Energy conversion

Photo: KAREN BLEIER / AFP (Getty Images)This story was originally published by Grist. You can subscribe to its weekly newsletter here.No plastic is truly recyclable — not even the water bottles and milk jugs that people usually toss into their blue bins.According to a new report released on Monday by Greenpeace USA, no plastic product meets a common industry standard for recyclability, even though they bear the familiar “chasing arrows” recycling symbol. The report says industry-backed recycling labels on yogurt cups,…

A view of the San Diego skyline on November 21, 2020 in California. Photo: Sandy Huffaker (Getty Images)The San Diego Water Authority wants to keep the lights on, even when the Sun goes down. It plans to use San Vicente Reservoir to store solar power energy in so-called water batteries to maximize the city’s renewable energy potential, NPR reports.Cities across California have an abundance of sunny days, which is perfect for providing renewable energy… as long as the Sun is up. The proposed project could store 4,000…

Despite being an excellent source of renewable energy, wind turbines, like most manufactured products, eventually need to be disposed of, for one reason or another. That poses an obviously large problem given their size, but researchers at Michigan State University are working on a novel solution: a newly developed material for making turbines that can be later recycled into everything from car parts to gummy bears.The same arguments for upgrading your smartphone every year, such as improving its performanceor replacing…

One of the artificial leaves floating on the River Cam near the Bridge of Sighs in Cambridge.Photo: Virgil AndreiWhat if we could copy how plants create their own energy—and use it to power our world?In a study published last week in Nature, researchers say they’ve created a prototype of a device with the potential to do just that. The team from the University of Cambridge described a floating solar “leaf,” which uses the power of the sun and the water to create fuel.“Our artificial leaves work similarly to plant…

A worker in Accra sorts plastic for recycling.Photo: Cristina Aldehuela/AFP (Getty Images)When a huge plastic producer like Coca-Cola says it’s working to solve the plastic crisis, what does that really look like? An investigation published Friday by Bloomberg documents how one initiative in Ghana was used by some of the world’s biggest plastic producers to battle against threats of plastic bans, while failing to deliver on some of its key promises.Plastic pollution is a deadly problem in Ghana, which creates more than 1…

Batteries suck, which has become even more of an issue over the past few decades as the battery-dependent mobile devices we’ve become addicted to now demand more power than ever. But as long as you’ve got a source of light—be it the sun or soul-crushing office fluorescents—Urbanista’s new wireless earbuds will keep charging all day long.It’s an idea the company introduced last year with its Urbanista Los Angeles wireless headphones. Integrated into the headband was Exeger’s Powerfoyle solar cell material, which wasbe…

Photo: Poravute Siriphiroon (Shutterstock)We’re still far away from getting electronics from sustainable sources, but there are a few companies trying to make a go at saving some lost e-material from the landfill.Closing the Loop, a European e-waste recycling company, announced a new partnership with Germany-based Vodafone, one of Europe’s largest telecommunications companies, on Tuesday. Namely, CTL claimed that for every new phone that Vodafone sells in Germany, itwill collect an old busted device in an emerging market…

The 75-meter-tall (246-foot) ground structure transmits energy wirelessly across approximately 55 meters (180 feet)Image: Xidian UniversityResearchers at China’s Xidian University are claiming to have completed testing and inspection of a ground array that could pave the way to space-based solar power—a concept long heralded as a potential solution to our energy woes. Researchers at Xidian University ran a successful test of the “world’s first full-link and full-system solar power plant” on June 5, according to a…

A plastic bag hangs off a tree branch. Photo: Michael M. Santiago (Getty Images)Environmental organization Last Beach Cleanup is suing two retailers for selling un-recyclable plastic bags in California.In a public statement released this week, Last Beach Cleanup said that retailers Gelson’s Markets and Stater Bros. Markets are illegally selling plastic bags in the state. The organization cited California’s SB270 law, which prohibits the sale of bags made out of plastic film if it cannot be recycled in the state.“The Last…