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Millions of "invisible environmentalists" sift through trash for recyclable material. A rapidly growing program now provides them a living wage. 

WildAid is running a campaign featuring celebrities biting their fingernails in an attempt to drive home the message that rhino horns -- widely consumed in Asia as a traditional remedy -- are made of the same material found in human nails and hair. That could blunt demand for the horns, helping conservationists defeat poachers who are pushing rhinos toward extinction.

Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has introduced a plan to bolster energy efficiency. The plan, intended to save families and businesses about $70 billion annually, seeks to roll back energy waste by one-third within a decade. "Deploying more clean energy isn't enough -- we also need to cut energy consumption, which will save families and businesses money and reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change," say informational materials on the program. The Hill (2/2)  

Why Dow, Coca-Cola, Google and many other big companies are joining the quest to cut waste by continually cycling materials back through supply chains. 

Bed Bath & Beyond, Nordstrom, J.C. Penney and Backcountry.com have been accused of "bamboozling" shoppers by selling products purportedly made of eco-friendly bamboo, but that in fact were made of other, less sustainable materials. "False 'bamboo' claims are a significant problem for consumers who care about buying environmentally friendly products," said Federal Trade Commission attorney Korin Felix

James Cook University researchers are teaming with Australia's Fibercon company to create a greener concrete by using recycled plastic to reinforce it. "Using plastic to reinforce concrete instead of steel can reduce carbon dioxide production by about 50%," said Rabin Tuladhar, associate dean of engineering at the institution. "However, with recycled plastic, you can save 50% more carbon dioxide than you could with virgin plastic -- because you are using plastic that has already been made and repurposing it."

It has already been established that climate change-specifically atmospheric carbon dioxide emitted by fossil fuel burning-has been acidifying the oceans, damaging fragile coral reefs and disturbing vulnerable marine ecosystems. But the McGill scientists discovered that carbon dioxide also has begun to drift to the ocean bottom, dissolving the very materials that help put the brakes on acidification.

C&A is the world's first retailer to offer jeans that are completely Cradle to Cradle CertifiedTM at the Gold level. Designed in partnership with Fashion for Good, a global platform that aims to make all fashion good, the jeans were made with completely sustainable materials and were produced in compliance with the high Cradle to Cradle CertifiedTM Gold level.

Marks & Spencer has launched Plan A 2025, a new three-pillar sustainability strategy that aims to support 1,000 communities, help 10 million people live happier, healthier lives, and move the company closer to becoming a zero-waste business. Under the strategy, the company has also committed to reducing operational GHG emissions 80% by 2030, sourcing all of its key raw materials sustainably by 2025, ensuring all of its packaging is 'widely recyclable' by 2022, and more.

Radio Flyer

Dell continues to make headway on its plans to dramatically increase the amount of repurposed and reclaimed content in its supply chain, with a goal of 100 million pounds of reused materials in its products by 2020 (double its original goal of 50 million, which it achieved in 2017). Its model could provide the entire industry with methods, practices and - through collaboration - opportunities to reduce the growing global e-waste problem and shift towards a more circular economy in the electronics sector.

It's been almost exactly one year since the world's most valuable technology company declared its intention to make future iPhones and MacBooks entirely out of recycled materials. And behold: Just in time for Earth Day 2018, Apple is introducing the latest manufacturing innovation that it believes will help the company automate its way toward that goal.

It's good we're on our way to accepting bugs as a real option for protein, because our current diet is astonishingly resource-hungry. Livestock production takes more than 30% of the ice-free land of this planet, consumes 8% of our potable water, and is responsible for nearly 15% of the total man-made greenhouse gases put into the atmosphere every year. And demand for meat is projected to grow 60% by 2050. insects offer much more than protein. He thinks they can become bio-processing units working in fully automated, remotely controlled smart factories producing high-quality proteins, fats for the pharmaceutical industry, and biofuels-all using different kinds of waste as raw materials.

The EU's Plastics Strategy aims to cut out non-recyclable plastics by 2030, while cutting down on single-use plastics and restricting microplastics, all by establishing a new circular economy around the material. The strategy lays out a few key steps to achieve this. The first is to introduce new rules on packaging that improve their recyclability and increase the demand for recycled plastics, thereby making recycling profitable for businesses.

Retailers including J.C. Penney, H&M and Target are promoting clothing made from recycled water bottles and other waste materials for back-to-school this year in a push to appeal to parents and kids concerned about environmental sustainability. Price is still top-of-mind as consumers shop for green products and secondhand goods, industry experts say.

Timberland knows the value of products that can be called sustainable, says Margaret Morey-Reuner, director of strategic partnerships and business development. One challenge is ensuring proper sourcing of materials, which the company has tried to address through a third-party certification process.

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation, set up by the record-breaking sailor, announced on Wednesday that the brands were joining its Make Fashion Circular scheme to reduce global waste from fashion by recycling raw materials and products.

Even if you try to avoid buying plastics, you might be surprised to find it lurks in many common food and beverage containers, including tin cans, disposable coffee cups and even tea bags. On Wednesday, however, the environmental group A Plastic Planet debuted the world's first "Plastic Free Trust Mark" to help shoppers know that their products are packaged entirely without the non-biodegradable material, which harms marine life and has entered the larger food chain.

Companies looking to implement a zero-waste-to-landfill strategy should consider conducting a waste audit and create a targeted plan to divert each waste material, writes Gina-Marie Cheeseman. "[Zero-waste-to-landfill] goals should be pursued as a process for achieving continuous improvement," says Thomas Stanczyk, sustainable waste solutions strategist for Covanta Environmental Solutions.