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Pope Leo XIV visited Acerra, a southern Italian town scarred by illegal toxic waste dumping, on May 23, offering a message of hope to its residents. Speaking in the Piazza Calipari, the pope declared the region possessed a "beauty no injustice can ever erase," and reminded the crowd that fragile beauty demands greater care and responsibility. His visit to the so-called "Land of Fires" underscored the Church's solidarity with communities bearing the burden of environmental devastation.

Leia a matéria na íntegra: (Hello Africa) In Cape Verde, waste reborn as school furniture

Leia a matéria na íntegra: Ministry urged to improve oversight on fly ash, waste – Taipei Times

Drawing on decades of research and personal experience living in rural Japan since the late 1980s, Dr. Peter Matanle examines a provocative idea: that population decline may actually benefit the environment. His concept of the "Depopulation Dividend" suggests that shrinking communities could produce measurable sustainability gains, including reduced resource consumption, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and less waste. But as Japan's rural landscapes continue to empty out, the critical question remains — do these environmental benefits actually materialise, and who truly gains?

Researchers have found a way to give discarded Styrofoam a second life — as a powerful adhesive. By dissolving post-consumer Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) in organic solvents and blending it with PMMA, scientists developed high-performance glues capable of bonding strength up to 1,969 KPa. The formulations proved highly versatile, with xylene-based versions excelling on leather and MEK-based ones outperforming on wood, offering a practical and environmentally beneficial solution to plastic waste.

Over a quarter of food purchased by the average American went to waste in 2024 — and most of it ended up in landfills, where it releases methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. Landfills can only capture 58% of that methane, letting the rest escape into the atmosphere. But what if that discarded food could be transformed into something useful instead?

Brazil is turning animal waste into agricultural gold. Amid soaring chemical fertilizer prices, cooperatives and the federal government are investing in organomineral fertilizer factories, transforming poultry manure, phosphorus, and potassium into sustainable alternatives. Santa Catarina's Copercampos recently launched its BioCoper fertilizer plant, while neighboring Paraná's Coonagro cooperative is developing a similar project — part of a broader national push to secure fertilizer supply and reduce environmental pollution from untreated manure.

At Kreider Farms, agricultural specialists are closely monitoring the temperatures within rows of composting chicken carcasses, turning what was once considered waste into a managed, controlled process. The technique of composting poultry remains on-site represents a growing trend in sustainable farm waste management, reducing disposal costs while potentially enriching soil. This hands-on approach highlights how modern poultry operations are rethinking mortality management from the ground up.

Zimbabwean President Dr. Emmerson Mnangagwa made a notable stop at the Accra Compost and Recycling Plant during his three-day State Visit to Ghana. The visit highlighted growing interest in sustainable waste management solutions across Africa, as the Zimbabwean leader explored Ghana's innovative approach to composting and recycling. The facility tour formed a key part of his official engagements in Accra.

Avon's commercial composting pilot program is already making a measurable dent in landfill waste since launching in November, with eight local restaurants currently participating. The initiative targets an ambitious countywide goal of diverting 80% of organic waste by 2030, addressing a problem that goes beyond mere landfill overcrowding — decomposing organic matter in landfills produces methane, a greenhouse gas far more potent than carbon dioxide. Collected organics are processed at Eagle County's local composting facility in Wolcott, transforming food scraps and other waste into nutrient-rich compost returned to the soil.