Waste(s) (also known as rubbish, trash, refuse, garbage, junk, and litter) is a pejorative term for unwanted materials. The term can be described as subjective and inaccurate because waste to one person is not waste to another. Litter refers to waste disposed of improperly.
All stories in Waste
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Surprise! Beer cans are less polluting than glass bottles
People are increasingly aware of the harm plastic waste causes to wildlife, and many would avoid buying single-use plastics ...
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Tipping point? Humanity's stuff now weighs more than all living things
Our deficiencies have always driven us, even among our distant ancestors, back in the last Ice Age. Having neither the speed ...
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The ewaste crisis could be avoided if we made batteries cheaper and easier to recycle
As concern mounts over the impacts of climate change, many experts are calling for greater use of electricity as a substitute ...
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TerraCycle CEO Tom Szaky on why 'caring' about recycling isn't enough
One of TNW 2020's speakers, TerraCycle CEO Tom Szaky, explains how sentiment about recycling is high, but actual recycling ...
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Microbes are cleaning up all your e-waste — here’s how
If you were to stack up all the electronic waste produced annually around the world it would weigh as much as all the commercial ...
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Plastics could help build a sustainable future — yes, you read that right
The disposal of plastics is a global problem. They are nearly indestructible in natural conditions but are discarded worldwide ...
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You can only see 1% of all microplastics dumped into the ocean
What if the “great ocean garbage patches” were just the tip of the iceberg? While more than ten million tonnes of plastic ...
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Scientists are working on new ways to recycle chemicals from electronic waste
Our connected consumer society generates a lot of electronic waste, around 50 million tonnes per year worldwide. It is even ...
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The EU’s dull-ass fight with Apple over the Lightning connector sucks
Well, it looks official: The EU is going to fight Apple over the Lightning connector. And you know what? They all suck. And ...
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Nebia's new showerhead helps you save more water with fewer compromises
Soaking in the bath with a good book is my type of relaxing night, but it's also a tremendous waste of water, so I've been ...
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This site dares you to literally 'give a shit for science'
A pair of startups yesterday launched a campaign to convince people to send them pictures of their poop. We bet you didn't ...
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Five 3D printing myths dispelled
The first conviction for 3D printing a firearm was recently reported in London, not long after 3D printed masks were used ...
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How supermarkets can reduce packaging to save the planet from drowning in garbage
It was inspiring to read about the launch of Waitrose’s trial in Oxford offering consumers a range of products free of ...
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We can't recycle black plastic, but now we can use its carbon for renewable energy
The big problem with plastics is that though they last for a very long time, most are thrown away after only one use. Since ...
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How to save the planet? Milkmen had the answer all along
Laure Cucuron, Managing Director of specialist recycling firm TerraCycle, took to one of the coziest stages on the first ...
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5 clever startups that are making money recycling waste
These amazing startups found innovative, long-term solutions to manage the world’s waste — and you can now support them ...
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AI is helping regulators keep tabs on new industrial farms and their waste discharging habits
Researchers have developed an algorithm that uses satellite imagery to rapidly pinpoint industrial livestock farms, manifold ...
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Nobel Prize winner wants to fight nuclear waste with lasers
The work of Nobel Prize winner Gerard Mourou could potentially solve (or at least mitigate) a major problem in the energy ...
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The hidden secrets of insect poop
Insect defecation may not seem like one of the pressing scientific inquiries of our time, but in fact the faeces of these ...
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Recycling the world’s plastic garbage could buy you the NFL, Apple and Microsoft
This year, I served on the judging panel for The Royal Statistical Society’s International Statistic of the Year. On ...