Researchers at Queen’s University Belfast are transforming wind turbine blades, which are set to be landfilled or incinerated, into footbridges that can hold the weight of a 30-tonne digger.
No one comes away from Orkney’s Zerowaste Yard in Stromness without either purchasing something or being inspired to recycling that old bit of wood or container you’ve had lying at the back of the shed for years.
A £310,000 project, supported by Scottish Government and Zero Waste Scotland, has been launched to encourage a nation wide ‘sharing library’ and ‘repair cage’.
The first synthetic polymer was invented in 1869 by John Wesley Hyatt, who was inspired by a New York firm’s offer of $10,000 for anyone who could provide a substitute for ivory.
We have just “joined up” to the Orkney grown initiative to supply fresh milk refill from Crantit Dairy to islanders.
“We used to use two galvanized steel dustbins for our rubbish, then wheelie bins took over and the metal bins went into the shed, where they sat in the corner, doing nothing, for years.”
Most PPE materials are single use, contain plastics, are not easily recyclable and end up in our landfills, or worse yet, discarded into the environment.
“So, please, people, having snipped the straps, please dispose of your face masks properly and responsibly.”
Thousands of tons of waste is being generated every day by PPE in household, care home and hospital settings.
“With over 2 million tonnes of household waste generated in 2018 and a target to recycle 70% of that by 2025, our projected incineration capacity just doesn’t add up.” FOE
