You’ve probably been told at some point that your plastic bags are piling up in landfills, or escaping into the sea to join that giant trash monster swirling around the south Pacific. But what about our gadgets? Maybe there’s something about the sleek retina display, or the fact that we rarely ever throw them directly … Continue reading What Happened to Your Last iPhone? →

Fashion trends and cheap clothes are draining the planet of water, and leaving tons of wasted textiles that resale and donations can’t keep up with. The once vast Aral Sea, which is now a tenth its original size, is a testament to the amount of water needed to grow cotton. As early as 2030, water … Continue reading When Your Old Clothes Are Respun into Your New Clothes →

Less than one tenth of plastic actually gets recycled worldwide. Most of the 300+ million tons that we pump out every year is dumped in nature, landfilled, or incinerated. Among the many reasons our recycling rates continue to lag, the quality of recycled plastic is a big one. To make a new plastic bottle out … Continue reading Unlocking a New Way to Recycle Plastics →

Jamie Rhodes cut his teeth as a canvasser against mercury pollution. He went door to door, raising awareness on the staggering amount of heavy metals that make it into our food supply. It was through this experience that he got involved in the extremely important world of electronic waste, and became a policy wonk on … Continue reading How to Fix a Culture of Waste →

Ronin 8’s technology uses sound energy to separate all the different materials in electronics waste. I spoke with founder, Peter Holgate to learn more about their work. Our conversation ventured into his vision for the future of electronics – a world where phones upgrade themselves, and brands become the stewards of materials rather than the … Continue reading A Glimpse into the Future of Electronics Recycling →