Issue 276 – From waste to wealth
![aeroplane wing with clouds](https://i0.wp.com/ecos.csiro.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/aviation-ross-parmly-rf6ywHVkrlY-unsplash.jpg?resize=385%2C256&ssl=1)
Turning carbon from a waste into a resource
Using carbon dioxide for commercial applications that support emissions reductions and industry growth will be the focus of CSIRO’s upcoming Commoditisation of CO2 Roadmap.
![Tractor in field harvesting carrots. Image by Kagome](https://i0.wp.com/ecos.csiro.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/carrpots-being-harvested.-credit-Kagome.jpg?resize=385%2C256&ssl=1)
Fighting food waste one carrot at a time
It's a case of down the hatch instead of down the drain for carrot pulp thanks to a new way of using it for burger patties.
![A young female vendor sells plastic cans for carrying holy water at a market around the river Ganga, India.](https://i0.wp.com/ecos.csiro.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Plastics_India-1-scaled.jpg?resize=385%2C256&ssl=1)
Australia and India waste experts aim to put the fantastic back into plastic
An ambitious project between the two countries to reduce plastic waste could bring global solutions.
![Showing the dry land and shrub of the Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (or APY lands) in South Australia](https://i0.wp.com/ecos.csiro.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/APY-Lands-Brady-Flinchum.jpg?resize=385%2C256&ssl=1)
How science found liquid gold in the desert
Researchers have teamed up to uncover an ancient buried water source in South Australia.
![](https://i0.wp.com/ecos.csiro.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/john-cameron-F_EooJ3-uTs-unsplash-Copy-scaled.jpg?resize=385%2C256&ssl=1)
Supercharging Australia’s lithium-ion battery recycling industry
Australia could have a $3.1 billion industry in lithium-ion battery recycling, according to a new report.
![CSIRO's Deborah Lau looking at the camera with her hands in a bag of small fragments of plastic](https://i0.wp.com/ecos.csiro.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/CSIRO_EPW_NP__214_20210314.jpg?resize=385%2C256&ssl=1)
Reimagining the future of plastics
With our oceans littered with trillions of pieces of rubbish, how do we solve the plastic pollution crisis?
![Pictures of discarded computer circuit boards. Biomining is an innovative way of mining valuable metals from printed circuit boards like these, which usually end up in landfill.](https://i0.wp.com/ecos.csiro.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/IMG_4003-scaled.jpg?resize=385%2C256&ssl=1)
Motherboards as mother lode
Did you know there is up to 100 times more gold in a tonne of mobile phones than in a tonne of gold ore? Microbes could underpin a new urban biomining industry, where gold, silver, copper and other e-waste metals are extracted more cleanly and more economically than through conventional mining.
![Lush green forest and mountains surrounding a lake at Cradle Mountain, Tasmania](https://i0.wp.com/ecos.csiro.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Healthy-subalpine-at-cradle-mountain-2017_Daniel-Engelbrekt-from-Pixabay-1.jpg?resize=385%2C256&ssl=1)
Saving the world’s ecosystems one A at a time
Scientists examine 19 ecosystems under pressure, from the beautiful to the rare.
![Picture of bundles of recycled paper. The roadmap recommends reducing single-use paper.](https://i0.wp.com/ecos.csiro.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/bas-emmen-EXpa6pyXkHA-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=385%2C256&ssl=1)
Waste not, want not
Researchers are supporting Australia's move to a zero-waste culture with science. The first step has been a circular economy roadmap to reduce plastic, glass, tyres and paper waste.