As Cities Grow, the Internet of Things Can Help Us Get on Top of the Waste Crisis

Total global waste is expected to double from nearly two billion tons in 2016 to an estimated four billion tons by 2050 as consumer-oriented urban populations grow. As population growth increases consumption and waste, managing this waste is becoming an ever-greater challenge. The Internet of Things (IoT) can be used to develop smarter and more […]

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Less Waste – More Resources: Australia’s National Waste Policy

Australia is planning to implement a circular economy – with all the advantages that this brings. The country’s National Waste Policy, published in 2018, provides a framework for collective national action on waste management, recycling and resource recovery until 2030. Up to now, the country has landfilled a large part of its waste or taken […]

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Portugal Suspends Waste Imports

Portugal has suspended imports of waste until the end of 2020 to protect domestic landfill capacity, news agency Reuters reported in May, referring to a statement of the government. The country usually attracts waste from other European states because of its low waste management fees: The treatment of a ton would cost 11 Euro; the […]

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Applying Standards to the Circular Economy

The circular economy calls for a radical shift in production and consumption. Continual cycles recover and restore products, components and materials through strategies such as reuse, repair, remanufacture and, ultimately, recycling. It is a systemic approach to managing resources. Material efficiency is an essential part of the circular economy. It consists of the preservation of […]

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USA: Recycling of Coal Mine Equipment

The metal division of Land Betterment Corporation can clean up the environment by entering into a partnership to recycle retired coal railcars and old coal mine infrastructure. As reported, it has entered into a multiyear agreement with a “third party scrap metal company”. Under the terms of the partnership agreement, the company will allocate certain […]

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Switzerland Helps to Boost Egypt’s E-Waste Recycling Industry

In March this year, Switzerland and Egypt agreed to extend the Sustainable Recycling Industries (SRI) project – originally launched in the country in 2016 and completed in 2018 – through an additional grant contribution for the period 2020-2023. The first project, launched 2016 in Egypt, aimed to support sustainable integration and participation of small and […]

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Unlocking the Value of “Hidden” Metals

The world of metal recycling is never straightforward, with sometimes the slightest market variable causing significant volatility in global trade. But throw Covid-19 into the mix, and like many industries, scrap became an even more complex place to be. When the lockdown was first announced, certain countries, such as Italy, brought everything to a halt. […]

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Yarn Collection Made of Recycled Materials

Belgian company European Spinning Group (ESG) offers an upcycled yarn collection of recycled cotton, recycled denim or recycled polyester, blended with virgin raw white and dope dyed fibers for environmentally friendly circular fabrics with optimal performance. As reported on www.circulary.eu, more than 40,000 kilograms of post-consumer material was recycled and upcycled with the ESG “Green” […]

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Sweden: Large-Scale Automated Textile Sorting Facility

The plant represents the third phase of the Swedish Innovation Platform for Textile Sorting (SIPTex) project; the start of operation is intended to begin in summer this year. In July last year, the IVL Swedish Environmental Institute has been given green light for a collaborative initiative to establish this industrial-scale automated textile sorting plant. Vinnova, […]

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Textile Recycling in Finland

In October last year, the company Lounais-Suomen Jätehuolto Oy (LSJH) has launched a refinement plant pilot in Turku, focusing on the recycling of post-consumer textiles. The objective is to ensure a recycling solution for all the end-of-life textiles generated in Finland. The refinement plant project has been prepared in cooperation with other Finnish municipal waste […]

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