TOPIC: RETHINK RECYCLING
Video
Something old, something yule: St. John's library gives old books new life as Christmas crafts
It's a common problem: what do you do with old books collecting dust on shelves and in basements?
Video
1:23
Video
Recycling the right way
A few simple tips that will help you avoid contaminating your recycling bin
Video
2:22
Video
Angela Anderson's zero waste lifestyle
Angela Anderson and her family have spent the past two years trying to cut down on the amount of garbage they send to the landfill by making many small but meaningful changes.
Compostable plastics often go to landfill. Here's one venue that gets them composted
Certified compostable plastic cups, cutlery and other packaging are not, in fact, composted by most residential organics programs in Canada. Here’s how some businesses and commercial composters are making sure those products stay out of the landfill and go back to the soil.
Plant-based? Compostable? What you need to know about bioplastics
Plastics made from fossil fuels generate a lot of greenhouse gas emissions and waste. 'Bioplastics,' especially compostable plastics made from plants, have been touted as a greener alternative. But what are they really? And are they really more environmentally friendly? Here’s a closer look.
What really happens to plastic drink bottles you toss in your recycling bin
The recycling symbol may give the comforting impression that your plastic pop or water bottle will be recycled into other plastic bottles again and again. Unfortunately, there’s a good chance it won’t become even one new bottle. Here’s what really happens — and what's needed to boost recycling.
MARKETPLACE
We asked 3 companies to recycle Canadian plastic and secretly tracked it. Only 1 company recycled the material
After several instances of Canadian plastic waste turning up overseas in places like the Philippines and Malaysia, CBC's Marketplace wanted to track the lifecycle of Canadian plastic.
The problem with Ontario's plan to ban food waste from landfills
Ontario generates millions of tonnes of food and organic waste a year, and a majority of it ends up in the landfill. That could create a big problem if a ban on organic waste in landfills goes into effect three years from now.
What really happens to the organic waste you put in your compost bin
In many communities, residents are asked to separate food waste into bins for municipal composting. Here's a closer look at what actually gets composted and how, what happens to the rest, and where it all ends up.
MARKETPLACE
'We don't want to be the next cancer village': Canada's plastic recycling dumped and burned overseas
Canadians have long been taught to sort and recycle their plastic into our blue bins. But an undercover Marketplace investigation uncovered huge piles of Canadian plastic dumped and burned overseas in illegal Malaysian landfills, polluting rivers and sometimes creating toxic byproducts that people say are making them sick.
CBC NEWS EXPLAINS
How our waste winds up in places like Malaysia and the Philippines
Many Canadians have been surprised — and unhappy — to learn that Canada sends vast amounts of its recyclable waste overseas. CBC explains what happens after we throw our recycling in the bin.
This is what happens to the e-waste you drop off for recycling
Here's what happens to the electronic items you bring to recycle, and why you can't just throw them in the garbage.
Most styrofoam isn't recycled. Here's how 3 startups aim to fix that
Styrofoam has been nicknamed “public enemy No. 6” because it's more likely to be landfilled or washed into the ocean than recycled. But three Canadian startups are launching technology that aims to make discarded polystyrene containers, packaging and products a resource that everyone wants to recycle.
Greener straws? Bacteria help turn food waste into compostable plastic
What if plastic were made from waste like banana peels instead of petroleum? And what if, after use, that plastic decomposed? A Canadian cleantech startup aims to make that the future of food packaging such as coffee pods.
6 ways to do takeout — without the waste
Takeout is a great way to skip cooking and the dishes. But it often comes with a side of guilt about all the waste.
Nestlé, Tim Hortons named Canada's top plastic polluters
Much of the plastic trash cleaned up from Canadian shorelines by volunteers in September could be traced back five companies: Nestlé, Tim Hortons, PepsiCo, the Coca-Cola Company and McDonald's, an audit led by Greenpeace Canada has found.
G7 countries eye waste-to-energy incineration as part of plastic pollution solution
What to do with all those non-recyclable plastic forks, toys and broken patio chairs in our garbage? Canada and its G7 partners say burning such plastics for energy could be part of the solution. But it's controversial. Here's a look at the pros and cons, and where the technology is going.
How 'greener' plastic packaging became a problem — and how to fix it
Non-recyclable plastic pouches have replaced tonnes of recyclable cans, jars, boxes and bags on supermarket shelves, partly because they're considered 'greener.' Here's how they became a problem — and how companies are trying to make them more sustainable.
'We can't wait': Why more Canadians are finally getting serious about making less garbage
A growing number of Canadian consumers and businesses are taking action against single-use plastics, even before this week's meeting of G7 environment ministers in Halifax. And there's a fresh understanding that biodegradable and compostable plastics are a problem, too.
How one Canadian food court eliminated 117 bags of garbage a day
A food court in Toronto has cut the amount of garbage it produced from 120 bags a day to just three. Here’s how they did it, and what other fast food vendors, food courts and their customers can do to cut back on fast food waste.
111 million tonnes of plastic waste will have nowhere to go by 2030 due to Chinese import ban: study
Earlier this year, China stopped taking much of the world's recyclable plastic waste. Now a new study suggests that by the year 2030, an estimated 111 million tonnes of plastic waste will be "displaced" as a result of the policy.
This is what a recycling crisis in Quebec looks like
Sherbrooke’s recycling plant, Recup-Estrie is drowning in a sea of untreated plastic, paper and metal after a dispute with its sorting company shut down operations for nearly two weeks.
In trendy Malibu, a plastic straw in your cocktail could cost $500
In the coastal California community of Malibu, a plastic straw in your cocktail could cost $500. A citywide ban on single-use plastic items went into effect at the start of the month as the global anti-plastic movement grows.
Here's where your donated clothing really ends up
Your old jeans may end up selling at a local thrift shop, but they're more likely to be cut into rags, or shipped overseas to a market in Kenya or a reprocessing plant in India.
'Embracing decay': Why some people think it's time to talk about recycling humans
Some people believe cremating our dead or burying them in caskets is an insult to nature, which is why they are seeking a more natural final resting state.