In Colorado, a funeral home offering trendy green burials—where bodies are interred in renewable materials and without embalming—is facing possible charges for improperly storing 115 bodies. Without traditional funeral services, bodies must be interred or stored in a refrigeration unit within 24 hours. Officials were alerted to potential violations by Return to Nature Funeral Home […]
In Connecticut, University of Connecticut student Amelia Martin has developed a surfboard concept using mycelium, the plant structure of mushrooms. The project was undertaken in the laundry room of her Vernon, Connecticut home. Martin was inspired both by her graduate level work studying how fungi acts as a plant pest and her connection to the […]
In Turkey, the Scays Group is converting tea waste into a leather alternative for the fashion industry. Cleverly named Wastea, the product looks and feels like leather and is as durable. It is also cruelty free, more eco-friendly, and water-, stain-, and fire-resistant. Different grades range from 45% and 95% biobased, depending on the polyurethane […]
In Norway, a startup aims to lower the carbon footprint of home furnishings by swapping out petrochemical-based foams with seaweed. Celine Sandberg, founder and CEO Agoprene, tells Wired that polyurethane foam rubber for furniture causes 105 million metric tons of CO2 emissions annually. “In the furniture industry, everyone knows that foam is bad for the […]
In Denmark, iconic toy block maker LEGO is halting a pilot program to produce its ubiquitous bricks from recycled polyethylene terephthalate bottles. After two years of trials, LEGO determined that, at scale, converting its supply chain and equipment would actually lead to a larger carbon footprint. “It’s like trying to make a bike out of […]
In New York, a startup nurtured by UNICEF Lab Program has unveiled cardboard beds that can be assembled quickly for deployment to emergencies. Humanitaria’s beds are also tool-free and 100% recyclable and biodegradable. The company can produce 24,000 beds a day, and will begin testing with the Red Cross shortly. “Humanitaria provides two solutions to […]
In Bristol, England, zero-waste shop Zero Green is using edible coffee cups from Cupffee so it can more closely live up to its name. Based in Bulgaria, Cupffee produces the plastic cup alternative from wheat and barley. The low-calorie cups can hold a drink—hot or cold—for 40 minutes and either be eaten or composted following […]
In Illinois, carbon recycling company LanzaTech and Dow have partnered to commercialize a surfactant for household cleaning and laundry products produced from industrial emissions. LanzaTech’s biorecycling technology works like a brewery: proprietary bacteria consume carbon-rich pollution from industrial facilities, such as steelmaking plants, and convert it into CarbonSmart™ chemicals, such as ethanol. This ethanol can […]
In Chicago, architecture studio SOM and Prometheus Materials have created an installation made of algae bricks for the city’s Architecture Biennial. The bricks are an alternative to concrete, which has a very large environmental footprint, and are arranged in a spiral. “Echoing the shell-like material composition of the bio-cement, [we] conceived of a spiraling form […]
In San Diego, a company producing biodegradable cigarette filters from natural fibers has tapped H.I.E Handelsgesellschaft mbH to distribute its products in Poland. Established in 1984, Bremen, Germany-based H.I.E. supplies all non-tobacco products to the Eastern European market. “As the industry is facing transition by single-use plastic legislation and strengthening environmental commitments in the European […]
