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A young couple in Italy has married advanced polymer technology with an ancient Japanese art form to develop a new type of highly portable solar panel. Inspired by origami, startup firm Levante Srl is using recycled carbon fiber to create a lightweight folding panel.

McKinsey & Company’s projections indicate a significant challenge on the horizon: the demand for recycled PET is expected to outpace supply by 2030. This forecast raises crucial questions about the industry’s readiness to meet the escalating demand for sustainable packaging and products.

PET is widely used in beverage bottles and packaging, and grapples with persistent challenges in achieving high recycling rates in the United States. Despite its inherent recyclability, PET recycling rates remain relatively low, underscoring a complex interplay of factors.

Circularise, a blockchain platform championing supply chain transparency, has joined forces with the Japan Circular Economy Partnership (J-CEP), AMITA Corporation, and Marubeni Corporation in a groundbreaking trial. This collaboration is raising the bar in the battle against plastic pollution by introducing digital product passports (DPPs) to meticulously track plastic bottle caps’ lifecycle, from collection to their rebirth as high-quality recycled products.

The additive aids biodegradability by changing the polymer structure, converting it into a wax-like material after being exposed to light, water, moisture, and microbes.

In a bid to combat microplastic pollution in aquatic environments, scientists have drawn inspiration from an unlikely source – the Hawaiian apple snail. This innovative venture has resulted in the creation of a robot prototype designed to scoop up microplastics from the surfaces of oceans, seas, and lakes.

A coalition of European companies has combined artificial intelligence (AI) and computer vision with an efficient decontamination process to boost the recyclability of post-consumer polypropylene food packaging.

Block Solutions Oy, of Mutala, Finland, wants to make sustainable and affordable building construction a snap. And the concept is quickly catching on globally. Prompted in 2016 by discussions with the United Nations and driven by a desire to create a way to quickly build shelter for people in need, Markus Silfverberg conceived the idea of eco-friendly modular blocks.

Nissin Foods USA soon plans to dump the iconic expanded polystyrene foam cup it has been using for its on-the-go ramen noodles for a half-century and replace it with a new, microwaveable paper cup design that will no longer require boiling water. The company also will spend $228m to open a new U.S. plant in South Carolina.

The fashion industry is disrupting the PET circular economy by taking it into an application that recycles less than 1% of its products.