MRRA) industry trade group that authored the report said Zero Burn’s analysis raised some valid points, but “does not support the conclusion that Pfas emissions from [Minnesota incinerators...

Mais »

From butts to puffs: Europe grapples with electronic cigarette waste

by Silvia Martelli (Il Sole 24 Ore), Gianpaolo Sorgi (Voxeurope, France), Ana Somavilla (El Confidencial, Spain) and Ieva Kniukštienė (Delphi, Lithuania) For decades, the symbol of tobacco consumption was the cigarette butt: small, ubiquitous, difficult to dispose of. Today, however, a new, more complex and potentially more dangerous type of waste is appearing in European cities: disposable electronic cigarettes. Coloured, cheap and designed to be consumed quickly, so-called 'puffs' contain plastic, electronic circuits, chemical liquids and lithium batteries. A combination that turns them, at the end of their use, into real electronic waste. And while the public debate focuses mainly on the effects of vaping on health - particularly among teenagers and the very young - environmental alarm is growing in parallel. Many devices end up in municipal bins or directly in the street, instead of being disposed of in dedicated e-waste circuits. The consequences range from the dispersion of polluting materials to the risk of fires in waste treatment plants caused by damaged lithium batteries. Faced with the rapid spread of single-use e-cigs, several European countries are starting to take action. Some, such as Belgium and France, have chosen the path of a ban. Others are strengthening collection and producer responsibility systems. In the background, a common question remains: how to handle technological products designed to last a few days, but destined to leave a much longer environmental footprint? France is one of the countries that has taken the hardest line. With a law of 24 February 2025, Paris banned the sale, distribution and even possession for commercial purposes of pre-filled and non-refillable disposable electronic cigarettes. However, the measure does not introduce a specific collection system for these devices: e-cigs remain covered by the general legislation on electronic waste and batteries. In practice, the devices have to be delivered to the normal col...

Mais »

22-carat gold may be hidden in household items treated as scrap, while Swiss scientists use whey to recover the precious metal and pave the way for new sustainable urban mining.

The gold may be hidden in household items that many people treat as junk, such as old cell phones, routers, modems, motherboards, televisions, and even unused appliances. The metal appears in small but valuable quantities in the internal circuits of these devices.

Mais »

Big Apple gives away 5M pounds of compost produced from city’s recycled table scraps: ‘Black gold’ – AOL

New York’s new symbol could be a rotten apple. The city’s nastiest table scraps — from old coffee filters to spoiled spinach bunches and greasy boxes — are being recycled back into food and flowers, as residents across the five boroughs have collected some 5 million pounds of decayed waste produced under New York’s controversial composting law. An estimated 10,000 urban farmers have used the recycled scraps — which they dub “Black Gold” — to nourish their home gardens and grow what they say are “unbelievable” crops. “This compost produces great vegetables. My fig trees love this stuff. I got four fig trees and they grow so many figs — I can’t keep up. You taste the difference in your fruits and vegetables using this compost. Oh, my word, it’s unbelievable,” said Dominick Rondinelli, 76, who says he takes as many bags of compost as he can grab from the Staten Island Compost Facility’s free giveaways. “It’s not horse manure. It doesn’t give off an odor. Your neighbors can’t complain, or your wife. I was here last year as well. I take all of the bags they will give me, and what I don’t use, I give to my friends. Who would give someone a gift of a bag of dirt? Only me!” Of the five boroughs, Queens has returned the majority of the “black gold” crafted by the Department of Sanitation through its intense composting program. The World’s Borough has passed out more than 1,375,200 pounds of compost between its two collection sites so far this year — making up roughly 28% of the recycled food scraps that the city has passed out for free. The borough itself collects more than the impressive 1,237,200 pounds of compost that the DSNY has handed over directly to community gardens, schools and other nonprofits throughout the city. Staten Island is the only other borough that could give Queens compost lovers a run for their money — 1,135,200 pounds of claimed compost have been picked up from the Staten Island Compost Facility so far this year.

Mais »

Researchers convert HDPE plastic waste into high-quality graphene via flash Joule heating for supercapacitor applications | Graphene-Info

Researchers from India's Homi Bhabha National Institute and Bhabha Atomic Research Centre have demonstrated an efficient route for converting high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic waste into high-quality turbostratic graphene using flash Joule heating (FJH), while directly validating its performance in supercapacitor electrodes. The approach relies on rapid capacitive discharge to drive extremely fast resistive heating of the polymer precursor, reaching temperatures above 2500°C within milliseconds. This ultrafast thermal spike induces carbonization and graphitization in a single step, eliminating the need for external furnaces, catalysts, or solvents. Compared to conventional graphene production routes such as chemical vapor deposition or chemical oxidation, the FJH process is significantly simpler, avoids hazardous chemicals entirely, and reduces both energy consumption and environmental impact. HDPE, a widely used thermoplastic found in packaging and consumer products, represents a major fraction of global plastic waste. Its chemical stability and high molecular weight make it persistent in the environment, contributing to long-term pollution and microplastic formation. Traditional recycling methods often downgrade its value due to polymer degradation, and only a small portion of the more than 400 million tonnes of plastic produced annually is effectively recycled. Converting such waste into graphene offers a compelling upcycling pathway, transforming a low-value pollutant into a high-performance nanomaterial. Material characterization confirms the high quality of the synthesized graphene. Raman spectroscopy shows a high I2D/IG ratio of 1.22 and a low ID/IG ratio of 0.05, indicating well-ordered graphitic domains with minimal defects. Complementary analyses using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) further validate the formation of turbostratic graphene structures. Th...

Mais »

Banco Alimentar inicia nova campanha de recolha nos supermercados

O Banco Alimentar Contra a Fome lança este fim de semana uma campanha de recolha de alimentos em mais de dois mil supermercados, mobilizando cerca de 40 mil voluntários em todo o país. A iniciativa surge num momento crítico, com um aumento significativo de pedidos de apoio por parte de famílias carenciadas, pressionadas pela subida do custo de vida, dos combustíveis e da habitação. Quem não puder participar presencialmente pode contribuir online, através da plataforma "Alimente esta Ideia", que já angariou milhares de litros e quilos de produtos essenciais nos primeiros três dias de doações digitais.

Mais »
II Benchmarking Italia – 2026

II Benchmarking Italia – 2026

O II Benchmarking Internacional Resíduos Sólidos Itália 2026 é uma missão técnica e institucional organizada pela LAVORO, voltada à gestão de resíduos sólidos urbanos na Itália. O programa combina visitas técnicas a operadores de referência, participação na ECOMONDO 2026, maior feira internacional de economia circular e meio ambiente, seminários de abertura e conclusão, além de interações institucionais com representantes do setor. O evento oportuniza intercâmbio de conhecimentos, benchmarking de práticas e identificação de potenciais parcerias e inovações aplicáveis ao contexto brasileiro.

Learn More×