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Aug 2: Chemical recycling is emerging as a promising technology to tackle hard to recycle plastics but experts say its future depends on stronger policy support, clear regulations and improved economic viability. An opinion published in Chemistry World noted that despite improvements in overall recycling rates, more than 70 per cent of plastic waste in Europe and nearly 90 per cent in the United States is still either incinerated or sent to landfill. Chemical recycling, also known as advanced recycling, breaks down plastic waste into raw materials that can be used to manufacture new plastics. Technologies such as pyrolysis and depolymerisation offer potential solutions for recycling mixed plastics and soft packaging that cannot be processed through conventional mechanical recycling. ...

  Aug 2: Scientists have identified a resilient Mediterranean sea sponge that could help restore polluted harbour ecosystems after a transplantation experiment demonstrated remarkable survival and self replication in contaminated waters. The findings, published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science, showed that the chicken kidney sponge (Chondrosia reniformis) survived for 455 days in Spain's Marina Palamós, with 91.7 per cent of transplanted specimens remaining alive while naturally producing mobile clones. Researchers from the Center for Advanced Studies of Blanes in Girona transplanted 42 sea sponges from five Mediterranean species into the polluted marina to evaluate their potential for ecological restoration. Four species either failed to establish or died within mo...

  Leh, Aug 2: Climate change is transforming the architecture of Ladakh with increasing rainfall forcing residents to replace centuries old mud roofs with corrugated tin sheets and reinforced concrete. While these changes help protect homes from water damage, conservationists warn they could gradually erase the region's unique architectural heritage. For generations, Ladakhi homes were built using sun dried mud bricks, thick earthen walls and flat mud roofs supported by wooden beams. These structures were well adapted to the region's cold, dry climate, providing natural insulation during freezing winters and cool summers. However, residents say weather patterns have changed significantly in recent years. Rainfall, once rare and brief has become more frequent and intense, caus...

July 30: Traditional sal leaf plates handcrafted by tribal communities in eastern India are gaining popularity across Europe as an eco friendly alternative to single use plastic, creating new livelihood opportunities while reviving an age old indigenous practice. Made from naturally fallen sal (Shorea robusta) and siali (Bauhinia vahlii) leaves, the plates have long been used across Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal for community feasts, temple offerings and street food. Unlike plastic or thermocol, they are fully biodegradable, chemical-free, compostable and decompose naturally within weeks. Growing demand from environmentally conscious consumers has led restaurants, hotels and retailers across Europe to adopt the handcrafted tableware. Online marketplaces are selling ...

  July 30: Scientists are developing "super-enzymes" that could revolutionise plastic recycling by breaking down difficult to recycle plastics into their original chemical building blocks, enabling them to be reused for making new high quality plastic instead of lower grade products. A 2026 study by researchers at the University of Manchester focused on polycarbonate, a durable plastic widely used in safety glasses, electronics and machine parts. The team engineered an enzyme capable of rapidly digesting polycarbonate back into its original components, opening the door to a more circular recycling process. Unlike conventional recycling, where plastics are melted and remoulded into lower value products before eventually ending up in landfills or incinerators, enzyme based recy...

  July 30: Villages surrounding Tsomgo Lake in Sikkim have sustained a community-led waste management and conservation initiative for nearly two decades, helping preserve one of the state's most popular tourist attractions despite rising visitor numbers. Located about 38 km from Gangtok at an altitude of nearly 3,780 metres, the glacial Tsomgo Lake, also known as Changu or Tsongmo Lake, attracts between 300,000 and 500,000 tourists annually. Revered as a sacred lake by local communities, it also supports rich biodiversity, including the endangered red panda. To tackle increasing waste generated by tourism, the Tsomgo Pokhri Sanrakshan Samiti was established in 2008. The committee comprises 250 families from the villages of Changu, Chipsu and Thegu, with a nine-member executiv...

  July 30: Human induced climate change could transform tropical vegetation by 2050 on a scale comparable to 3.3 million years of natural ecological change, according to a new study published in the Journal of Biogeography. Researchers from the Remote Sensing Center at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Brazil, reconstructed the distribution of tropical forests, savannas and deserts over the past 3.3 million years using satellite data, paleoclimate records and machine learning. They then projected how these ecosystems may change under future climate scenarios. The study found that tropical ecosystems have historically changed gradually over hundreds of thousands to millions of years, allowing species time to migrate, adapt and evolve. However, projected climate ch...

  New Delhi, July 30: Madanapalle Municipality in Andhra Pradesh is strengthening its solid waste management system through scientific processing, waste segregation and resource recovery as part of the Swachh Bharat Mission Urban (SBM-U) 2.0 with the goal of becoming a Zero Waste City. The municipality generates around 62 tonnes of municipal solid waste daily, including 36 tonnes of wet waste, 25.5 tonnes of dry waste and 0.5 tonnes of domestic hazardous waste. Waste is segregated at source into biodegradable, non biodegradable and upcycling categories to improve recycling and ensure environmentally sustainable disposal. To manage biodegradable waste, bulk waste generators are encouraged to install on-site composting systems, while households are adopting home composting and ...

  July 29: Japan Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) system for plastic packaging has improved waste segregation and reduced landfill use over the past three decades but the country continues to recycle only a small share of its plastic waste, according to an analysis published by Down To Earth. Japan generated 7.69 million tonnes of plastic waste in 2023. While households separate waste into multiple categories, only about 1.7 million tonnes were recycled into new material and around 460,000 tonnes were converted into new products within Japan. A large share of the remaining plastic was incinerated for energy recovery, a practice the country classifies as "thermal recycling." The report notes that Japan's Containers and Packaging Recycling Law, introduced in 1995, was pri...

  July 28: A massive dump of discarded clothing in Chile Atacama Desert has become a stark symbol of the environmental cost of fast fashion with an estimated 60,000 tonnes of unwanted garments accumulating near the northern city of Alto Hospicio. Chile has emerged as one of the world's largest entry points for second hand clothing, importing more than 60,000 tonnes of used garments each year through the port of Iquique. While many clothes are sorted and resold across Latin America, poor-quality, damaged or unsold items are often abandoned or illegally burned in the surrounding desert to avoid disposal costs. Satellite images have highlighted the growing scale of the textile waste, revealing large dumping sites containing jackets, shoes, children's clothing and even garments w...