An industry-led scheme in Norway is credited with increasing plastic bottle recycling levels to 97 per cent. Consumers pay a small additional charge on each bottle they buy. When the bottle is returned either to the shop or a recycling machine, the deposit is refunded. Shops are given a small handling fee for taking the returned bottles. Recycling machines - often found in supermarkets - read the barcodes of the bottles and usually offer customers vouchers for the shop, or the option of making a charitable donation. www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/uk-plastic-bottle-recycling-system-norway-adopt-ocean-pollution-latest-news-a8198761.html

A new patented form of graphene, called Graphair, is an effective filter that supercharges water purification; making it simpler and faster. Researchers from the University of Sydney, UTS, QUT and Victoria University tested and analysed Graphair and its water purification qualities.They found that without Graphair, a membrane?s filtration rate halved in 72 hours, as contaminants clogged it. When the Graphair was added, the membrane didn?t clog, plus it filtered more contaminants and water. Graphair is made out of soybean oil, most often found in vegetable oil. So now there is a better, cheaper, water filter using a common cooking ingredient. This could mean proper, effective water filtration is in reach of developing world communities. https://blog.csiro.au/super-material-filters-sydney-harbour-water/

Take a photo of any wine label and learn that wine's rating, review, and average price instantly. Scan any wine list to see the rating and review of each wine on the list, helping you pick the right wine for every night out. All supplied by 26 million users - the world's largest community of wine drinkers. https://www.vivino.com/app

A wristband called Sunu emits a high-frequency sound wave that bounces off objects as far as 14 feet in front before registering as a gentle, pulsing vibration. The closer the object is ? whether it?s a wall, trash can or person ? the more frequent the pulses become, allowing blind people to create a mental map of the world around them using echolocation. It?s like the sonar device being used in vehicles to sense nearby objects and avoid crashes. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/innovations/wp/2017/10/27/for-decades-the-blind-have-used-canes-to-get-around-now-an-special-wrist-band-helps-them-locate-hazards/?

This mall in Sweden contains both a recycling center and shops. Customers can donate the items that they no longer need, then shop for something else. Dropped off goods are sorted into various workshops where they are refurbished or repaired. Products are then sorted into 14 specialty shops that include furniture, computers, audio equipment, clothes, toys, bikes, and gardening and building materials. https://www.google.com.au/amp/s/makewealthhistory.org/2017/03/22/the-worlds-first-mall-for-recycled-goods/amp/

Since the government ruled out new onshore wind farms in England ? a promise in its 2015 manifesto ? energy companies have been forced offshore, making the UK the world?s offshore leader. Allowed to develop beyond the vision of land-dwellers who see wind farms as a blot on the countryside, the turbines have grown steadily larger, as have the farms to which they belong. Over time, the diameter of the blades have enlarged. A turbine commissioned in 2002 swept 80 metres; in 2011 it was 120 metres. By 2020, it will be 180 metres. Wind energy costs less, and will go on costing less, because the turbines are growing taller and the blades longer. http://www.inkl.com/newsletters/morning-edition/news/wild-is-the-wind-the-resource-that-could-po