Groundbreaking projects funded by Norway demonstrate that foreign aid can help to combat both poverty and environmental problems. One result is that uncontrolled plastic waste may become a resource for the cement industry.
Norway has declared ambitious targets for waste reduction in the building industry. Researchers have been asking sector representatives what needs to be done to achieve them. This article lets you in on some of the answers.
Unless we acquire greater knowledge about what happens at the atomic and molecular scale during materials recycling, progress towards a truly circular economy will grind to a halt.
There is enormous potential in the aquaculture sector to generate circular economy initiatives when it comes to its use of plastics. But can these be made commercially viable? Researchers believe that they can.
Everlasting concrete is here! It requires no maintenance, and its manufacture emits 80 per cent less CO2 than current products. And just recently, its inventors have been awarded a research prize for their achievement.
Fossil fuel vehicles gulp down petrol, and electric cars gobble up minerals. The battery industry is so ravenous for lithium as a raw material that researchers believe the demand could threaten climate goals.
Electric cars are a growing market, and so are the large batteries they use. Often these batteries are difficult to recycle. But help is on its way.
The magnets in wind turbines come from China, and the materials in our electric car batteries are for the most part sourced from Congo. Today, key minerals and metals are being transported to Europe from politically unstable countries far away. Is it possible to safeguard access to these raw materials here in Norway? In this article, we present three research-based strategies for addressing the problem.
Christian John Engelsen at SINTEF is teaching the world to recycle demolition rubble to make new concrete. Anything and everything can be recycled, he says. What takes time is getting people on board.
NTNU has tested a system to predict the heating needs on the Gløshaugen campus. The results show that we can save even more where surplus heat is already in use.
Don’t tell me that you haven’t noticed them. Empty snuff boxes littered all over our streets and parks. But instead of being just rubbish, they can now be recycled to make new products.
Researchers are currently working to improve the recycling system for agricultural plastics. Their aim is that more plastic shall be recovered and recycling made simpler and more effective.
Waste slags from the metallurgy industries often contain valuable materials, but in very small concentrations. This means that large areas of valuable land are used to accommodate reservoirs filled with what is sometimes toxic waste. We now want to use hydrogen to convert this waste into a resource.
How to know whether building materials are fit for reuse? A new guide can tell.
It is difficult to recycle artificial turf and there are no obvious deposit-return systems for these plastics on the market. But researchers are now looking to find a solution to the problem.
Very soon, there will be enormous numbers of used EV batteries available, but we have yet to work out how we will be organising the reuse of this massive resource.
Capping production of new plastics will help cut their release to the environment — and brings other benefits, from boosting the value of plastics to helping tackle climate change.
A shortage of phosphorous is driving the price of artificial fertilisers through the roof. But a new and eco-friendly wastewater decontamination process has enabled a company in Hamar in Norway to kill two birds with one stone.
Dye pigments are often toxic, so researchers around the world have long been looking for effective ways to make non-toxic, recyclable and sustainable colours instead. The answer lies in nanotechnology and nature’s own methods.
Disposable products are bad. But durable goods account for two-thirds of the global household’s energy footprint.
Plastic trash gets cleaned up along our beaches. But it’s also important to find out where the plastic comes from. A Norwegian app will soon be able to do this.
Emissions from the production of materials like metals, minerals, woods and plastics more than doubled in 1995 – 2015, accounting for almost one-quarter of all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions worldwide. Material efficiency needs to play a larger role in climate planning, a new report says.
Every time you wash clothes, you are releasing microplastics into the sea, but we know little about the amount and distribution of such material from different types of textile. Research scientists are now working on measuring and capturing microplastics in our laundry.
Climate frustration led three former NTNU students to quit their secure and well-paying jobs. Instead, they developed a digital toolbox for the green shift. Now the world is knocking on their door.
