Meet Mr Trash Wheel – and the other new devices that eat river plastic

Good News Notes: “The Great Bubble Barrier is just that – a wall of bubbles. It gurgles across the water in a diagonal screen, pushing plastic to one side while allowing fish and other wildlife to pass unharmed. The technology, created by a Dutch firm and already being used in Amsterdam, is being trialled in the Douro…

Trash for rice: Bali recycling scheme gives families pandemic lifeline

Good News Notes: “For Balinese souvenir shop owner I Kadek Rai Nama Rupat, the past two years during the COVID-19 pandemic have been a fight for survival. The pandemic has prevented the foreign tourists that usually throng businesses like his on the Indonesian resort island from coming and rising food prices have compounded the economic…

Indo Kordsa’s energy to be generated with 5 MWp Solar Rooftop by TotalEnergies

Good News Notes: “PT Indo Kordsa Tbk (Indo Kordsa), a subsidiary of Kordsa group and a major supplier for the premium tire reinforcement material for the automotive sector in Southeast Asia, has signed an agreement with TotalEnergies to provide a rooftop-mounted solar system for the company’s production buildings, warehouse and office buildings in Citeureup, Bogor, Indonesia. PT…

Indonesia leads the way in restoring coral reefs, scientists say

Good News Notes: “With wide-scale deforestation, some of the world’s most polluted cities and rivers, and wildfires so vast they often blanket neighbouring countries in smog, Indonesia is one of the world’s most high-profile environmental offenders. But when it comes to coral reefs, the rapidly industrialising Southeast Asian nation is doing more to restore the…

Experts Optimistic Coral Reefs Will Survive

Good News Notes: ‘“Coral reefs are amazing and beautiful, and we must conserve them,” Sam Purkis, chair of the department of marine geosciences at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, told VOA. Although coral reefs only cover 0.1% of the ocean floor, they are a lifeline for the planet. With…

Australia: Black soldier flies to upcycle food waste

Good News Notes: “An Australian consortium proposes using black soldier flies to tackle the country’s food waste problem by 2030. The Fight Food Waste Cooperative Research Centre (CRC), waste management company Goterra and the University of Queensland utilises said flies in its infrastructure as a potential green solution to organic waste. According to Goterra founder…

Startup Aims to Turn Waterborne Plastic Waste Into Fuel

Good News Notes: “A UK-based startup is looking to solve two environmental problems with one solution, pulling plastic trash from waterways – where it would normally wind up in the ocean – and turning it into a fuel for ships. Plastic-to-fuel startup Clean Planet Energy has partnered with riverine waste NGO Riverrecycle to build out…

School built from recycled plastic in Indonesia offers blueprint for sustainability – and for disaster recovery three years after earthquakes

Good News Notes: “Asia’s first recycled plastic “Eco-Block” school has been built in a small, earthquake-devastated village in Lombok, Indonesia. The pilot project’s success has spawned a new wave of Eco-Block schools slated to begin construction in coming months on the Indonesian island. The earthquake-resistant five-classroom school was built in just five days in June…