Oil spills could be cleaned up in the icy, rough waters of the Arctic with a chemically modified sawdust material that absorbs up to five times its weight in oil and stays afloat for at least four ...

SEQUIM, Wash. - Lowly sawdust, the sawmill waste that's sometimes tossed onto home garage floors to soak up oil spilled by amateur mechanics, could receive some new-found respect thanks to science.

Sawdust, the waste from wood working, used mainly in motor garages for soaking up oil is going to have a bigger use — checking oil spills at Arctic ocean. In a new initiative, Pacific Northwest ...