Attero: India's e-waste and battery recycler turning old devices into battery-grade metals
India generated almost 14 lakh tonnes of e-waste in 2024 to 25, and its electric vehicle boom will soon add a wave of spent lithium-ion batteries.
Materials science
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Bosch eXchange: remanufactured car parts with the same warranty as new
Every year millions of starters, alternators and steering systems are replaced in European workshops, and most of the metal in them is still perfectly good.
Fairphone (Gen. 6): the Dutch phone you can repair with one screwdriver
Most smartphones are replaced after a few years, and the cobalt, gold and rare earths inside them are rarely recovered.
Materials science · Circular materialsAbout Indorama VenturesKH Editions
From PET bottle to NYFW: what Thai circular streetwear signals for material makers
Indorama’s recycled polyester yarn on KH Editions’ New York looks shows circularity as industrial design culture — not a charity runway.
PressMaterials science · Circular materialsAbout Indorama VenturesKH Editions
Desk note: Indorama Ventures and KH Editions take Thai circular streetwear to New York Fashion Week
Recycled PET yarn meets Thai streetwear on a New York runway — circularity as design craft, not charity staging.
Aquafil ECONYL: the Italian nylon made from old fishing nets and carpets
Nylon is in our carpets, swimwear, jackets and car seats, yet almost all of it is made from oil and ends up burned or landfilled.
About Carbon Clean Solutions
Carbon Clean CycloneCC: the British carbon capture unit that drops the giant columns
Conventional carbon capture plants are dominated by absorber and stripper columns that can tower dozens of metres high and take years to build.
Coolbrook RotoDynamic Heater: the Finnish turbomachine that makes 1,000°C industrial heat from electricity
Most of heavy industry's emissions come from burning coal, gas and oil to make high-temperature heat, a job that ordinary electric heaters cannot do.
Ecocem ACT: the Irish-French cement that cuts clinker by up to 70% using today's plants
Cement is responsible for around 8% of global CO2 emissions, mostly from making clinker in giant kilns.
Materials science · Recyclable productsAbout Le Méridien Maldives Resort & SpaPatémar +1
Shore-to-shorts: when resort retail ties upcycled swimwear to plastic recovery
A Maldives resort collaboration with Bali-made Patémar puts recycled-plastic swim shorts beside reef education — retail as conservation touchpoint.
Amcor AmLite HeatFlex Recyclable: a retort pouch that can go back into the plastic loop
Retort pouches, the foil-lined packs used for wet cat food, ready meals and microwave rice, are cooked inside the pack and keep food safe for months without a fridge.
Banyan Nation: turning India's discarded bottles into near-virgin recycled plastic
Most of India's plastic recycling happens in small, informal units that turn used bottles into low-grade granules for buckets and pipes.
Bare Necessities refillable deodorant: a forever case made from chip packets
Chip packets are among the hardest plastics to recycle, and a deodorant stick is usually thrown away every two months.
Dopper Original: the Dutch refillable bottle built to replace single-use plastic water bottles
Europe sells billions of bottles of water each year, most in single-use plastic, even where tap water is safe to drink.
RECUP and REBOWL: Germany's deposit cup that you can return at 20,000 places
A coffee-to-go cup is used for a few minutes and then thrown away. Germany throws away about 13 billion single-use takeaway packs a year.
Materials science · Sustainable textilesAbout Aijek
Aijek’s second act: plant fibres, kerawang, and the courage of a smaller factory map
A Singapore relaunch that bans polyester blends and centres Balinese cutwork shows sustainability as design constraint — and labour proximity.
PressMaterials science · Sustainable textilesAbout Aijek
Desk note: Aijek’s Singapore relaunch bets on plant-based cloth and Bali kerawang craft
After a long pause, a Singapore label rebuilds on biodegradable naturals and Balinese kerawang — scale chosen, not performed.
CIRCULOSE: the Swedish pulp made from old cotton clothes, back from bankruptcy
Sweden built the world's first commercial-scale plant to turn worn-out cotton clothes into pulp for new fibre, and then watched its owner go bankrupt.
AMP ONE: the AI-run sorting plant that pulls recyclables out of rubbish bags before they reach landfill
Most rubbish bags still go straight to landfill, even though they contain cans, bottles, card and food that could be recovered.
Greyparrot Analyzer: the London-built AI camera that shows recycling plants what is really on the belt
Recycling plants sort thousands of tonnes of mixed waste a day, yet most only check what they recover by hand-sampling a tiny share of it.
Recykal reklaim: the Hyderabad deposit-refund system bringing bottle returns to Himalayan pilgrim trails and Goa's beaches
Europe's bottle-return machines work because every container carries a deposit. India has very few such schemes, and plastic piles up on pilgrim routes and beaches.