#reculture

Professor and students prototype machine to unravel textiles for re-use rather than cutting them

University of Minnesota Duluth associate professor Abbie Clarke-Sather, Ph.D., envisions a world where textile recycling is commonplace. Where thrift stores, recycling facilities and clothing brands can manage their own textile waste, turning it back into fibers that can be reused instead of going to landfills by the literal millions of tons. She and her team have been developing the Fiber Shredder for the past six years. It’s a little bit of a misnomer, as the machine pulls apart textiles rather than cutting them, leaving the fibers longer and more usable for re-spinning. It does the job in about 90 seconds.

photo: Hira Durrani (left), who is working toward her master’s in applied material science at the University of Minnesota Duluth, has developed nonwovens from recycled cotton. Paulo Alves graduated with a master’s in mechanical engineering and is working with associate professor Abbie Clarke-Sather, Ph.D., at Waypoint Forward LLC to commercialize the machine.

Firstly, the researchers removed the phones’ batteries and replaced them with external power sources to reduce the risk of chemical leakage into the environment, a ScienceDaily report explains. 

Then, four phones were connected together, fitted with 3D-printed casings and holders, and turned into a working prototype ready to be reused.

“Innovation often begins not with something new, but with a new way of thinking about the old, re-imagining its role in shaping the future,” says Huber Flores, Associate Professor of Pervasive Computing at the University of Tartu in Estonia.  

The prototype created by researchers was put to use underwater, where it participated in the monitoring of marine life by helping to count different sea species. 

Normally, these kinds of tasks require a scuba diver to record video and bring it to the surface for analysis. The prototype meant the whole process could be done automatically underwater.

And there are many other ways that a phone’s capacity to efficiently process and store data can be put to good use after its WhatsApping days are done.

These mini data centres could also be used at bus stops, for example, to collect real-time data on the number of passengers. This could help to optimise public transportation networks.

Restoring Indigenous aquaculture heals both ecosystems and communities in Hawai‘i

For generations, native Hawaiians have understood that their aquaculture systems, fishponds known as loko i‘a, serve as nurseries that seed fish populations in surrounding waters. For the first time, a team of scientists from the Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) have modeled this feat of Indigenous science in a study.

“We are using science to translate ‘ike kupuna, or Indigenous knowledge, into policy,” said study co-author Kawika Winter, an ecologist at HIMB and He‘eia National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR).

“The value of this paper is that it’s one of the first, if not the first, to really show that there are ways to do aquaculture in ways that benefit the system around it.”

In partnership with He‘eia NERR and Paepae o He‘eia, a nonprofit organization dedicated to stewarding the He‘eia loko i‘a, an ancient Hawaiian fishpond enclosing 36 hectares (88 acres) of brackish water, the team simulated different restoration scenarios in Kāne‘ohe Bay on O‘ahu Island based on a simplified food web. The study found that restoring more of the bay into fully functional loko iʻa would grow fish populations not just within the ponds, but across the bay.

“Aquaculture has a really bad reputation for basically destroying areas around it, but those are commercial approaches to aquaculture that aren’t holistic in their thinking or values-based like Indigenous management,” Winter said. “Rather than ensuring the health of the system, commercial aquaculture is concerned with maximizing profits.”

Winter attributed the success of the loko i’a design to Indigenous thought processes: “Indigenous thinking is operating within the opportunities and constraints of this system and figuring out a way to make things abundant within that context, sometimes even increasing abundance beyond natural levels.

Restoring ecosystems and relationships

Since co-founding Paepae o He‘eia in 2001, study co-author Hi‘ilei Kawelo, a sixth-generation Hawaiian from Kāne‘ohe Bay, has witnessed thousands of volunteers transform the He‘eia loko i‘a.

With the ongoing restoration, Paepae o He‘eia has seen both the aquatic environment and participants’ well-being improve with increased access to traditional foods, strengthening their relationship to place, and fortifying their family and community relationships. “For me and for a lot of our employees, this is one of our outlets, if not our primary outlet for exercising aloha ‘āina [love of the land],” Kawelo said.

“‘Āina is so important, because it is a term for a system that has the nature and its people in an inseparable reciprocal relationship,” Winter said. “The concept is core to this work because it’s about getting back into a way of thinking where there is no separation between the lands, the waters and us.”

While the overarching goal of Paepae o He‘eia and other fishponds is to revitalize Hawai‘i’s extensive Indigenous aquaculture system, Kotubetey said he knows the work may take generations.

A $375M landmark partnership is backing Indigenous-led conservation and development across the Northwest Territories

In an unprecedented partnership, 21 Indigenous governments, the Government of Canada, the Government of the Northwest Territories and private donors are investing $375 million in Indigenous-led conservation, stewardship and economic development across the Northwest Territories.

The Northwest Territories, a region of significant ecological value, hosts one of the largest and most intact forest ecosystems around the globe, along with two of the world’s largest freshwater lakes and the eighth largest river. These lands and waters support an abundance of animals, including migratory birds and arctic mammals, including caribou (Rangifer tarandus), grizzly bears (Ursus arctos), polar bears (Ursus maritimus), wolves (Canis lupus), lynx (Lynx canadensis) and wolverines (Gulo gulo).

Through the “Our Land for the Future” initiative, the partners involved aim to build community capacity by supporting the Indigenous Guardians program, which is a stewardship program that includes trained experts who manage lands and waters on behalf of their Nations. The funding will support training and career development of Indigenous people that will then monitor the ecosystems and cultural sites as part of the program. The money that the “Our Land for the Future” initiative receives will also advance climate action, support new and existing protected areas and promote sustainable, conservation-based Indigenous economies, which is key in the Arctic region.

“We belong to the land, and the land belongs to us,” said Grand Chief Herb Norwegian, Dehcho First Nations. “The investment announced today will help us steward our sacred responsibilities.”

The production of low carbon, plant-based insulating blocks by agricultural workers from farm materials could help to support rural economies and tackle labour shortages, experts believe.

A major new study will test if the materials, for use in local construction, could lead to a “Harvest to House” system of building.

The University of Exeter-led study will show if small-scale farmers could diversify into making sustainable building materials for use on their own farms, or for construction in the local area. This could also benefit their own businesses, communities and the environment.

Arable farm workers in the region will be involved in the small-scale trial of a manufacturing process. Researchers will explore the human, environmental, and infrastructural barriers and opportunities for production through working with farmers and farm workers.

A short animated, visual ‘manual’ of the pilot manufacturing system, in an accessible and easy to digest format that can be readily shared and referred to by time-pressed farmers and workers, as well as people outside agriculture.

The project is part of the Ecological Citizen(s) Network+, led by The Royal College of Art, the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) at the University of York and Wrexham Glyndŵr University, as well as a range of partners from industry, charities, culture and civil society.

'ensure we can unmake everything we make'

New Zealand ensures maturanga Maori, the indigneous knowledge system of their lands, is incorporated into their circular economy transitions

Why transition to the circular economy?

Growing international research and evidence shows numerous benefits over the traditional linear economy.

These include:

long-term cost savings

increased local job opportunities

encouragement of technical innovation

reducing the amount of harmful waste produced

reversing our impacts on climate change.

Zafree's CEO and founder, Bethelhem Dejene Abebe, was honored with the Founder of the Year award at the Global Startup Awards Africa 2024 for the company's successes. Abebe's hope is to scale up its operations to meet the global demand for sustainable packaging needs.

Beyond Zafree's impactful product, the company has also created a new supply chain in Ethiopia. It has partnered with over 20 farmers, generating more income locally in Ethiopia.

Since its inception in 2018, Zafree has saved over 500 trees, prevented 100 tons of carbon pollution, distributed one ton of organic fertilizer to farmers, employed over 100 gig workers, and partnered with over 20 farmers.

Zafree's pulp is applicable for both local and international export use. On its website, it has multiple types of "Z-foam" pulp available in different densities, as well as kraft paper, liners, corrugated cartons, paper shopping bags, and even handmade notebooks.

What began as an experiment in reusing discarded bottles has evolved into a community-driven initiative that reimagines waste as infrastructure and farming as a tool for empowerment. The project's impact now stretches far beyond its towers of two-liter bottles, becoming a blueprint for resilience, youth engagement, and circular design in action.

"At first, we thought we were just building a food system. Instead, we discovered we were sparking a conversation about climate, entrepreneurship, and hope," says Phathisani Vundla, founder of Zambezi Eco Sprouts in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.

"When you are walking around collecting bottles and telling people you're going to build a vertical farm, they ask: Can it really grow?" Vundla recalls.

Those doubts gradually turned into curiosity. Once the first aeroponic towers began producing healthy greens, neighbors started showing up to see the results for themselves. Some even began collecting bottles to donate to the project. "People saw proof that something good could come from what we throw away," he says. "It shifted how they looked at waste and how they looked at possibility."