Americans throw away roughly 40 million tons of plastic trash a year, and much of it goes unrecycled. Still, with new laws and technologies aiming to help with this waste, it’s easy to feel optimistic about where things are headed.

Over a million bottles of water are sold worldwide every minute, which is more than 1.4 billion per day. An incredible amount of energy goes into making all that plastic, much of which ends up in landfills. Reusable bottles are cheaper in the long run and much better for the environment.

It’s important to find more affordable and sustainable ways to build homes. It’s also vital that we find better ways to recycle our plastic. Creative solutions such as building materials made from recycled plastic address both issues.

States and cities across the country have enacted bans or restrictions on plastic grocery bags, while others have added a small fee for shoppers who use them. But some worry about what alternatives we have to replace them.