Repository of problems worth solving
World Solve is a public institutional repository for identifying real unresolved problems across science, society, health, governance, economics, and local systems. Each entry is intended to be citable, inspectable, and actionable.
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4194Total
4194Open
0Solved
9Humans
Many future products will use composites, coatings, adhesives, and additives that make recycling technically or economically impossible. The challenge is creating high-performance materials whose full lifecycle is designed from the beginning. The solution must work with limited capital, intermittent services, and local maintenance capacity. The research opportunity is to define measurable success criteria, test the approach in realistic settings, identify failure modes, and create a pathway from prototype to accountable deployment.
economics-resources
materials
designing
recyclable
default
low-income
communities
future
products
will
composites
technology-computing
climate-environment
society-governance
systems
quantum
infrastructure
science-space
Fast-moving consumer goods companies rely heavily on multi-layer plastic sachets to sell small product quantities affordably, generating unrecyclable plastic litter across waterways and marine systems.
economics-resources
asia
philippines
plastic
consumer
goods
haven
eliminated
single-use
packaging
distribution
networks
lower-income
climate-environment
global-unspecified
systems
waste
food
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
As electric vehicles become more common, so will the used batteries, most of which still lack an efficient, complete recycling process. Solving this prevents a looming new wave of battery waste.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
electric
batteries
haven
solved
make
vehicle
fully
recyclable
end
life
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
recycling
waste
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Wind turbine blades and other renewable energy components can be difficult and costly to recycle, creating a growing waste stream from an industry meant to be environmentally beneficial. Closing this lifecycle gap remains an unresolved sustainability challenge.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
renewable-energy
renewable
energy
haven
found
way
make
infrastructure
fully
recyclable
end
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
resolved
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Recycling facilities still rely heavily on human sorters because robotic systems struggle to reliably distinguish between similar-looking but differently recyclable materials. Improving this accuracy could significantly increase recycling efficiency worldwide.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
recycling
haven
solved
build
robotics
capable
sorting
complex
mixed
streams
systems
waste
economics-resources
management
materials
philosophy-ethics
Informal waste pickers in Philippines recover a substantial share of recyclable material but operate without legal recognition, safety equipment, or fair pricing from recycling buyers.
economics-resources
asia
philippines
informal
formalizing
waste-picker
livelihoods
waste
pickers
recover
substantial
share
settlements
systems
picker
climate-environment
global-unspecified
urban
