The constant stream of new models, products and processes that are helping organizations extend the useful life of resources and materials while reducing, repurposing and ultimately eliminating waste in all its forms
Want to subvert the traditional apparel supply chain? You must possess a “little bit of craziness,” according to Giulio Bonazzi, CEO and president of Aquafil, an Italian company that transforms abandoned fishing nets and castoff bits of carpet into good-as-new nylon fibers. Speaking on a panel at the Textile Sustainability Conference in Washington, D.C., last week, Bonazzi noted that his propensity for seeing goldmines in landfills hasn’t always drawn plaudits. In fact, he was often ridiculed.
While the circular economy hits its stride in Sweden, recycling comes to a standstill in the US as it comes face-to-face with the realities of China’s new scrap ban. US shopping malls may be in fatal decline, but in Sweden, shopping centers are helping push the envelope on the circular agenda.
From used bathroom tissue to banana peels, researchers and innovators are fueling a sustainable future by giving new life to previously overlooked waste streams. While scientists in the Netherlands are tapping sludge from water treatment facilities to generate clean energy, Arup is using organic waste to generate low-cost, low-carbon building materials.
Closed-loop cocktails are officially a thing thanks to Operation Dagger, a popular Singapore-based bar and one of Asia’s best watering holes. Single-use is practically unheard of in this trendy spot, where every ingredient is given a second life, be it a vanilla pod or recycled receipt.
With 8 million tonnes of plastic entering the ocean each year, we urgently need to change the way we make and use plastics, so that they don’t become waste in the first place. A host of announcements from major CPG companies and NGOs today from the Our Ocean 2017 conference in Malta signal the ongoing momentum behind the issue.
Food giants across the US and UK continue to forge forward on efforts to drive down food waste and end hunger, rolling out new initiatives that align with the UN Sustainable Development Goal to halve food waste by 2030. The announcements coincide with a new global resolution launched by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), which calls on the private sector to halve food and agricultural losses by 2030 and work with suppliers and consumers to do the same.
Spoiler Alert is a Boston-based software company that helps the world’s largest food businesses better manage unsold inventory. This week, the company released a new ebook, A Strategic Guide for Using Data to Drive Food Loss and Waste Reductions, intended to arm food manufacturers, wholesale distributors, and grocery retailers with the tools and strategies to develop data-driven food waste prevention and reduction programs. Topics featured include:
One-third of the world’s food — approximately 1.3 billion tons — is lost or wasted, a fact that is spurring startups to seek out new solutions to keep food out of landfills and stopping waste at the source. California-based distillery Misadventure & Co. is working to drive down food waste in a completely unexpected way — by transforming discarded Twinkies and other dump-destined baked goods into vodka.
Our office kitchen only has one microwave and I always get hungry at peak lunchtime. I place my Pyrex glass container of leftovers at the end of the microwave queue of different shapes, sizes and brands of glass containers, and wait my turn. From Mason jars at weddings to glass water bottles at the gym and glass carafes for endlessly cold iced coffee, it’s clear that glass is being used in just about everything. Glass has so many benefits: It’s reusable, easy to clean, BPA free and sustainable. Yet, even with these benefits, glass recycling in the U.S is dismal.
We need a financial plan for achieving a safe world in the next thirty years. This period will be crucial as social and ecological externalities come home to roost. We need a rapid reinvention of capitalism, finance, and wealth management. We need to rethink power and purpose. Otherwise, this revolutionary moment where “the 20 percent could consciously shift trillions of dollars” will be replaced with “global meltdown, all bets are off, retreat to your bunkers, hope the military can protect you.”
Europe’s largest home electronics manufacturer, Grundig, has renewed its commitment to reduce global food waste, launching the second phase of its Respect Food initiative with a manifesto film underlining the seriousness of the food waste problem. The announcement follows the release of new research revealing that 90 percent of consumers want to lead more sustainable lifestyles and reduce food waste, but lack the time and means to make the change happen.
Supermarkets across the globe are doing their part to future fit the food system by rolling out new initiatives and products that aim to tackle food waste and CO2 emissions.
Capturing littered plastic – whether in the oceans, on beaches or from city streets – and transforming it into new products has become something of a creative marketing drive, with brand owners investing in high-profile launches to demonstrate leadership in this space: P&G’s beach plastic shampoo bottle and the
The realities of a hard Brexit are beginning to come to fruition. Immigration issues notwithstanding, the UK stands to face significant challenges in meeting its Paris commitments and upholding its pledge to maintain high environmental standards after its separation from the EU.
Neighbourly, a social network connecting local projects and community needs with companies ready to help with funds and volunteers, has announced the expansion of its food surplus program to include non-food product donations. UK retail giant Marks & Spencer (M&S) is the first to sign onto the donation scheme.
Cross-Posted from Marketing & Communications. What started as a simple home remedy and a middle school science project has exploded into a viable and affordable solution for fighting food waste across the globe. During a trip to India to visit family when she was 12 years old, Kavita Shukla’s grandmother gave her a homemade tea of different spices to ward off illness after having ingested a glass of unfiltered tap water. The spicy concoction prevented Shukla from becoming sick and ultimately became the inspiration behind years of experimentation with rotting fruits and vegetables that would lead to the creation of Shukla’s revolutionary FreshPaper.
Bottle deposit schemes just got a major boost, thanks to a new analysis issued by thinktank Green Alliance. Communicated via an infographic, the analysis suggests that introducing deposit return schemes on plastic bottles would be the single most effective action to accelerate progress. The concept has been a hot topic in the UK over the last year, as the Government searches for ways to curb the country’s considerable plastic waste problem.
What do sulfur and urine have in common? Scientists and designers have uncovered new ways to transform the two smelly substances into smart solutions to tackle pressing environmental problems.
The Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute and MBDC are making it easier than ever for manufacturers and designers to create and certify products according to the Cradle to Cradle Certified™ Product Standard with the launch of a new guidance program.
A partnership between global customs and logistics company UPS and TerraCycle has reached a major milestone — by transforming hard-to-recycle items such as toothpaste tubes and snack bags into new products, the two organizations have diverted 40 million pounds of waste from landfills since 2012.