Landfills: From Beast to Beauty
Turning dumps to destinations says a lot about a municipality’s commitment to the local environment and approach to handling trash.
Rising to the Challenge of Keeping Food and Energy from Being Trashed
This article highlights the amount of embedded energy in food waste while exploring ways to tackle America’s dual problem of hunger and clean energy.
High Heat: Re:char Recharges African Soil
A start-up called re:char has a new take on an ancient idea that’s designed to enhance crop yields in the developing world by making biochar accessible and affordable. Biochar is made by a process known as pyrolysis, which heats organic matter such as waste farm produce, without oxygen. Instead of releasing carbon dioxide into the [...]
Ford Upcycles 2 Million Plastic Bottles from Landfill to Seat Covers
Readers of TriplePundit don’t need reminding that the waste stream derived from buying bottled water is an environmental hazard. Less than a third of all plastic bottles get recycled in the USA, when they could be put to effective second-life use. Ford Motor Company announced last week that in partnership with REPREVE, they plan to [...]
New Levis Store in Amsterdam a Model of Reuse and Recycled Construction
Levi’s last month opened a new two-story store on Kalverstraat. The 2700 square feet store’s interior is full of reused, restored and repurposed materials.
Mexico City’s Largest Landfill Closes, Creating Jobs & Energy
Mexico City shut down its Bordo Poniente landfill, the capital’s largest garbage collection site that over time became a 927 acre heap of trash. Jobs and energy will emerge from the trash.
The Leftovers of Fast Fashion
The following post is part of the course work for “Live Exchange” the foundational course on communication for The MBA Design Strategy Program at California College of the Arts. The rest of the posts are presented here. By Brandy Davis-Balsamo Wandering through a used clothing store, Jane pushes her way into a rack so tight [...]
Media Coverage of ‘America Recycles Day’ Hard To Find – But Opportunity Still Abounds
This post explores America’s neglect of recycling while highlighting the exciting opportunity that still exists.
The Business Case Against Litter
Litter in the forms of plastic packaging and cigarette butts are endangering the ocean’s wildlife and creating a trash vortex the size of Texas int eh North Pacific.
Japanese Recycling Plant Brings New Life to Old Washing Machines
Panasonic’s PETEC is not only a hyper-modern recycling plant, it is a research and development facility as well as an educational center. Trash in Japan is now treasure.
Colorado Retools Tire Recycling Program After Denver Post Expose
Colorado lawmakers and business owners are retooling the state’s Waste Tire Program to close a loophole. The Denver Post reported last month that the state paid tens of thousands of dollars per month in stipends to Magnum, owners of the world’s largest tire dump, amidst a federal investigation and lawsuits that alleged securities fraud. Magnum [...]
Wastewater Treatment & Clean Energy: Turning Negatives into Positives
Investment in combining clean energy and wastewater treatment is on the rise in the US, as public and private sector industry and businesses take on the increasingly pressing challenges of making clean, sustainable use of increasingly valuable water and energy resources. Such initiatives offer Triple Bottom Line benefits to private businesses and public utilities, both over the short- and long-term.
Panam Shows How to Smartly Re-Launch a Dead Brand
In this turbulent global economy, sometimes the best path forward is looking backward – to brands that have been well loved in the past. They clearly had people’s attention at one point, and there’s potentially less legwork needed to resurrect them vs. starting from scratch, attempting to grab mind and heartshare among the harried masses. [...]
New Balance Creates Sneaker From Recycled Plastic Bottles
The entire upper of New Balance’s new sneaker, called newSky, is made from a fiber called Eco-fi, which is 95 percent post-consumer recycled plastic bottles. It takes about eight plastic bottles to make one pair of the sneakers, which will be available in October. Eco-fi is made by Foss Manufacturing which chops the bottles into [...]
UK Company Turns Used Diapers Into Roofing Material
UK-based company Knowaste claims that they are “world’s first provider of a recycling solution for nappies, adult incontinence and feminine hygiene (AHP) products” and I believe them. Who would have ever thought of turning used sanitary products into roofing material? According to their research, every year, in the UK alone, 80% of municipal waste goes to landfill. AHPs [...]
Terra Cycle Pushes E-waste Collection Boundaries With Mice Brigade
TerraCycle, partnering with Logitech, has launched the Keyboard and Mouse Brigade. The e-waste recycling program allows users to box up and ship old keyboards and mice and gain rewards. But will it succeed?
Store Take-Back Program Provides Used Clothes to Refugee Camps
By Pankaj Arora How do you make the best use of your used clothes? Uniqlo shows how – in a way that makes you proud to be doing your part. Besides making affordable, accessible and fashionable clothing for all, Uniqlo brand, a part of Fast Retainling group based in Japan, is a actually a fast [...]
Complete the Loop by Buying Recycled
This article outlines the 3 stages of recycling and argues for a closed-loop recycling system that protects the environment and promotes a greener economy.
Patagonia Partners with eBay to Reduce Consumption
Patagonia and eBay have teamed up to create a new marketplace for sellers and customers to buy and sell their unwanted Patagonia clothing and gear.
GE Launches Refrigerator Recycling Program
What do you do with a refrigerator once it reaches the end of its life? Well, in our parents’ and grandparents’ day, appliances were repaired and repaired until they were completely unusable. In London, heaps of unwanted refrigerators were transformed into a theater installation. Some utilities pay a few bucks to take those old fridges [...]
Dead Refrigerators Come Back To Life as Movie Theater in London
Recycling is not the most exciting topic. Gather your cans and newspapers, take them to the curb once a week. End of story, right? Beyond the occasional thought of e-cycling when we retire old gear, and the grade school upcycling buzz of TerraCycle, recycling’s not a front of mind consideration for most people. This summer [...]
In Naples, a Trash Crisis Spurs a Social Innovation Laboratory
Naples, a city besieged by its trash crisis and frustration for so long, may teach some of us how to cope when local governments are underfunded or non-responsive.
Apple Will Recycle Old PCs for Free
Do you have an old desktop or notebook just lying in the house? You’re not alone – there are estimated 68 million computers stockpiled in homes and offices across America. Apple aims to rectify the problem. Last week Apple announced it is expanding its reuse and recycling options to computers from any manufacture. According to [...]
Plastic2Oil to Convert Waste Plastic to Fuel
Ontario’s JBI has signed an exclusive 10-year agreement with Rock-Tenn to convert waste plastic from paper mills and Materials Recovery Facilities into liquid fuels. JBI’s patent pending, energy efficient Plastic2Oil technology offers plastic waste to oil conversion efficiency as high as 90% with the resulting off-gas used to power the process.
Why Electronics Manufacturers Should Help Their Customers Recycle
This post is part of a series on Stakeholder Engagement sponsored by Jurat Software. By Mike Watson , Director of Dell Take Back Programs If consumers and organizations have been reluctant to recycle their outdated computers in the past, we can hardly blame them. Data destruction is a critical issue, and until now the only standards [...]
Recycled Tires, Soy Make Their Way into Ford Cars
Ford Motor Company works with a local Detroit manufacturer to churn old recycled tires and soy into parts that now make their way into 11 of Ford’s vehicles.
GM Expands Landfill-Free Ambitions Beyond the Factory Gates
GM grabbed the spotlight in the sustainable vehicle field last year when its newly launched gas-electric Chevy Volt was named Motor Trend’s North American Car of the Year, and the company has been taking some solid steps to back up its green cred by improving conservation programs at its facilities. GM already has a landfill-free [...]
Recycling Providers: Local Startup vs. National Goliath
By: Matt Courtland The Green Committee, which I founded and lead at the software company where I work, has been developing an initiative for zero waste. Last week I met with our building’s facilities manager to discuss the partnership the committee has forged with EcoMovement Consulting & Hauling. They are a local startup who will soon [...]
Better World Books: Bringing Sustainability to the Printed Word
By Kathryn Cai As a reader I cherish the complete experience of reading a book: the weight of it in my hands, the smell of the pages, the permanence of the words, and most especially, because every good book claims a little part of me, the knowledge that I can reopen the same pages and [...]
Old Office Equipment Finds New Uses in London
London businesses hoping to fit their offices with new equipment need look no further than Ourgreendistrict for their needs. Ourgreendistrict was the brainchild of local law firm Olswang LLP, developed in partnership with inmidtown. Their aim was to foster closer ties and create a platform where local business communities could become greener and save money. Ourgreendistrict [...]
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Where We’re Going
Have your event listed here.
Webinar: Feb 17Greening Stonyfield Farm: As a consultant with Stonyfield Farm for the past 12 years, Switzer Fellow Tim Greiner will discuss efforts to broaden and deepen sustainability within the company. He will discuss the company's efforts to track its environmental impacts, barriers the company had to overcome.
Webinar: Feb 29Product Scorecards for Sustainability: Product scorecards that detail and evaluate environmental and sustainability aspects of products are increasingly adopted by leading companies. This webinar covers the best practices in this area and a case study by Seventh Generation.
NY: Mar 19-20Wall Street Green: The longest running and most comprehensive environmental market event in the industry. The Wall Street Green Summit covers cutting edge content, industry developments and features the practitioners and the leaders of tomorrow.
Bay Area: Mar 22-23GRI Certified Training: Demand for sustainability experts is growing rapidly as companies look for proven professionals. For companies, GRI trained employees mean faster implementations and better use of the GRI Sustainability Reporting Framework. Join our partner ISOS group for this two day session. Early bird discounts apply!
SF: Mar 26-28Cleantech Forum San Francisco: The 2012 Cleantech Forum San Francisco will mark the 10th anniversary of Cleantech Forums, the annual gathering of the global clean technology innovation community. Our theme this year is “The Power of Global Partnerships,” an exploration of how strategic relationships are playing an ever more important role in the future of clean technology. For a $300 Discount use code "VIPofTriplePundit " More Info.
SF: April 10-12 Navigating the American Carbon World: The must-attend event for professionals in the carbon landscape. Over the past decade, NACW has consistently provided informative content, thoughtful discussions and outstanding opportunities for collaboration.
Have your event listed here.
Webinar: Feb 17Greening Stonyfield Farm: As a consultant with Stonyfield Farm for the past 12 years, Switzer Fellow Tim Greiner will discuss efforts to broaden and deepen sustainability within the company. He will discuss the company's efforts to track its environmental impacts, barriers the company had to overcome.Webinar: Feb 29Product Scorecards for Sustainability: Product scorecards that detail and evaluate environmental and sustainability aspects of products are increasingly adopted by leading companies. This webinar covers the best practices in this area and a case study by Seventh Generation.NY: Mar 19-20Wall Street Green: The longest running and most comprehensive environmental market event in the industry. The Wall Street Green Summit covers cutting edge content, industry developments and features the practitioners and the leaders of tomorrow.Bay Area: Mar 22-23GRI Certified Training: Demand for sustainability experts is growing rapidly as companies look for proven professionals. For companies, GRI trained employees mean faster implementations and better use of the GRI Sustainability Reporting Framework. Join our partner ISOS group for this two day session. Early bird discounts apply!SF: Mar 26-28Cleantech Forum San Francisco: The 2012 Cleantech Forum San Francisco will mark the 10th anniversary of Cleantech Forums, the annual gathering of the global clean technology innovation community. Our theme this year is “The Power of Global Partnerships,” an exploration of how strategic relationships are playing an ever more important role in the future of clean technology. For a $300 Discount use code "VIPofTriplePundit " More Info.SF: April 10-12 Navigating the American Carbon World: The must-attend event for professionals in the carbon landscape. Over the past decade, NACW has consistently provided informative content, thoughtful discussions and outstanding opportunities for collaboration.Have your event listed here.
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