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
Safeway has agreed to pay nearly $10 million to settle allegations that its grocery stores improperly disposed of hazardous waste and customers' medical information in California. In a separate settlement, Los Angeles-based 99 Cents Only Stores will pay more than $2 million to settle retail hazardous waste disposal violations in California.
Dutch flooring supplier and manufacturer Forbo Flooring has now closed the loop on its Back to the Floor recycling scheme, according to Environmental Expert. Now in its third year, the scheme now recycles Forbo flooring off-cuts into new products.
The Canadian city of Surrey has chosen Iris Solutions to build what the city claims will be the first closed-loop, fully-integrated organics waste management system in North America.The Surrey Biofuels Processing Facility will process 115,000 tons of residual kitchen and garden waste from Surrey each year. The process will create a renewable natural gas which can then be used to power the city’s natural gas waste collection trucks. The facility will also produce a compost product that will be suitable for landscaping and agricultural applications.
White Coffee Corporation has introduced a new line of single-serve organic coffees in a new BioCup that is completely biodegradable when aerobically composted.Consumers committed to sustainable packaging will have a large selection of blends and flavors, the company says. These certified organic coffees evoke nature and the environment with earthy, deep and aromatic flavors. The BioCup is available in 11 flavors: Colombian, Breakfast Blend, French Roast, Full City Roast, Mexican High Grown, Peruvian, Rainforest Blend, Hazelnut, French Vanilla, Sea Salt Caramel and Chocolate Morsel.
The Internet of Things (IoT) will include some 30 billion connected devices by 2020, according to analyst firm Gartner. Although the IoT holds promise for promoting global sustainability, there is a growing concern of what becomes of these devices when they reach end of life. Many end up in landfills because, when they are embedded in objects and technologies, it is almost impossible to recycle them.
2014 was a year of stunning statistics and some moments of brilliance from a few brands. Unfortunately, most of the numbers were of the gloom and doom variety: warmest year, worst drought, worsening economic inequality — not to mention Ebola, war, and a looming sixth Great Extinction. Was the business community’s response proportionate to the scale of the problems that were revealed? What actions stand out? I have five, admittedly subjective, awards to give out.
On Thursday, after months of pressure from climate change activists, eBay confirmed its departure from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).“This is a major victory for those of us who have continued to pressure eBay executives to drop ALEC,” said Ryan Canney, Senior Campaigner with Forecast the Facts. “Denying climate change has no place in the modern economy, and this decision shows the credibility of eBay’s commitment to climate change.”
More than five trillion pieces of plastic, collectively weighing nearly 269,000 tons, are floating in the world’s oceans and causing damage throughout the food chain, according to new research by the 5 Gyres Institute — but that is apparently a drop in the bucket compared to the amount littering the ocean floor.Data collected by scientists from the United States, France, Chile, Australia and New Zealand estimates a minimum of 5.25 trillion plastic particles in the oceans, most of them “microplastics,” measuring less than 5mm.
Waste Management’s just-released 2014 Sustainability Report, Creating a Circular Economy, documents the company’s progress on recycling, energy production, transforming waste into valuable resources and helping businesses move toward zero waste.“As our customers have become more focused on waste reduction, so have we,” said David Steiner, Waste Management’s president and CEO. “By finding new ways of extracting value from the materials we manage, we’re making advancements toward our long-term business strategy, and helping others do the same.”
Nestlé, Kraft Foods and Mondelez International are helping fund a new commercial-scale recycling plant that can turn old toothpaste tubes into aluminum and fuel in only three minutes.This type of plastic-aluminum laminate waste, often used in drink pouches and pet food packaging, typically ends up in the landfill. Each year, around 16,000 tons of aluminum is wasted in the UK alone.To address this waste problem, researchers at the University of Cambridge have been exploring how laminate packaging would react to intense heating, called microwave-induced pyrolysis.
One out of five (20 percent) of Americans will forgo wrapping holiday gifts this year to reduce holiday waste, according to a new survey from ecoATM, a nationwide network of device recycling kiosks.More than half (52 percent) of respondents said they will reuse gift wrapping, ribbon and gift bags from previous holidays. Some 17 percent plan to use newspaper or other recycled paper to wrap gifts. Almost three quarters (74 percent) plan to do something this season to reduce their waste.
VWR, provider of laboratory products, services and solutions, has launched a new recycling initiative that allows U.S. customers to recycle a variety of single-use garments.Through "Gown Up, Give Back”, VWR hopes to help reduce the millions of pounds of single-use garments sent to the landfill each year. The plastic waste from these garments is recycled into resin that is used to make permanent infrastructure, including composite decking, railroad ties and drainage pipes. The recycling program provides a waste collection, shipment and recycling solution for most single-use garments as long as they are free from contamination and purchased from VWR.
Peers, an independent community whose mission is to make the rapidly growing sharing economy work for the people who power it, is today adding two new services to support its 250,000 members: Homeshare Liability Insurance — a comprehensive personal liability insurance for homeshare hosts/owners — and Keep Driving, a program for any sharing economy workers who rely on their vehicle, that provides a replacement vehicle if theirs is out of commission.
An amazing opportunity for one student from any university in the world to win a place in the exclusive Schmidt-MacArthur Fellowship Programme — an international postgraduate fellowship on the circular economy for design, engineering and business students (worth £10,000) — is now open for entries.
“No man chooses evil because it is evil; he only mistakes it for happiness,the good he seeks.”— Mary WollstonecraftI’ve got a bad feeling about this…There has been increasing discussion of late, in the context of the IPCC's latest report on the dangers of climate change, about geoengineering — deliberate intervention in the functioning of planetary systems intended to arrest trends we don’t like or encourage ones that we do.Geoengineering solutions (which might be termed mechanical geoengineering) fall into two categories:
The concept of the circular economy — a more thoughtful approach to how we process materials and manufacture products — continues to gain traction, especially in the textile and fashion industry. In the last few weeks, some of the industry’s biggest players have upped their involvement in the market shift.
Mendocino County-based Fetzer Vineyards recently announced that it has received platinum level Zero Waste certification from the U.S. Zero Waste Business Council (USZWBC). Platinum certification, the highest level offered by the USZWBC, recognizes the company for successfully diverting 97.7 percent of its waste from landfill, incineration and the environment.
Novelis, producer of aluminum rolling products, has announced a new commitment to convert all of its beverage can body sheet production to its evercan sheet by the end of 2017.
Sunday, November 2, was not one of the finer days for the San Francisco 49ers, as the team lost a close game to the St. Louis Rams and fell further behind in the NFL playoff chase. But while the score on the field was disappointing for 49er fans, another event that day offered an example of how professional sports teams can partner with brands to raise awareness on how simple acts can do a lot for social good. On that Sunday afternoon, Levi’s and the 49ers partnered on a “Field of Jeans” initiative to highlight progress on both waste diversion and job training.
California’s recent ban on single-use plastic bags has, as one might expect, led to a boom for reusable bag manufacturers in the Golden State. One manufacturer, Earthwise Bag Company, says it increased the number of U.S. workers employed in the production of its bags by 300 percent in 2014, and has plans for further expansion in 2015 and beyond.