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Mixed Material Textile Recycling Breakthrough!

A new process has been discovered that could revolutionize the way textiles (clothing, bed linens, curtains, seatbelts, upholstery, etc.) are recycled. Currently less than 0.5% of postconsumer textile waste is recycled globally. That means any textiles thrown away are incinerated or end up in landfills. That is because most postconsumer textiles are mixed fibers, unable to be mechanically recycled due to material blends and contaminants. The new process published by engineering researchers last month (July 2024) is a chemical conversion of the textiles into their base materials. This process works by rapidly depolymerizing polyester and spandex into their monomers in just 15 minutes! This is followed by a simple solvent to separate cotton and nylon. By removing the oil derived materials (polyester/spandex/nylon) from the plant-based materials (cotton), the textiles can be “decontaminated” and recycled into new materials. This discovery is a huge breakthrough in the world of recycling!

Source:

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.ado6827

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“Average Global Temperature Has Warmed 1.5 Degrees Celsius Above Pre-industrial Levels for 12 Months in a Row"‍

Believe it or not, the average global temperature has “warmed 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels for 12 months in a row! Why is that significant? The 1.5-degree Celsius measurement is what was originally determined as the Paris Agreement limit. But the average global temperature would need to continue like this for decades to breach the Paris Agreement. However, twelve continuous months of these extremely high temperatures is significant and is a warning. Having been warned, we should not take this information lightly.  

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Could sustainability in outer-space lead to more sustainability here on Earth? Kyoto University and Sumitomo Forestry announced on May 28, 2024, the completion of the world's first wooden satellite! The satellite, named LignoSat, will launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida with a destination of the International Space Center in September.

The LignoSat Project's goal is to "combat space clutter and promote more environmentally friendly space activity." Current international rules require that all satellites reenter the atmosphere upon completion of their missions to avoid them becoming debris in space. While conventional satellites create air pollution risks due to metal particulates generated upon reentry, wooden satellites will burn up upon reentry and are expected to mitigate this effect. With development of the project beginning in April of 2020, the material selected for this satellite was magnolia wood due to its strength and workability after space exposure tests were conducted on multiple contenders.

Data including wood expansion and contraction, geomagnetism and electronic equipment performance, and internal temperature will be collected in the six months after launch. This data will be used to inform the development of LignoSat-2. Sumitomo Forestry will also use this data to examine how wood breaks down at a nano-level for later development of wood degradation prevention technology and new uses for wood including more durable materials for building exteriors.

This space development could have very real implications here on Earth. This news was shared with us by one of our readers and we are excited to see what will come next!

Sources:

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2024/05/29/japan/science-health/world-first-wooden-satellite/

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/wooden-satellite-lignosat-jaxa-japan/

Photo: The Japan Times

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Fascinating Technology: Will There Be Highways Able to Charge an EV While Driving?

The state of Indiana, in partnership with Purdue University and Cummins Inc., has already begun a pilot project on a quarter-mile tract of U.S. Highway 52, to test whether the roadway “will be capable of providing power to vehicles even as they cruise by at speeds of up to 65 miles per hour.” WOW! How will they make this happen? The Indiana Department of Transportation “will install a series of copper coils under the highway’s surface to test a new technology Purdue University researchers developed that can provide power to electric vehicles wirelessly as they drive past.” One of the goals of this pilot project is to incentivize more people to purchase an EV. As you may already know, a downside of EVs, especially on longer trips, is “range anxiety,” which is the fear of running out of battery power before reaching the destination, and not being anywhere near a recharging station. Of course, the cost of the car and the cost of replacing the car battery are also concerns for people. But roads that can charge the car while it is driving can help alleviate range anxiety as well as the fear of a lack of charging stations.

Another benefit would be for heavy duty EV trucks that need much bigger batteries because of their size, weight, and long-distance travel. If, however, the trucks could receive power while driving, trucks could use smaller batteries and reduce the number of recharging stops which also might lower the costs of hauling a payload. Practically speaking, we have an awful lot of highways in the U.S.A. In 2020, the highway network in the United States had a total length of around 4.17 million statute miles. One statute mile is approximately equal to 5,280 feet. The United States has one of the most extensive road networks worldwide.” If this technology is successful, it will take a lot of time and money to make a significant impact on travel. But this certainly is exciting technology, and Indiana is not alone in its endeavor. Last fall, the city of Detroit installed similar technology on a residential road. Here is a diagram to help you better visualize the pilot project:

Sources:

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/15042024/indiana-highway-ev-charging/

https://newsroom.aaa.com/2023/11/annual-electric-vehicle-sentiment-survey/

https://www.statista.com/statistics/183397/united-states-highway-mileage-since-1990/

https://www.cbsnews.com/detroit/news/city-of-detroit-installs-nations-first-wireless-charging-road-for-evs/

Let’s hear it for Aruba! “Aruba’s government is moving to enshrine twin environmental rights in its constitution that would recognize that nature has inherent rights" and also affirm a human right to a “clean, healthy and sustainable environment,” aligning the country’s government with a growing environmental movement that recognizes humans are interdependent with the natural world.” 

Aruba’s minister of nature, Ursell Arends presented a proposed constitutional amendment recognizing that BOTH humans AND nature have rights on land and water to “protection, conservation and restoration of its ecosystems and biodiversity and to regeneration of its life cycles.” According to Mr. Arends draft bill, the Aruban government would have to “take preventive measures to protect against the negative consequences of climate change.”

So why is this such good news and so important? In one of our earliest articles entitled “the relationship between humanity and nature: explore the philosophies [11/07/2022], we discussed the different philosophies humans have regarding the relationship between humans and nature. At one end of the spectrum is anthropocentrism – the belief that humanity is the central and most important entity in the universe and is separate from, and superior to nature. That kind of thinking is not going to do much to help our environment. At the other end of the spectrum is ecocentrism – placing value and importance on the entire environment and all life in it, not just the parts that are useful to humans. We need many more people to recognize that nature is NOT separate from, and inferior to nature.

The people in Aruba have a much deeper perspective about what is happening to their country and in other parts of the world. They know everything in an ecosystem is connected. They understand that mangrove trees “flourish in highly salinated water and contribute to an environment that supports seaweeds, sponges, shellfish, fish and sharks. The marine life, including lobsters, shrimp and microorganisms, in turn, produce vital nutrients absorbed by the mangrove trees.” They also are aware “of the magnitude of environmental destruction that has taken place and the importance of nature to [the] economy and island.” “The ecosystems in Aruba that we rely on are degraded to such an extent that they can’t function like they used to,” Arends said. 

“Aruba’s $4 billion economy is largely fueled by tourism, which itself is dependent on the island’s white sand beaches, coastal ecosystems and oceans. Among its environmental challenges are waste management, particularly from the 2 million tourists a year who visit the island, over-farming by fisheries and oceanic plastic pollution. The tiny island, about twice the size of Manhattan, is increasingly impacted by climate change through measurable coastal erosion, sea level rise and ocean acidification, which reduces the minerals needed for marine life.” “If successful, Aruba, a country of about 120,000 people, will be the second nation in the world, behind Ecuador, to constitutionally recognize the “rights of nature.”

We wish Aruba the best in securing enough votes to amend its constitution, and we hope many other countries are watching.

Source:

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/25032024/aruba-rights-of-nature/

National Geographic and Climate Central’s Picture Our Future, which is a non-profit climate research group created a fascinating tool to compare what certain places in the world will look like by the year 2070. The model reinforces that the climate and energy choices we make THIS DECADE will influence how high sea levels around the world will rise for a very long time. Look and see which future you will choose!

Here is an example: SACRED HEARTCATHOLIC CHURCH, TAMPA, FLORIDA, U.S.A.

NOTE: “These images show projected future sea levels at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Tampa, United States due to human-caused global warming under two different scenarios. Climate and energy choices in the coming few decades could set the destination, but the timing of rise is more difficult to project: these sea levels may take hundreds of years to be fully realized.”

“Climate Central uses a combination of photorealistic images, flyover videos, Google Earth Images, and animated GIFs, to generate their Picturing Our Future visual tools.” These visualizations already compare the potential outcomes for many landmarks around the world and show science-based renderings of coastal cities underwater. “The goal of these visuals is to show we can influence the future, says Strauss.” “We present comparisons of different potential futures depending on the path we take. The actions of governments, corporations, and industries to cut carbon pollution as much and as fast as possible, can reduce risks and protect coastal communities around the world.”

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References:

https://picturing.climatecentral.org/

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/climate-change-predictions-2070

https://picturing.climatecentral.org/location/27.94925,-82.457202

Sustainable Aviation Fuel!

"For the first time ever, a commercial plane flew across the Atlantic Ocean without using fossil fuels.”

Virgin Atlantic conducted a flight from London to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, powered only by sustainable aviation fuel (“SAF”). SAF refers to many different types of jet fuels which create less carbon emissions than the standard kerosene fuel blends historically used in the aviation industries. SAF’s are “a broad category that includes biofuels made from raw materials such as corn, animal fat, algae, municipal trash, and sewage. [They] must emit at least 50% less carbon than petroleum-based jet fuel according to federal guidelines.” The fuel used on this flight was made from “waste fats and plant sugars and emits 70% less carbon than petroleum-based jet fuel,” according to the press release.

Today, SAF production is very small, and accounts only for 0.1% of fuel consumption for airlines around the world. The SAF market is small and growing slowly. BUT, this Cross-Atlantic flight on only SAF is pretty impressive as a demonstration and possible first step toward SAF’s one day reducing the carbon footprint of the aviation industry. Of course, practically speaking, it would require a significant business model change and huge capital expenditures for the airlines industry because standard jet engines today are NOT designed to run only on SAF’s. That makes it highly impractical and unlikely for airlines to start working toward an “all-SAF routes” business model in today’s business climate. Still, it’s cool, innovative, technology which has been tested and has real potential to help our environment. Investors around the world are beginning to investigate SAF’s as a profitable industry, but they have a long way to go. Let’s keep watching.

Sources:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/a-plane-fueled-by-fat-and-sugar-has-crossed-the-atlantic-ocean/ar-AA1kGQxE

Photo by Nguyen Hung: https://www.pexels.com/photo/plane-landing-on-runway-11150272/

There's an app for that: Restaurant Food Waste

Each year, around 2.5 billion tons of food is wasted around the globe and the United States wastes more food than any other country. The U.S. throws out almost 60 million tons (120 billion pounds) of food each year which comprises almost 40% of its entire food supply. That translates to 325 pounds per person of thrown out food each year. Most of our discarded food ends up buried in U.S. landfills, and 22% of our country’s municipal solid waste is food valued at almost $218 billion and the equivalent of 130 billion meals. The food decomposes in landfills emitting poisonous gases like methane that contribute to global warming.

Too Good To Go is a Danish company that has spent eight years trying to reduce food waste with an “App” helping restaurants sell food cheaply by selling the end-of-day leftovers for a discount of 60%-80%. “By matching hungry, cost-conscious customers with surplus food, the app's creators say they minimize waste, one bag of saved food at a time.” The App has saved over 250 million meals which translates into ”one meal every three seconds,” “and taking about 135,000 cars off the road for a year.” Businesses producing baked goods are currently the company’s best customers, and there are participating stores in 17 countries and U.S. cities including Los Angeles which is the App’s most successful U.S. city.

References:

https://www.npr.org/2023/10/03/1202278468/climate-change-food-waste-too-good-to-go

https://www.rts.com/resources/guides/food-waste-america/

https://www.toogoodtogo.com/en-us/business

Photo by naren l on Unsplash

Unforeseen Consequences: Air Quality vs. Ocean Temperatures

By now most of us have read the headlines - Hottest Summer on Record! - and that includes our ocean temperatures, unfortunately. The ocean warming effect is often attributed to greenhouse gasses but researchers are now looking into another category: unintended consequences of climate regulations. The one that has their attention right now? Disappearing ship tracks. Ship tracks are low-lying clouds who's creation is aided by the sulfate released by cargo ships, seeding (aka creating an attachment point for vapor to condense into droplets) reflective clouds along the shipping paths across the Atlantic. In 2020, the United Nation's International Maritime Organization (IMO) implemented regulations to cut ships’ sulfur pollution by more than 80% to improve air quality worldwide.

New studies show that by cutting the number of ship tracks, the planet has warmed faster, specifically in the Atlantic where maritime traffic is dense. This unintended experiment is allowing climate scientists to study a geoengineering scheme in action. According to atmospheric scientist Franziska Glassmeier, "the influence of pollution on clouds remains one of the largest sources of uncertainty in how quickly the world will warm up." Other researchers have suggested injecting salt particles back into the air to replace the pollutants being removed and act as a replacement seed for the cloud formations. More research is definitely needed and these researchers are on it! According to them "cloud adjustments" will be the next talking point of climate change discussions.

Photo credit: science.org

STATE LAW SETS 2040 DEADLINE FOR ENERGY TO BE CARBON-FREE

The State of Minnesota recently passed a law requiring the state’s power utilities to use 100% clean electricity by 2040. It is the first state to do so. This means the state’s power companies must get ALL of their energy from carbon-free sources by 1940 (solar, wind, hydropower, hydrogen power, nuclear and biomass - which is energy generated from burning wood or other natural substances). In effect, this new law shortens the carbon-free requirement, previously promised by the state’s two main energy companies, by a full decade – from 2050 to 2040. WOW! It also means this will require a huge overhaul to its energy grid. The new law has a few other great provisions. First, the law provides for certain benchmarks the energy companies must reach such as 80% carbon-free energy by 2030, and 90% by 2035. The law “also stipulates that the energy companies would not be allowed to count any power generated from waste incineration plants built in low-income, majority-non-white communities. ”This is amazing! Let’s hope the law remains in place with any future changes in the state’s legislature and see if any other states are motivated to follow this precedent.

A PLASTIC EATING ENZYME? REALLY?

In Austin, at the University of Texas, researchers have discovered an enzyme that eats plastics. Yes, EATS plastics. The enzyme was originally called PETase because it could degrade polyethylene terephthalate (“PET”) which is the chemical name for polyester. We have written about the different types of plastics in our earlier articles about recycling. If you haven’t already read them, they are available on our website. Polyester, as you may know, is a type of plastic used in such products as plastic bottles and food packaging. The University of Texas researchers modified PETase to create a new enzyme called FAST-PETase which gives bacteria the ability to recycle plastic waste faster, at lower temperatures, and more efficiently. FAST-PETase not only works faster, but it also requires much less energy than it takes to burn plastic or break it down in other processes. Remember that most plastic isn’t recycled and winds up in a landfill, or even worse, in our oceans. An amazing feature of this new enzyme is that bacteria armed with FAST-PETase can break down the plastic in one day when it would otherwise take almost 500 years to break down the plastic in a landfill. ISN’T THAT AMAZING? FAST-PETase also turns the plastic into base units which are then reusable. By producing new goods without pollution and waste, reusing the products and materials, and hopefully restoring natural systems, we can begin moving toward a circular economy (at least in the plastic industry), where so much less plastic will be easily disposable and/or wasted. This could be an astronomical development when FAST-PETase is “scaled up” and becomes mass produced. We will be closely following this development.

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References:

https://www.thecooldown.com/green-tech/plastic-eating-enzyme-can-break-down-waste-in-24-hours/

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04599-z

Lu, H., Diaz, D.J., Czarnecki, N.J. et al. Machine learning-aided engineering of hydrolases for PET depolymerization. Nature 604, 662–667 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-04599-z

Deng, B., Yue, Y., Yang, J. et al. Improving the activity and thermostability of PETase from Ideonella sakaiensis through modulating its post-translational glycan modification. Commun Biol 6, 39 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-023-04413-0

https://molecularbiosci.utexas.edu/news/research/plastic-eating-enzyme-could-eliminate-billions-tons-landfill-waste

TURNING WINE INTO A RESOURCE?

Some graduates of Tulane University formed a non-profit called Glass Half Full, where they recycle glass waste. It began with a glass wine bottle. Instead of throwing it away to wind up in a landfill, they smashed the bottle into little pieces to eventually be reused. It caught on and today they are weekly diverting 10,000 pounds of glass from dumps and landfills in and around New Orleans. They are pulverizing glass waste into things like flooring, new glass, sandbags for flood protection, and even sand to restore eroded coastlines. In their 40,000 square foot facility, they have already recycled over 3 million pounds of glass. Rebuilding the sandbars and barrier islands off the coast of New Orleans with sand could help reduce coastal impacts from storms and hurricanes. “Glass Half Full is working with Tulane scientists to test how the recycled glass sand is interacting with the local ecosystem on the microbial level to ensure the work is having a maximum, positive impact.”

BEER MADE FROM RECYCLED SHOWER WATER?

Epic Cleantec, a water-recycling company in San Francisco, with help from Devil’s Canyon Brewing Company, a local brewery, is making beer from water recycled from showers, laundry, and bathroom sinks. It is called Epic OneWater Brew. Although they have had many people tasting the beer, they are not ready to market it as a saleable product because they need further testing to comply with applicable commercial regulations on recycled water. What is interesting is that the author of the article and 99% of people who tasted the beer liked it. Epic Cleantec is focusing on the broader issue of water recycling because of the historical droughts in California. Aaron Tartakovsky, one of the company’s owners, said this about the water they were using for their beer, which is tested both onsite and at an outside lab: “A lot of times at a brewery, you turn on the tap and whatever water you get, that’s what you brew with. In our case, we have so much control over the treatment process that we were actually able to treat to tweak some of the steps to give the brewers a blank canvas.” The company is also operating San Francisco’s first approved greywater recycling system. After January 1, 2022, new buildings are required to install onsite water reuse systems and the company owners say they can help these recycling projects use up to 95% of their water.

“Massachusetts has officially made it illegal to throw out clothing and other textiles, becoming the first state in America to do so.” The law also includes the recycling of mattresses. The new law that went into effect November 1, 2022 requires residents to “recycle their used garments, as long as they are dry and not infested with insects or otherwise contaminated.” The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection has estimated that the state throws away 230,000 tons of textiles each year and that “85% could be reused, donated, or recycled.” The law was intended to reduce the strain that textile waste places on landfills and garbage processing facilities.

In Germany, where the government has pledged to make the country greenhouse gas neutral by 2045, most Germans are skeptical their country can achieve a zero-carbon target by that date. However, a recent survey indicates “two-thirds of Germans are willing to make a personal sacrifice to protect the planet against climate change.” But Germans were not yet ready to make the sacrifices of changing their diet or doing without a car.

Disinformation about climate change by climate change deniers has been a huge problem for over a half a century. Social media has made the dissemination of false facts and conspiracy theories much easier to instantly reach larger audiences. But digital activists are beginning to fight back against climate change deniers by hunting down climate change trolls on Twitter. It’s not an easy task. Prominent social media outlets like Twitter aren’t concerned about climate change denial, disinformation, and misinformation. Groups like Team Ninja Trollhunters  must look for language that is harassing, racist, threatening, hateful, or misogynistic, which IS reportable and may get an account suspended. The group claims they have succeeded in getting 600 climate change deniers banned from Twitter. These days, people quickly move through a lot of information on social media and on Twitter, many people just read the tweets. Team Ninja members are trying to protect people who may be vulnerable to the disinformation spread by the trolls.

The International Energy Agency (“IEA”) reported:“[t]he buildings and construction sector accounted for 36% of final energy use and 39% of energy and process-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in 2018, 11% of which resulted from manufacturing building materials and products such as steel, cement, and glass.”

Look at this beautiful structure in southwest Mexico built from discarded materials! It was quick to build and better for the environment. The architects used local materials which reduced shipping and were safer. This saved money and reduced fuel consumption and CO2release from burning fuel in transporting building materials. Most of the areas are open air and enclosed areas use reed screens for privacy. HOW COOL IS THIS?!?!

Sources:

https://www.thecooldown.com/green-home/casa-volta-luxurious-villa-surprising-material/https://www.iea.org/reports/global-status-report-for-buildings-and-construction-2019

Photo Credit: ArchDaily

McDonalds started testing strawless lids in Minneapolis and other US cities as part of its ongoing commitment to reduce waste and multi-year effort to make its packaging more environmentally friendly. Back in 2018, the company had set a goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 36% between 2015 and 2031. It is well known that plastic straws are very harmful to marine wildlife, and fast-food chains are apparently trying to figure out ways to reduce waste. (As reported by CNN, January 27, 2023).