Sustainability

Category Archives: Zero Waste

New Report on Radioactive Tap Water Renews Concerns About Trump Nominee

New Report on Radioactive Tap Water Renews Concerns

About Trump Nominee for Top Environmental Role

Critics are challenging Trump’s “outrageous” and “alarming” move to renominate the former head of a Texas environmental agency who has admitted to falsifying reports of radiation levels in drinking water

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/01/12/new-report-radioactive-tap-water-renews-concerns-about-trump-nominee-top

AND

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/43195-embattled-trump-nominee-inadvertently-draws-attention-to-radiation-in-drinking-water

7 Ways to Launch Your Own Anti-Plastics Movement

We have a whole world of plastic that needs to be replaced with other biodegradable materials. We have come to rely on this indestructible modern material for every single facet of daily life.

The food you ate today was probably sold in plastic packaging, the vehicle you transport yourself in has plastic components, be that a car, bus, bike, train, plane, boat, kayak … the computer you are reading this article on, even the charger and the wall socket protector … just look around.

https://www.ecowatch.com/toward-a-plastic-free-future-2519406874.html

Will People Eat Relish Made from ‘Waste’ Ingredients? Drexel Study Finds They May Even Prefer It

A new Drexel University study found strong potential for consumer acceptance of a new category of foods created from discarded ingredients.

http://drexel.edu/now/archive/2017/December/Food-Waste-Marketability-Research/

 

Rescued Relish is an anything-goes condiment made from excess produce that Philabundance, a Philadelphia anti-hunger organization, can’t move. The relish is modeled on a Pennsylvania Dutch chowchow recipe — a tangy mix of sweet, spicy and sour flavors. Photo credit, Drexel Food Lab.

GREEK YOGURT WASTE COULD BE USED IN JET FUEL AND LIVESTOCK FEED

Your Greek yogurt creates food waste that could one day be used in jet fuel.

That’s right—when Greek yogurt is made, it leaves behind liquid whey, which is the watery remains after protein is strained from milk. A process that mixes this waste with thousands of species of bacteria and some heat transforms the whey into a new material called bio-oil, which could be used in biofuels or additives in livestock feed.

http://www.newsweek.com/2017/12/29/greek-yogurt-waste-could-be-used-jet-fuel-and-livestock-feed-746965.html

and

Waste streams can be renewable feedstocks to produce biofuels and chemicals. Acid whey is an example waste stream and is produced by the Greek-yogurt industry in large volumes. This whey and other waste streams have been successfully converted into methane gas by anaerobic digesters with open cultures of microbial consortia (microbiomes). However, the revenue from methane has been relatively low. Until now, no other products could be produced with microbiomes from this waste stream. This has now changed. Here, we showed that acid whey was converted into valuable medium-chain carboxylic acids (MCCAs), such as n-caproic acid (n-hexanoic acid) and n-caprylic acid (n-octanoic acid), without addition of external electron acceptors.

http://www.cell.com/joule/fulltext/S2542-4351(17)30179-4

 

When and how to use the term ‘zero waste’ — and when to avoid it

As cities across the country, from Los Angeles to New York City, take “zero waste” pledges, it is clear that “zero waste” is transforming from a trend into a movement. From a sustainability perspective, the central goal of most “zero waste” initiatives — achieving 90 percent diversion — is a clear winner.

But from a communications perspective, “zero waste” is still unclear and potentially confusing. Not only does the term “zero waste” not necessarily mean what it says, but it can be polarizing. How can we most effectively communicate the waste reduction message encapsulated in the term “zero waste”? Do we need the term “zero waste” to guide our consumption and waste behaviors, or are we better off without it?

https://www.wastedive.com/news/zero-waste-pledge-confusion-opinion/512638/

UN commits to stop ocean plastic waste

Nations have agreed that the world needs to completely stop plastic waste from entering the oceans.

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-42239895

Refillable glass bottles are making a comeback

According to the Beer Institute, Americans consume an average of 32 gallons of beer every year. (To no one’s surprise, Nevada tops the list at 44 gallons per year. California is more restrained, below the nation’s average, at 26 gallons per year.)

While this avid consumption is good for the growing beer market, the lack of an established bottle refilling program makes it exceedingly wasteful, too. But Caren McNamara, founder of Conscious Container, based in Truckee, sees a solution: bringing back the practice of reusing and refilling glass bottles.

https://www.newsreview.com/reno/bottle-it-up/content?oid=25360238

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