This archive tracks real progress in circular economy design and zero-waste systems — from industrial material loops and packaging innovation to municipal composting and repair-culture movements. These stories show how waste is being redesigned out of the economy, not just managed after the fact.
An eco-friendly new social media trend is inspiring people around the world to clean up litter. Though the #TrashTag challenge has reportedly been around for several years, it recently became a trending topic on social media.
Adidas have collaborated with Parley for the Oceans, a company that intercepts plastic from beaches before it can reach the oceans. This plastic is then upcycled and made into a yarn becoming a key component of the upper material of Adidas footwear.
The Swedish furniture giant said it will stop selling single-use plastic products like straws, plates, cups, freezer bags, garbage bags, and plastic-coated paper plates and cups.
The single-use plastic ban was introduced earlier this year and yesterday the European commission agreed a deal to set the ban in place.
When Australia’s two largest supermarket chains banned plastic bags three months ago, it led to an 80 percent reduction in the country’s overall consumption of plastic bags.
The U.K. Government has announced a world-leading new tax on plastic packaging in the autumn Budget.
It’s the first such system in the country, according to the report, and could vastly decrease the environmental impact of beverage sales.
It is supposed to take 1,400 tons of waste daily which figure comes up to about 80% of refuse generated by Addis Ababa. It will go on to supply the capital with 30% household electricity needs whiles conforming to global standards on air emissions.
Solar panel recycling is finally catching up to solar power’s rapid growth, and France is showing the world how it’s done. A new facility in Rousset recovers glass, silicon, copper, and silver from aging panels — materials that can feed directly into making new ones, closing the loop on clean energy hardware. IRENA projects global PV waste could exceed five million tonnes by 2050, making infrastructure like this urgently needed. The plant currently handles crystalline silicon panels only, leaving thin-film recycling unsolved at industrial scale. Veolia hopes Rousset becomes a global template.
“By 2025, at least 55% of municipal waste (from households and businesses) should be recycled. The target will rise to 60% by 2030 and 65% by 2035.”
