Sustainability

Onion skins are usually treated as packaging supplied by nature: useful until the bulb reaches the chopping board, then discarded. Chemically, though, those papery layers are unusually concentrated plant material, rich in fiber and phenolic compounds such as quercetin. That makes them an interesting candidate for “upcycling” into flour-based foods—provided the resulting food still behaves and tastes like food.

A 2020 study in Scientific Reports tested that idea in pizza bases. The researchers cleaned red-onion skins, freeze-dried them, ground them into a powder, and used it to replace 2%, 3.5%, or 5% of refined wheat flour. They then measured the dough’s mechanical behavior, the baked base’s texture and color, antioxidant-related chemistry, sensory acceptance, and microbial growth during storage.

You probably don’t think about “waste” when you’re eating a slice of cheddar. But the cheese industry has a massive environmental secret: for every one pound of hard cheese produced, about nine pounds of liquid whey are left behind.

This isn’t just water. This leftover “acid whey” is an environmental nightmare, an organic-rich sludge that can starve rivers of oxygen if dumped. For decades, dairies have paid to have it trucked away or spent energy processing it into protein powders. But what if there was a better way?

The Hidden Environmental Cost of Cycling

While cycling is widely celebrated for its environmental benefits, recent scientific research has uncovered an unexpected environmental impact that even the most eco-conscious cyclists might not be aware of: microplastic pollution from bicycle tire wear.

A groundbreaking 2025 study from the University of Bayreuth has quantified for the first time the amount of microplastic particles released by mountain bike tires during real-world usage. The findings reveal that while bicycle tires do contribute to microplastic pollution, the scale is dramatically different from what we see with motor vehicles.

Turning Bikes into Mobile Insect Hotels

In many gardens, bug hotels act as miniature sanctuaries for insects. The Natural History Museum notes that creating a safe space for bugs using recycled materials helps attract a variety of species that play essential roles such as pollinating plants and eating pests. Similarly, an eco-crafting blog points out that building a bug hotel from items you already have at home encourages biodiversity, attracting beneficial insects that feed on garden pests and pollinate flowers. These static hotels are usually placed in gardens or allotments, but what if you could take one with you?