We as a human race create a great deal of waste. There is a variety of issues that are caused by this, from proper waste disposal to recycling.
Building electric cars has a high carbon footprint: recycling can change this
- Tim
- May 8, 2020
Electric cars save carbon dioxide emissions over their lifetime. There are a significant number of fossil fuel producers and combustion engine car produces who will fudge their numbers and suggest the battery cars are actually worse for the environment than fossil fuel cars. As you can imagine this is false. Electric cars are zero emission …...
Glass is capable of being endlessly recycled – but some countries are better than others
- Tim
- March 7, 2022
Making new glass from cutlet (small glass pieces) saves significant energy. This is partly because it needs a lower temperature to melt. While it is true that much of the materials that go into glass are not in short supply, it is still more sensible to reuse, particularly if your energy requirements are lower. Apart …...
How can an average UK household reduce their carbon footprint?
- Tim
- August 26, 2021
The average UK household has a footprint of around 20 tonnes. Now it is true, that this is well below USA emissions as that is for 4 people – so average emissions of around 5 tonnes per head. However, with relatively small adjustments, this can be cut dramatically. 12.3% of emissions come from heating, and …...
The UK sorts our rubbish at higher rates than anywhere else in the world, so why is so much being incinerated
- Tim
- April 9, 2021
In the UK we have incredibly stringent rules on recycling. Indeed, there are regular suggestions about giving people smaller bins so that we send less rubbish to the dump. If this is the case, why is so much of our recycling simply being burned?
Super enzyme that eats plastic, now 6 times faster
- Tim
- March 13, 2021
I have written in the past, about a discovery made on a Japanese dump back in 2016 of a plastic eating enzyme. By working in the lab, scientists have been able to speed this process up 6 times, such that full recycling is thought to be possible of plastics within 2 years.
UK and the USA biggest source of waste plastic in the world
- Tim
- November 9, 2020
Adjustments made have allowed bacteria that eats plastic bottles to do so 6 times faster than naturally
- Tim
- October 22, 2020
I have written in the past about a fascinating type of bacteria that was found on a Chinese rubbish stump number of years ago. Plastics are a fantastic material because they breakdown very little, therefore giving strong materials for not much money. The problem is that many of the uses that these plastics have been …...
Ice (internal combustion engine)car producers have claimed electric cars are as dirty, recent fair analysis suggest full life emissions are 300% more in combustion engine cars
- Tim
- June 9, 2020
The UK transport and environment department have created a tool to help do the check for people. Unlike the ice assessment which calculates the carbon cost of making the electric car, but left out the cost of making the ice car (why such an unfair comparison wasn’t laughed out of existence, I don’t understand) this …...
News in Brief: The Persian Leopard, Accidental Death of one of the last male Marsican bears, and a mutant enzyme which eats plastics
- Tim
- May 14, 2018
The Persian Leopard The Persian Leopard is only found in a few countries and only in very few small numbers. However the fact that it still clings on means that it is far easier to recover this species than it would be were the last few to have disappeared. This is similar to the Amur …...