Development of a robot smaller than a chip

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Researchers at Northwestern University in the United States have developed robots that are less than 1mm thick.

"I take dirty diapers from people's recycling"

Behind-the-scenes footage shows employees hand-sorting the contents of people's recycling bins to remove items that shouldn't be there.

Staff at the £14million recycling plant in Forest Town, Nottinghamshire, help sort 85,000 tonnes of waste manually, alongside automated methods.

After separation, the usable waste goes to manufacturers to create new products.

Video journalists: Sally Bowman and Chris Waring

Follow BBC East Midlands on Facebook , Twitter or Instagram . Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk .

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Return of the California butterflies

Some of California's iconic butterflies, including the monarch butterfly, are on the verge of extinction. But conservationists' efforts to protect them could now be paying off.

For more information, see the People Fixing the World podcast.

Produced by Ben Wyatt and Richard Kenny.

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Climate change: How can I manage my eco-anxiety?

Rachel Hurst is a student at the University of East Anglia who helps other students deal with their climate scares through climate cafes on campus.

It is part of a new program launched by university and mental health charity, Norfolk and Waveney Mind, bringing its services to young people concerned about climate change.

A recent global survey found that 39% of UK students see climate change as one of the biggest issues of their generation.

Read the full article here.

Aisha Doherty video.

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Nigerian Spider-Man fights for a cleaner society

Spider-Man, Spider-Man, can he do anything a sweeper can?

According to the World Bank, the amount of waste is increasing.

In 2016, cities around the world generated more than 2 billion tons of solid waste, resulting in a footprint of 0.74 kilograms per person per day.

Much of this trash ends up on the streets, and Nigerian environmentalist Jonathan Olakunle disguises himself as Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man to help clean up the streets of Osogbo.

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Hong Kong researchers are creating a 'soft robot' out of magnetic slime

Researchers at the Chinese University of Hong Kong have created a "soft robot" made out of mud with magnetic particles that can be manipulated with external magnets.

The magnetic particles are toxic but have theoretically been secured for entry into the human body after being coated with a layer of silicone compound, although further safety testing is required in the future.

The Hong Kong team hopes the slime will one day be used to retrieve accidentally swallowed items.

You can read more about the team's research here .

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Lateral Flow Testing: Should I Recycle Plastic?

Researchers estimate the UK's lateral flow testing program produced enough plastic waste to fill 200,000 bathtubs, or 19 Olympic-size swimming pools.

Scientists at the Institute for Energy and the Environment at the University of Hull say once we had known that Covid-19 spreads more through the air than on surfaces, the UK government should have started recycling evidence to stop unnecessary plastic pollution avoid.

The government says it has already made changes to make testing more sustainable. But should we have recycled our lateral flow test kits?

BBC health reporter Laura Foster, who has collected the waste from all her lateral flow tests, explains the situation in two minutes.

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