Urban mining – collecting minerals and aggregates from
building sites after demolition and reclaiming them for industrial usage. Enter
smart containers and a circular economy, goodbye to illegal dumping and
overstocked landfills. Israeli company GREENMIX builds recycling parks for
urban mining of construction and demolition waste. They process the materials
and produce green concrete, sand, and gravel used for roads, rail, and even
underfloor fillers. GREENMIX operates two concrete plants, and the green
concrete produced is based on 100% recycled raw material and cement. It has the
“green label” issued by the Standards Institute of Israel. Reach out - https://www.bnz.co.il/?lang=en
A 2023 start-up aiming to make recycling convenient and accessible to all is about to go national. The aim is to provide people with a home pick-up option for some of the "trickier" items the normal recycling bins can't handle - including soft plastics. https://wastemanagementreview.com.au/recyclesmart-goes-national/
A Kyushu University study (2021) estimated there were 24.4 trillion pieces of microplastics in the world's upper oceans or roughly 30 billion 500-ml plastic water bottles. Microplastics are tiny, toxic and very hard to remove from the environment. But researchers in the US have discovered that some Natural Deep Eutectic Solvents (NADES) can attract and bind microplastics, making it easier to remove them from the environment. And the N in NADES is key - natural - in this instance, think extracts from plants. https://www.research.uky.edu/news/researchers-develop-eco-friendly-magnet-battle-microplastics
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Circular Economy Pioneers Australia - Chelsea McLean
Jonathan Chrimes