Brighton-based product design studio Gomi has launched Collection One of its “regenerative” portable speakers, made from e-bike batteries and reusing “unrecyclable” plastic, reports Design Week. Gomi takes battery packs from disused e-bikes and repurposes them for use in its speakers. Full story here

Microsoft has announced new tools to help games developers reduce the amount of energy needed by Xbox consoles to run their games. The Microsoft Xbox Developer Sustainability Toolkit will help designers and developers to identify how energy use can re reduced with our affecting gameplay, the company says. Read Ars Technica’s story here

What Design Can Do has announced the 50 nominees shortlisted for its Make It Circular Challenge. The projects include “exciting innovations that prevent waste by rethinking our way of life: from what we eat and wear, to how we build, package and buy”. Thirteen winners will be announced on 3 May. More here

Garden Futures: Designing with Nature is a new exhibition at the Vitra Design Museum in Germany. The Museum claims the exhibition “is the first to explore the history and future of modern gardens. Where do today’s garden ideals come from? Will gardens help us achieve a liveable future for everyone?”. It will include “examples from design, everyday culture, and landscape architecture – from deckchairs to vertical urban farms, from contemporary community gardens to living buildings to gardens by designers and artists”. More details here

Not only is it a huge contributor to plastic pollution but the “bottled-water industry is masking the failure of public systems to supply reliable drinking water for all,” according to an investigation by Fast Company. “The industry can undermine progress of safe-water projects, mostly in low- and middle-income countries, by distracting development efforts and redirecting attention to a less reliable, less affordable option,” it says. Read the article here

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