Waste management · Green engineering
Breaking down how waste actually gets managed — the mechanisms, the bottlenecks, and the gap between what's claimed and what's actually happening at scale.
Occasional, long-form, no filler. Unsubscribe whenever.
The U.S. has had nowhere to put elemental mercury since the export ban. A Deer Park, Texas facility now stabilises it and injects it deep underground. It fills a real gap — with an undisclosed chemistry and a 10,000-year model.
From May 2027, non-OECD countries without an EU exemption can no longer import the bloc's metal scrap. India, the largest buyer of EU aluminium scrap, did not get one.
New York's mandatory food-scrap programme nearly doubled collection in FY2026. It still captures 8% of available organics, and a second round of ticketing barely moved participation.