Waste Not
The latest in the growing number of efforts directed at reducing, repurposing and ultimately eliminating waste in all its forms.
PepsiCo, Coca-Cola Look to Youth Innovation, Consumers to Make Shift Towards Zero Impact
The use of post-consumer recycled materials as feedstock for new bottles and cans has become common practice for the beverage industry, but there is still more to be done to reduce waste and increase recycling. Industry giants PepsiCo and Coca-Cola are working towards overcoming these challenges by supporting eco-innovation and government initiatives. The recipients of PepsiCo’s Zero Impact Fund — an expansion of PepsiCo Recycling’s college and university programs to help bring campus eco-innovations to life — have been announced. Eight colleges and universities will each receive a contribution from PepsiCo to help accomplish their environmental goals:
New Platform Enables Entire Food Value Chain to ‘Takestock,’ Redistribute Would-Be Waste
From 10kg of blueberries to 10-litre tubs of mayonnaise and handmade farmhouse cheese, surplus food is now up for grabs eBay-style, thanks to a new UK-based platform. Using the principles of the infamous auction site, Takestock applies the transaction to solving food waste. The online trading platform efficiently connects owners of surplus stock with buyers, rather than scrapping it.
More Affordable Devices Lead to Doubling of E-Waste in China Since 2010
The volume of discarded electronics in East and South-East Asia jumped almost two-thirds between 2010 and 2015, and e-waste generation is growing fast in both total volume and per capita measures, according to new research by United Nations University (UNU).
Phoenix Teams Up with Recyclebank to Tackle Waste and Recycling Goals
The City of Phoenix, AZ and Recyclebank, a company that pioneered and patented an education and incentives platform to help cities encourage residents to make sustainable purchasing and disposal habits, formally announced today that they will be teaming up to amplify the city’s “Reimagine Phoenix” initiative, a program aimed at diverting 40 percent of the city’s waste from landfills by 2020.
Can We Really Cut Food Waste in Half?
It was disappointing to see recent figures from the United Kingdom showing that household food waste is on the rise again (although per capita waste is still roughly constant). The UK became a world leader in curbing food waste when, from 2007 to 2012, its households cut the amount of edible food they threw away by 21 percent. This was the result of a government-funded initiative that combined a consumer-facing campaign and a voluntary agreement involving major retailers and brands to help consumers reduce household food waste. But since 2012, progress has stalled, and it now looks as though waste might start going back up.
Why Sweden Is Taking Its Neighbors’ Trash
Sweden has long been well ahead of the curve in terms of activating on sustainability initiatives, particularly when it comes to energy: In 1991, it became one of the first countries to impose a heavy tax on fossil fuels, and in 2012, it reached its 2020 goal to source 50 percent of its electricity from renewables (as of 2016, it had risen to 52 percent – the highest in the EU - with a goal of 100 percent by 2040).
Reducing Food Waste Saved UK Food Industry £100M in Just 3 Years
According to a new report released by WRAP, retailers and brands across the UK saved over £100 million by reducing food waste.
P&G's New Year's Resolution: Zero Waste to Landfill From All Production Sites by 2020
Procter & Gamble announced today additional investments in recycling and beneficial reuse that will eliminate all manufacturing waste from its global network of more than 100 production sites by 2020. Since P&G began qualifying sites as zero manufacturing waste to landfill, 56 percent of its global production sites have achieved this milestone. Plans are now in place to complete the remaining facilities over the next four years. This means eliminating or beneficially reusing roughly 650,000 metric tons of waste, equivalent to the weight of nearly 350,000 mid-sized cars that would typically go to landfills.
Trending: Emerson, AT&T, London Startup Find More Creative Ways to Fight Food Waste
Today, approximately 40% of the food produced in the U.S. goes to waste and 97% ends up in landfills. There it decomposes and produces methane gas — 25 times more harmful than CO2 as a greenhouse gas and a major contributor to global warming and the destruction of the ozone layer. A similar story can be told across the globe. Food waste poses a significant risk to both food security and the planet, but new technologies and creative reuses of waste streams are pushing the food industry towards more sustainable, circular models.
Baldor Specialty Foods Reaches Sustainability Goal Early by Reimagining Waste
It’s no secret that the food industry struggles to control the vast amount of waste it generates. In the United States alone, 30-40 percent of the national food supply (roughly 52 million tons of food) finds its way into landfills every year — a staggering and shocking statistic considering that 1 in 7 Americans don’t have access to affordable, nutritious food.
UK Universities Poised to Lead Europe in Cutting Food Waste in Half by 2030
Ending food waste is a key concern across the Western world, with new initiatives such as WWF and Sodexo’s sustainable meals program and Sainsbury’s Waste Less, Save More campaign seeming to crop up almost daily.
Lagunitas Poised to Save $22.5M Through Cambrian’s New Water-Energy Purchase Agreement
Cambrian Innovation, a commercial provider of distributed wastewater-treatment and resource-recovery solutions for industrial facilities, announced today that it is offering a novel water-energy purchase agreement (WEPA) - a new form of financing that it’s calling the wastewater industry’s answer to solar’s power purchasing agreements (PPAs) – and that Lagunitas Brewing Company will be the first to use it.
Carbon Trust Launches Zero-Waste-to-Landfill Certification
As businesses around the world continue to innovate closed-loop solutions and other initiatives to eliminate waste throughout their operations, The Carbon Trust will now be able to audit those efforts through its new standard for Zero Waste to Landfill.
Trending: Finally, End-of-Life Solutions for Two of Our Least Recyclable Products
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.