The latest in the growing number of efforts directed at reducing, repurposing and ultimately eliminating waste in all its forms.
BlueOak Resources, a Burlingame, Calif.-based startup that aims to convert e-waste into a sustainable source of critical metals and rare earths, has chosen e-waste-recovery specialist Tetronics to provide plasma-refining technology for the recovery of precious metals from e-waste, first in a plant located in Osceola, Arkansas.
Internationally renowned novelist and environmental activist Margaret Atwood will visit Arizona State University this November to discuss the relationship between art and science and the importance of creative writing and imagination for addressing social and environmental challenges.
Food and garden waste from households throughout Glasgow has been transformed into compost and used in the development of Glasgow 2014’s Athletes Village and other Commonwealth Games venues, according to Zero Waste Scotland. Along with the use of compost during construction, the Athletes Village has been equipped with solar panels on the houses and a combined heat and power system.Currently underway, Glasgow 2014 has committed to being a truly sustainable Commonwealth Games, aiming to divert 80 percent of waste during the event and recycling as much as possible.
New York City taxpayers spend $600 million every year to manage post-consumer packaging and printed paper, reveals a new data analysis by UPSTREAM, a national environmental policy organization. In Europe and now increasingly in Canada, these costs are borne by corporations selling consumer goods.
A new survey by the Shelton Group found that nearly one-third of Americans would be more likely to attend a game or concert if the stadium recycled and composted, and one in five say they would buy more food and beverages during the event.A significant number of fans care about the environment, and they’ll vote with their feet - and their beer cups,” said Suzanne Shelton, CEO of the Shelton Group.
Almost two-thirds of grocery shoppers in the US (63 percent) are more concerned with food waste than other issues such as air pollution (59 percent), water shortages (57 percent), climate change (53 percent) and genetically modified foods (52 percent), according to a new Harris poll.The poll, commissioned by Sealed Air Corporation, evaluated Americans’ food habits,
On Tuesday, Southwest Airlines announced the launch of LUV Seat: Repurpose with Purpose, a global sustainability initiative to upcycle 43 acres of used leather seat coverings into new products that will benefit communities by providing employment, skills training, and donated products.
Nestlé has reduced 44 percent of its waste per ton of product since 2010 in the US, and five factory locations reached zero waste to landfill status by the end of 2013, according to the company’s new sustainability report.The Creating Shared Value (CSV) report is the company’s first expanded effort to highlight U.S.-specific milestones and achievements tied to Nestlé’s global sustainability principles and commitments. The report documents the food giant’s nutritional, social and environmental progress from the past year, as well as provides updates on the company’s US progress toward its global commitments.
The 2014 Waste Management Phoenix Open has diverted 100 percent of waste away from landfills for the second consecutive year, with a record attendance of 563,008 fans.The golf tournament is part of UL Environment’s Zero Waste Challenge, and earned Zero Waste to Landfill status, a certification proven through transparent reporting and detailed data. Zero Waste to Landfill is UL Environment’s highest landfill-diversion rate designation and recognizes the event for achieving a 100 percent landfill diversion rate with 10 percent incineration with energy recovery.
UK grocery giant Sainsbury’s has partnered with Biffa, one of the leading waste-management companies in the UK, on an innovative facility that will allow Sainsbury’s Cannock superstore to run on power generated solely from the supermarket’s own food waste.Thanks to Biffa’s advanced anaerobic digestion (AD) facilities and a unique power link-up, Sainsbury’s says its Cannock store will be powered using electricity generated using food waste from Sainsbury’s stores across the UK. This groundbreaking project helps to close the loop on food recycling and Sainsbury’s goal to continue to send zero operational waste to landfill.
Ever thought twice about those pistachio shells that we so readily discard? Luckily Turkey, one of the world's largest producers of pistachios, has —and the country is planning to use the shells, currently waste from production of its beloved baklava, to create biogas to generate heat for its first eco-city.The planned city will be built in Gaziantep province (known informally as Antep) in southern Turkey, which happens to be the center of pistachio production, growing more than half of the country's 'green gold.' The new city will cover 3,200 hectares (7,900 acres), and house roughly 200,000 people.
This week, EKOCYCLE and 3D Systems (3DS) unveiled the EKOCYCLE CUBE — a 3D printer that upcycles post-consumer plastic bottles into items of your design.EDS says the Cube “is not just another tool for making, it is a revolutionary tool for RE-making, and encourages and helps us to change the way we think about recycling.” The printers are expected to be available online at Cubify beginning in the second half of the year.
Last week, global closed-loop textile recycling company I:CO announced an expanded partnership with American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (AEO) to roll out its clothing and shoes recycling program in all of American Eagle’s 823 stores across the United States and Canada.As of June 14th, customers are now able to drop off used or unwanted clean clothing, shoes and textiles from any brand into the specifically marked I:CO boxes at any North American location. Participating customers will be rewarded with a text code for $5 off a pair of AEO jeans to be used in store that day. All proceeds from the program will be donated to the Student Conservation Association, one of AEO’s national charity partners.
Recycled water will account for roughly 85 percent of all water used in Levi’s Stadium — the new home of the San Francisco 49ers — and will be used for irrigation of the field as well as a 27,000-square-foot green roof, flushing toilets and cooling tower make-up water. Inside, the stadium is dual plumbed with recycled water used for flushing toilets.Following final testing by the City of Santa Clara Water and Sewer Utilities, Levi’s Stadium recently was connected to the city’s recycled water system, making it the first stadium in California to utilize the drought-proof water source. The milestone brings the facility one step closer to a Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification.
DirecTV, Microsoft, Panasonic, Sony and Xerox are among the founding partners of the R2 Responsible Recycling Leader Program, which encourages companies to responsibly reuse and recycle electronics. The program is a coalition of 10 partners and includes Goodwill Industries International, Greeneye Partners, Keep America Beautiful, SourceAmerica and Wistron Corporation.The R2 electronics recycling standard and certification process is managed by Sustainable Electronics Recycling International (SERI).
On the evening of June 5, an advanced copy of the Executive Summary of Valuing Plastic: The Business Case for Measuring, Managing and Disclosing Plastic Use in the Consumer Goods Industry will be shared with the Sustainable Brands community during SB’14 San Diego.
RecycleBank announced this week that, through recycling innovations and incentives programs, it has helped the city of Rochester Hills, Mich., increase its pounds of materials recycled by 323 percent since 2008.The company has worked with Republic Services and Rochester Hills to reward residents for taking more sustainable actions, such as recycling, with discounts and deals at local and national businesses. Rochester Hills also expanded its household recycling program and implemented single-stream collection, which allows residents to put all types of recyclable materials into a single bin.
Chevron Energy Solutions has announced it will design and build a waste-to-energy plant at Broward County, Fla.’s wastewater treatment facility.The project will generate electricity from fats, oils and grease and is expected to generate almost 2 megawatts (MW) of power, reduce electricity usage by over 30 percent and save the county nearly $27 million in its first 17 years of operation.Chevron says the energy produced by the project will offset utility-purchased power and help achieve county-wide carbon-reduction benefits.
Bruno Sarda is Director of Sustainability Operations at Dell, where he oversees business integration, information strategy, measurement and reporting, as well as supporting advocacy, policy and objective-setting. He also manages Dell’s groundbreaking partnership with TGEN (Translational Genomics Research Institute) and leads the Global Context thread at Arizona State University’s Executive Master’s for Sustainability Leadership (EMSL) program.
Three British companies have created a circuit board that is 90 percent recyclable and reusable, with components that can be easily separated by soaking in hot water.The three companies — National Physical Laboratory (NPL), In2Tec and Gwent Electronic Materials — have developed an adhesive that helps manufacturers take apart electronic circuit boards and reuse their components to make new components. The three firms, which have received funding from the UK government's Technology Strategy Board with a view to help industry conform to European electronic waste regulations, call the innovation ReUse — Reusable, Unzippable, Sustainable Electronics.