Tech

Recycling symbol can’t appear on non-recyclable items, California bill says

Enlarge / Discarded plastic bottles made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) are bundled at a recycling center. (credit: Brent Lewin/Bloomberg ) The recycling symbol—those three arrows stamped on myriad plastic items—doesn’t mean what most people think it does, and a California bill wants to change that. The California Legislature passed a bill yesterday that would ban […]

Tech

From trash to jet fuel in 60 minutes—and 220º C

Enlarge (credit: Tobias Titz / Getty Images) The world has a lot of plastic—8.3 billion tonnes of the stuff has been produced since 1950. It has so much plastic that humans have started trying to figure out ways to use the vast quantities of plastic waste we’re accumulating. For some, that means recycling; for others, […]