A Machine That Turns Plastic Back Into Oil

Plastic causes a trifecta of problems. We’re running out of places to dump our non-biodegradable plastic waste and it’s clogging up our oceans. Burning plastic releases tons of CO2 into the atmosphere contributing to global warming. And to make the stuff, it soaks up 7% of our annual petroleum use, an in demand, diminishing resource.

Akinori Ito, the CEO of Blest, a Japanese company, has somewhat of a panacea. If plastic is just oil, why don’t we simply turn it back into what it was, he pondered. So the guy made a machine to do it. His solution is safe, eco-friendly and efficient.



“If we burn the plastic, we generate toxins and a large amount of CO2. If we convert it into oil, we save CO2 and at the same time increase people’s awareness about the value of plastic garbage,” Ito told Our World 2.0.

Blest produces the machines in various sizes suitable for more industrial purposes or simple home use. There are already 60 in use across Japan at farms, fisheries, and small factories with some beginning to ship overseas for the environmentally conscious and curious abroad.

One kilogram of plastic waste produces almost a liter of oil while using about 1 kilowatt of electricity.

“To make a machine that anyone can use is my dream,” Ito says. “The home is the oil field of the future.”

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Water CO2 calculator for UK homes goes online

A website that helps people to work out how much CO2 is being emitted to heat water in their homes has gone online.

Produced by the Energy Saving Trust (EST), it also suggests ways that users can save water and energy, as well as cutting their carbon footprint.

The Trust says CO2 from energy used to heat water in UK homes accounts for 5% of the nation's total carbon emissions.

Yet, it adds, water use is the "forgotten energy saving opportunity" by homes, businesses and policymakers.

The EST produced the calculator as an interactive, "easy to understand" tool for people to make the link between water efficiency and energy efficiency, explained Andrew Tucker, EST's water strategy manager.

Energy used in the UK water sector accounts for about 6% of the nation's total CO2 emissions, 89% of which is a result of homes and businesses heating the water.

Figures from the Trust estimate that heating water accounts for about 30% of the average household's energy bills.

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Sperm whale faeces offset CO2 emissions

In a somewhat unusual research project, scientists have found that sperm whale faeces may help oceans absorb carbon dioxide from the air.

Australian researchers calculate that Southern Ocean sperm whales release about 50 tonnes of iron each year.

This stimulates the growth of tiny marine plants - phytoplankton - which absorb CO2 during photosynthesis.

They note in the Royal Society journal Proceedings B that in the end, this also provides more food for the whales.

Phytoplankton are the basis of the marine food web in this part of the world, and the growth of these tiny plants is limited by the amount of nutrients available, including iron.

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UK 'will push EU on CO2 targets'

The UK government will push the EU to move to a higher target for cutting greenhouse gas emissions. It will urge the EU to cut emissions by 30% from 1990 levels by 2020, rather than the current 20% target, partly through more support for renewables.

A higher proportion of tax revenues will come from environmental taxes.

In 2009, EU leaders endorsed two targets for greenhouse gas emissions - 20%, rising to 30% in the event of a global deal on climate change.

That failed to materialise at December's Copenhagen summit.

But the recession has lowered emissions across the continent, making the higher target more easily achievable.

Environment groups have been lobbying governments to move to 30% immediately, to re-stake the EU's claim for global leadership on climate change - a call that the coalition has now endorsed.

Only problem is the conservative-Lib Dem coalition also confirmed there would be a free vote on fox-hunting and that badger culling was back on the agenda for England