Waste Not
The latest in the growing number of efforts directed at reducing, repurposing and ultimately eliminating waste in all its forms.
Trending: Finally, End-of-Life Solutions for Two of Our Least Recyclable Products
(2 years ago) - As the ongoing effort to mitigate climate change leads many businesses and governments to create a circular economy, we still face a number of roadblocks – namely in the end of life of certain products that weren’t designed for reuse, recycling or safe disposal. But two initiatives announced this week could represent progress.
ZDHC Wastewater Guidelines Streamline Industry Efforts to Eliminate Hazardous Chemicals
(2 years ago) - On Friday, the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) Programme - a collaboration of 22 leading brands, including Kering, Marks & Spencer, Primark, Coop Switzerland and New Balance, along with 13 value chain affiliates and 7 associates - released its Wastewater Guidelines, a unified expectation on wastewater quality for t
15 Food Giants, Retailers Step Up to Chop Food Loss and Waste by 2030
(2 years ago) - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy have recognized 15 U.S. businesses and organizations pledging concrete steps to reduce food loss and waste in their operations 50 percent by 2030, as recommended by the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Sainsbury's Commits £1m to Radically Reduce Food Waste in the UK
(2 years ago) - UK retailer Sainsbury’s has unveiled its latest move in the fight against food waste, by announcing a £1 million fund available to towns and cities across the United Kingdom. The commitment is the second phase of its Waste Less, Save More strategy - a five-year plan designed to help households save money by reducing food waste in the UK.
Trending: C&A Foundation, Volcom Continue to Advance Market for Closed-Loop Textiles
(2 years ago) - This past week saw even yet still more circular economic initiatives sprouting up in the apparel industry. First, the C&A Foundation granted €250,000 ($276,000) to the social enterprise Circle Economy, which is dedicated to accelerating the practical and scalable implementation of the circular economy. Circle Economy will use the funding to advance its Circle Textiles Program with a mission to close the loop for textiles and create a zero-waste industry.
Safety from Volatility: How SUEZ Is Future-Proofing by Investing in Regenerative Waste Management
(2 years ago) - One of the largest waste management companies in North America is disinvesting in recycling. Waste Management CEO David Steiner recently went on to discuss the company’s current business spend, which went from 12 percent five years ago down to 8 percent now.
Champions 12.3 ‘Progress’ Report Details Why We Must Target, Measure, Act on Food Waste
(2 years ago) - Up to one-third of all food produced is never eaten by people, and this food loss and waste is responsible for $940 billion in economic losses and 8 percent of worldwide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Target 12.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) calls on all nations to halve food waste and reduce food loss by 2030, but nations, cities and businesses in the food supply chain need to move more quickly to set reduction targets, measure their progress and taken action if the goal is to be achieved.
Ford Aims to Reduce Water Use 72%, to Zero Potable Water Use in Manufacturing
(2 years ago) - Ford is aiming to reduce its use of the world’s most precious resource – water – by nearly three-fourths as it takes its next step toward using zero potable (drinking) water for vehicle manufacturing. By 2020, Ford aspires to have reduced its water usage per vehicle by 72 percent and will have saved more than 10 billion gallons of water since the turn of the millennium. In layman’s terms, that roughly means for every one gallon of water Ford used in manufacturing in 2000, it aims to use about one liter by 2020.
Giant Coffee Cup Bins Offer Paper Cup Recycling in New Social Experiment
(2 years ago) - Eleven bins shaped like giant coffee cups have popped up along one of Manchester’s busiest streets, Oxford Road. They’re part of a new campaign and social experiment from environment charity Hubbub that aims to give paper cup recycling #1MoreShot.
Industry Associations Partner on Pilot Program to Increase Automotive Recycling
(2 years ago) - Approximately 12 to 15 million vehicles are scrapped each year in the United States. The average lifespan of a vehicle is estimated to be about 11.5 years, and increasingly those vehicles are comprised of more and more plastics. Recovery of plastic components before shredding is largely driven by the resale market, but some recovery for mechanical recycling is also occurring.
Give Back Box, Goodwill Helping Growing List of Retailers, Consumers Eliminate Waste
(2 years ago) - Mission-driven startup Give Back Box® was founded in 2012 by Monika Wiela, who at the time was running an online shoe store. The idea was inspired by a homeless man she encountered in Chicago, who was holding up a sign saying he needed a pair of shoes. Wiela returned later that day with shoes for him, but he was gone. She spent that night thinking about what she could do with all the empty boxes in her warehouse and also help people like that man, and a new social enterprise was born.
These Students’ Environmental Science Projects Are Greening Their Communities
(2 years ago) - Competitive school science fairs are a motif in the grade school education story. Often requiring a significant investment on the part of parents, the circumstances in which students must produce a contending project can create more stress than interest for the sciences and environmental studies.
Closed Loop Foundation, SC Johnson Award Grants to Innovators in Plastic Film Recycling
(2 years ago) - The Closed Loop Foundation, in partnership with SC Johnson, today awarded two innovation grants to companies working to help solve film plastic packaging recycling:
WRAP Hopes New Industry Framework, Campaign Will Get Tonnes More Recycling in the Bin
(2 years ago) - The waste reduction experts at WRAP have brought together representatives from across the waste management sector to create an industry framework that could divert up to 11 million tonnes more recyclable material from disposal in England. Supported by the U.K.’s Department of Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) and DCLG, the ‘Framework for Greater Consistency in Household Recycling for England’ offers opportunities for businesses and local authorities to save money and avoid around 5 million tonnes of greenhouse gases.
New Film Drives Home Impacts of Single-Use Plastics on Oceans, Wildlife, Humans
(2 years ago) - A new short film featured by National Geographic highlights the plight of the Sargasso Sea – a diverse ecosystem of free-floating seaweed and unique wildlife – that is threatened by plastic waste. From microplastics to bioaccumulation, Care About the Ocean? Think Twice About Your Coffee Lid walks viewers through the dangers of plastic pollution in the Sargasso Sea (and other parts of the ocean) – and for human health.
Coca-Cola, PepsiCo Exceed Water Stewardship Goals
(2 years ago) - Water is the primary ingredient in Coca-Cola’s and PepsiCo’s beverages, and both companies recognize that increasing stress on supply is a risk to their businesses. This week, both beverage giants announced progress updates for their global stewardship efforts.
Trending: Food, Glorious Food! Startups, New Competition Cook Up Innovative Ideas
(2 years ago) - In the ongoing fight against food waste, startups continue to innovate to offer solutions: Renewal Mill is turning waste such as olive pits and grape skin into new food products, and apps are springing up around the world to help restaurants, bakeries and more sell their leftover food at a discount. Meanwhile, Electrolux has launched a new global competition looking for innovative ideas to inspire home cooking.
Adding Value, Sustainability to the Supply Chain by Recycling the Unrecyclable
(2 years ago) - One of the most significant challenges that manufacturers and major brands face today is maintaining high sustainability standards across their entire supply and production chain. It’s no new idea that consumer brands that have not embraced sustainability and CSR initiatives are at risk on many fronts, but integrating more environmentally sound and socially responsible processes requires sweeping infrastructure changes that many businesses may have difficulty implementing and sustaining.
Not So Fast (Fashion)! African Countries to Ban Secondhand Clothing Imports
(2 years ago) - In March, the governments of the East African Community, which includes Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi, proposed a ban on imports of secondhand clothes to their regional trade bloc. The ban would outlaw donations of clothing from wealthier countries by 2019.
Trending: Why the Brits Continue to Lead in Reducing Food, Beverage Waste
(2 years ago) - In this week's roundup, UK-based organizations continue to lead the charge against food and beverage-related waste. First, grocery giant Asda has revealed the results of a customer-focused behavior change campaign; Frugalpac launched a new hot beverage cup that is made from recycled paper and can be recycled in any normal paper or cardboard facility; and egg processing plant Just Egg found a way to redirect its eggshell waste.