Editorial
Sustainably transforming waste into valuable products with the chemical sciences
Editorial
Global essay competition: Young Voices in the Chemical Sciences for Sustainability
Essay
From waste to wealth: advancing e-waste transformation through chemical sciences
Smart disassembly and green leaching with ionic liquids, deep eutectic solvents, organic acids and amino acids transform printed circuit boards into valuable resources, supporting a sustainable circular economy.
Essay
Waste alchemy in the age of industry 5.0: rethinking sustainable electronics
Agricultural and food waste can become more than leftovers. With (green) chemistry and materials science, they can be valuable components for sustainable electronics and connect technology with environmental care.
Essay
Reimagining plastic waste: sustainable depolymerization using mechanochemistry as a gateway to high-value applications
Mechanochemical depolymerization transforms plastic waste into monomers for high-grade bottles, advanced medical packaging, 3D printing resins, polymer-based hydrogels, and bio-nanoparticles, thereby enabling safe, sustainable, and high-value applications. Created with BioRender.
Essay
To scale or not to scale? Re-engineering biorefining for a more sustainable and circular future
Further to the use of renewable feedstocks, sustainable biorefining requires a holistic process-level approach encompassing techno-economic and life-cycle assessments to help bridge the gap between laboratory innovation and industrial scalability.
Essay
Shining light on waste: photochemical strategies to reduce and transform plastic pollution
A simplified scheme for the photocatalytic oxidation of plastic waste into value-added oxidized products.
Essay
The new gold rush: unlocking the potential of waste through chemical science, society and policy
Chemistry enables waste-to-value transformation, while mathematics drives optimization and sustainability. Together, they complement each other to provide data-driven insights for greater efficiency and improved outcomes.
Essay
From rags to riches: the role of the chemical sciences in transforming waste into valuable products
Carbon dioxide waste, plastic waste and waste electronic and electrical equipment (WEEE) are three prevalent forms of waste in modern society. The chemical sciences have a crucial role to play in transforming these waste streams into valuable products.
About this collection
This collection in RSC Sustainability showcases the seven regional winning entries of the 2025 annual Essay Competition, Young Voices in the Chemical Sciences for Sustainability, which was organized and managed by the International Organization for Chemical Sciences in Development (IOCD) and sponsored by the Royal Society of Chemistry.
The theme of the 2025 IOCD Essay Competition was “From waste to wealth: how chemical sciences can sustainably transform waste into valuable products.”