MyZeroWaste: One decision can reduce your waste by 10%

Read this while twittering around:

This week I had three different types of cheese in the fridge and being bored one grey afternoon I thought I’d do a little experiment by weighing their plastic packaging.

*The ‘darkest green’ pack (not the one sporting the most mould you understand) comes from Budgens. All their own label deli cheeses are wrapped in clingfilm. The total packaging weight was, well, it didn’t register on my scales, so we’ll call it 1 gm for sake of argument.

*The ‘light green’ pack was from Lidls. Wrapped in ‘traditional’ (funny what becomes traditional as times change) waxed plastic, the total packaging weight was 3 gms.

*The ‘lighter shade of pale’ was from the Co-Op. This posh ‘cracked black pepper’ cheese, comes in rigid posh packaging and weighs a hefty 10 gms.


You can see from this example how simple it is to reduce your landfill waste further even when you’re standing in the shop. Even if you’ve forgotten your reusable container for the deli, you can still do your bit for the environment by making a wise choice. By choosing the Budgens pre wrapped deli cheese over the Co-Op posh cheese, we’ve reduced cheese packaging by ten per cent. When you’re counting the grammes you put into landfill and the amount of space it takes up in your dustbin each week, it makes a difference!

Full story here

Technorati Tags: packaging waste minimisation waste prevention

UK- ''Zero Waste Places Standard'

More details have emerged of the 'Zero Waste Places Standard', a new Defra-backed accreditation which aims to encourage local authorities to improve the sustainability of their waste management beyond meeting national recycling targets.

The standard was unveiled by environment secretary Hilary Benn on October 13th as part of a raft of 'zero waste' measures (see letsrecycle.com story) and as such has a focus on waste reduction.

Councils will be encouraged to apply for the standard to receive recognition of their success in areas such as recycling and waste reduction through a particular initiative, and it will also aim to motivate them to improve their performance further. In a similar way to the original 'Zero Waste Places' initiative, which aims to showcase best practice in sustainable waste management, the standard can be awarded to anything from a street to an entire community.

The standard is being run by the Defra-funded BREW Centre for Local Authorities and, the centre's national co-ordinator, Helen Bird, explained: "The accreditation will give recognition to those councils who are doing really well, as well as providing the accreditation it also motivates people to do more and get involved," she added.

The announcement of the second set of showcase 'zero waste places' were unveiled in October:

• London Borough of Hackney - a resident of the Follingham Court estate near Hoxton Square has set up a 'Carbon Club', working with the council to reduce both emissions and waste, and actions will include installing a community composting facility, vertical grow growing, community food growing with raised bed, food rescue pack from Love Food Hate Waste, Zero Waste Bin and more.

• Bishops Castle in Shropshire - the project will focus on waste reduction, with measures including enhancing the town's community recycling facility and working with the farmers market to increase composting, with the overall aim of reducing waste to landfill by 6% over the next two years;

• Dorchester-on-Thames in Oxfordshire - the initiative will focus on waste reduction for materials which cannot be recycled by households, and will also look to work with schools and businesses to reduce residual waste;

• London Borough of Lambeth - the Brixton 'Low Carbon Zone' will be extended to include residents and businesses within the Coldharbour ward, including running waste audits and installing 'Recycle on the Go' facilities;

• London Borough of Newham - supporting market traders and shops at Queens Market in their efforts to reduce waste, with the target of diverting 375 tonnes from landfill over a three month period;

• Suffolk county council - seven streets will look to reduce their collective waste by 50% and will be offered advice and guidance on how to minimise and recycling more waste.
Commenting on the choice of places, the environment secretary, Hilary Benn, said: "These six areas will provide innovative and often easy ways for people to get involved in cutting their waste. I look forward to seeing the projects, and how can all learn from them."

For more go here

Technorati Tags: zero waste waste minimisation waste prevention BREW DEFRA Zero Waste Place Hackney Follingham Court vertical+growing

Australia - Bottled water BANNED!

Australian state New South Wales Premier Nathan Rees has announced an immediate ban on all departments and agencies buying bottled water, including supplies for water coolers. It was the first step in a Government campaign to reduce significantly the consumption of bottled water in the community, Mr Rees said.

In a double blow for the bottled water industry, the sleepy Southern Highlands hamlet of Bundanoon voted to ban bottled water, just hours after the NSW Government announced its boycott. "These plastic bottles are everywhere," Mr Rees told reporters yesterday."It's not just the direct plastic bottle that causes the physical reality in our local environment."Bear this in mind.

You take a 600ml plastic bottle, 200ml of oil has gone into its production."That's leaving aside the C02 that comes from transporting it around the place."Bottled water has been banned in ministerial offices at Governor Macquarie Tower in Sydney's CBD since Mr Rees became Premier last year. At a community meeting last night, Bundanoon locals overwhelmingly supported Australia's first ban on commercially bottled water, already agreed to by businesses in the town. Local businessman and Bundy on Tap organiser Huw Kingston said almost 400 people turned up to the Bundanoon Memorial Hall, with only two casting dissenting votes. The Age reports that the voluntary ban has been triggered by concerns about the carbon footprint associated with bottling and transporting the water. Free water fountains will be installed in the NSW village, south-west of Sydney, to replace the bottled water. "It was the biggest ever turnout in the community here at Bundanoon - it's overwhelming support," Mr Kingston said. "We can now continue with our route of making Bundanoon Australia's first bottled water-free town. We can go forward with the strength of the community and the businesses right behind us."

Australians spent about $500 million on bottled water in 2008, a 10 per cent increase on 2007. "It's all about common sense," Do Something! director Jon Dee said. "When you reduce the usage of bottled water you're not just saving the environment, you're also saving your wallet at the same time. "It makes total sense whether you're a government department or whether you're a company, whether it's in smaller bottles or the larger bottles that get delivered to offices. "Mr Dee said it made no sense for people to pay twice as much for a litre of bottled water than for a litre of petrol." The bottled water industry has managed to convince people that bottled water is somehow pure or better for you than water you drink out of the tap," he said. "But we have among the best tap water in the world."

But Geoff Parker, director of the Australasian Bottled Water Institute, which represents the industry, said he was disappointed by the bans. Both restricted consumer choice, he said."The environmental footprint of one bottle of water of locally produced water would be much smaller than a tin of canned tomatoes imported from overseas, some imported cheese, or French champagne," he said."I think we need to keep it in perspective."

Technorati Tags: bottle water waste minimisation waste prevention New South Wales
plastic+bottles

Planning is underway for the Better Haringey Green Fair 2009 which will take place on Saturday 13 June 2009 at Ducketts Common (opposite Turnpike Lane tube station).

What happens on the day?
*Better Haringey Awards - The fair will host the awards for the very first time to reward great environmental practice in the borough. Nominate now with great prizes to be won. For more information visit the Better Haringey Awards page.
*Live on stage entertainment - Powered by a pollution free PA system.
*Solar cinema - Including the first Haringey showing of 'The Age of Stupid'.
*Basketball Tournament - An opportunity for all ages and levels to get involved and play basketball, and learn a little about staying healthy.
*A range of environmentally themed information stalls - Ever wanted to know how to grow your own salad, or what happens to your recycling? Maybe you are keen to reduce your energy bills or want to learn how you can help implement the Greenest Borough Strategy? You can find that all here.
*Give or take area - If you have any clutter that you think someone else can put to good use bring it along. You may also find exactly what you've been looking for.
*Refreshments - A range of delicious refreshments will be available on the day for you to try.
Children's activity zone - Children can enjoy a range of activities including workshops and games.

Residents can: *Volunteer at the event

Businesses can: *Sponsor the event, *Have a stall at the event

Associations and Organisations can: *Have a stall at the event

If you would like more information about the event or about how you can get involved this year, please email the Better Haringey Team at better.haringey@haringey.gov.uk or call on 020 8489 2243

Technorati Tags: Green fair haringey give or take Better Haringey Turnpike Lane

Europe- 11 North Sea islands seek zero waste

Eleven North Sea islands have signed up to become living laboratories for a waste-free environment.

The islands from six countries will follow a "cradle-to-cradle" philosophy, which calls for using renewable energy and products made from materials that can be endlessly reused or organically decomposed. Associated Press reports that innovations will include electric vehicles, a desalination system for drinking water that removes salt in a usable form, and purification of household water - including human waste. Technical universities from around northern Europe will try out new solutions for small-scale energy production, transportation and water management, with the aim of making the islands nearly self-sustaining by 2030, project managers said.

The EU is donating ?3.5 million ($4.5 million) for the first four-year phase. Islands from Germany, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands and Britain will take part. The Cradle to Cradle Island project will be overseen by officials of the northern Dutch province of Friesland.The islands have a total of nearly 50,000 residents, but those numbers swell with visitors during the summer. Some of the islands see the project as a way of attracting more tourists. Among other proposed ideas, new buildings will use paint on the internal walls containing micro-organisms that clean the air, and cement on the external walls that removes particulates from the atmosphere, he said. Different islands will experiment with various elements of sustainability. Several islands of Britain's Shetlands, a group of 100 islands north of Scotland, will tap the energy from waves off its west coast and tidal streams between the islands.

The Dutch islands of Texel and Ameland, largely comprised of dunes and bicycle paths, will get a network of electric motor scooters and recharging posts. A Dutch water research company, Wetsus, will experiment with a system to produce electricity by mixing salt water and fresh water.

Technorati Tags: zero waste waste prevention North Sea Europe cradle-to-cradle

UK - London, Free Compost from resident's kitchen waste

The London Borough of Haringey will be holding its first ever free compost give away. There will be a 15 tonne delivery made to Finsbury Park and from 10am-3pm residents can come and take as much or as little as they want. Bring your own containers - from buckets to bags…whatever you bring, we’ll fill it! Two compost advisors will be on hand to provide info to first time home composters and to those who are experiencing problems. There will also be children’s activities such as seedling planting and free face painting.

Technorati Tags: food waste waste prevention compost Haringey Better Haringey

USA - New York adds 5-cent deposit to water bottles

New York's new US$132 billion budget includes provisions for a "Bigger, Better Bottle Bill" that tacks on a 5-cent refundable deposit to bottles containing water and other non-carbonated beverages.


Greener Buildings reports that the state has had a 5-cent deposit on soda, beer and other carbonated beverages since 1982. Another key feature of the measure allows 80 per cent of unclaimed deposits on beverage bottles -- a projected US$115 million annually -- to go into the state's general fund. Previously all unredeemed deposits were kept by the beverage industry. Environmentalists cheered passage of the "Bigger Better Bottle Bill." Thirty groups that had campaigned for the expanded bill jointly issued a statement hailing the new law on April 3. "This is a huge victory not only for the environment, but for the people of New York," said Laura Haight, senior environmental associate with New York Public Interest Research Group, in the statement.Bottled water represents 70 percent of non-carbonated beverage sales in the state, and the discarded bottles are among the items most frequently found in litter cleanups in New York, according to the Container Recycling Institute."As a result of this law," Haight also said, "we will have noticeably cleaner communities and far more recycling. At the same time, the money from the public's unclaimed nickels will go to work for us, not for Coke and Pepsi."The 5-cent deposit on bottles of water and other non-carbonated drinks goes into effect June 1.


More information on New York's bottle bill and legislation in other states is available from the Bottle Bill Resource Guide:http://www.bottlebill.org/


Technorati Tags: bottle water waste minimisation waste prevention diapers Bigger, Better Bottle Bill

UK: Retailers exceed carrier bag reduction target

New figures released by WRAP show the UK’s leading high street and grocery retailers have exceeded a voluntary target to reduce the environmental impact of carrier bags by 25% by the end of 2008. Since 2006, retailers have delivered a 40% reduction in the environmental impact of carrier bags, as measured by the reduction in the amount of virgin plastic used. Retailers have achieved this by reducing the number of carrier bags issued by 26%, increasing recycled content used and reducing carrier bag weight. The target to reduce the environmental impact of carrier bags was part of an agreement with UK Governments and industry in February 2007 which has been met in full by a reduction in bag numbers alone.

The data shows that initiatives by retailers to reduce the environmental impact of carrier bags have resulted in a 23,000 tonne reduction in the weight of carrier bags issued. The total number of bags in circulation has reduced from 13.4 billion in 2006 to 9.9 billion in 2008, equivalent to a 26% reduction.

You may view the full text of WRAP’s press release


Technorati Tags: retailers waste minimisation waste prevention carrier bags UK

UK- Combat the credit crunch with real nappies

Following the huge success of last years event, the 13th annual Real Nappy Week will be taking place from 27th April until 3rd May 2009 across the UK. Since the start of October 2008 around 30,000 jobs cuts have been announced across all sectors of the UK. With parents worrying about money, the 2009 Real Nappy Week, run by the Real Nappy Campaign, will focus on how using real nappies can save families money.


Bec Thomas from the Real Nappy Campaign commented:
“As the financial crisis bites in the UK, families are increasingly opting to save money by using real nappies. Parents can save at least £500 by choosing real nappies over disposables and there are further savings to be made when nappies are passed down and used again.”


Technorati Tags: nappies waste minimisation waste prevention diapers real nappies cotton nappies Real Nappy Week

UK - Furoshiki Present Wrapping

Furoshiki gift wrapping from RecycleNow on Vimeo

Furoshiki is a fun and creative style of gift wrapping using a large piece of cloth to create elegant looking presents. The good news is, when the present is unwrapped there’s nothing to be thrown away!

UK: Christmas is being reused

Millions of Britons are reversing the old adage “waste not, want not” this festive season. Unwanted gifts from Christmases past won’t be wasted – they will be reused as this year’s presents.

A new survey from CreditExpert, reveals that no less than 18 million adults say they are going to pass on items given to them last Christmas or birthday – or even earlier – to help make ends meet at a difficult time for personal finances.

Anything from DVDs and CDs to perfume, toiletries, board games and traditional socks and hankies will be forwarded to unsuspecting friends and relatives by 39% of the UK’s adults – up by 16% on last year’s figure.

The Welsh and the Northern Irish, at 48-46% of adults respectively, are leading the move to reuse presents but even in the South East – the least likely to give away what has already been given – a third are going to join in.

There is a strong gender divide when it comes to recycled presents, with 46% of women saying that they will rewrap gifts and pass them on, against 33% of men.

Reusing is being seen as a good option in bad financial times, with 45% admitting that they are concerned about how much extra Christmas will affect their finances. No less than 57% in Northern Ireland share this worry, with even 39%in the West Midlands – the least worried region – also expressing anxiety. Among age groups, young 18 to 24-year-olds are the most worried (55%) and empty nester 55 to 64-year-olds the least (30%).

Source: CreditExpert

Technorati Tags: Reuse waste minimisation waste prevention credit crunch

North London - Waste Prevention Weeks

The North London Waste Authority (NLWA) has taken part in the pilot edition of a Europe-wide campaign that aims to promote waste minimisation. Letsrecycle.com reports that the authority was the sole UK participant in the 'pilot edition' of the European Waste Reduction Week, which was held from November 20-30, and also involved councils from Belgium, Portugal, Spain, Ireland, Italy and France.

Ruth Westcott from Waste Watch with resident Anna-Marie O'Donnell making a pledge as part of the NLWA's food waste minimisation initiative As part of the week, the NLWA ran a series of 'Love Food Hate Waste' roadshows across its seven member boroughs in an attempt to get local residents to sign up to pledge to reduce their food waste. The authority said that "hundreds" of residents took part in the pledge, while visitors to the roadshows were also offered advice on cutting food waste and given reusable bags.

The chair of the NLWA, councillor Clyde Loakes, said: "These roadshows were a brilliant way of giving residents the information they need to reduce the amount of food they throw away and we were delighted to see so many people taking pledges to reduce their food waste."

The authority has also revealed that an earlier waste minimisation initiative, 'Watch Your Waste Week', which was held between October 4 and 12, saw over 1,000 residents, schools and businesses reduce their waste by up to 50%. As part of its waste reduction efforts, the week also saw 1,908 people signing up to the mailing preference service and 6,806 more becoming members of online used item trading network Freecycle. PilotNorth London took part in the pilot of the European Waste Reduction Week as a member of the international Association for Cities and Regions for Recycling and Sustainable Waste Management (ACR+).

The body has nearly 100 members, including local authorities and umbrella organisations representing councils, and the week is part of the ACR+ 'European Campaign for Waste Reduction', which was launched last year with the aim of reducing municipal waste by 100 kilograms per person, per year. The initiative also mirrors the emphasis on waste minimisation and prevention within waste hierarchy which is part of the recently published revised EU Waste Framework Directive (see letsrecycle.com story). And, two of the three waste performance indicators that English councils can choose from reward success in waste reduction.

Technorati Tags: NLWA waste minimisation waste prevention North London Watch your waste week ACR+ Food Waste European Waste Reduction Week

Canada - Paper coffee cup ban

Toronto is considering measures to reduce the amount of packaging that winds up in landfills, including requiring cafés to provide a 20-cent discount for customers with refillable mugs, banning paper coffee cups with plastic lids by the end of next year, making stores give customers with reusable shopping bags a 10-cent rebate and barring the sale of bottled water on city property.

Many environmentally minded folks also crammed the room where the public works committee is considering the packaging-reduction strategy today, among them Grade 6 students from The York School who called for a ban on plastic bags.

A couple of media articles based on a new Toronto policy highlight the difficult arguments to be teased out in selecting materials.

The world's first major move against takeaway coffee cups - which are now a major part of Britain's catering business and roadside litter - has come from the city of Toronto. Failure to comply will mean a $100-$400 fine per cup for vendors. It has, however, caused a storm among environmentalists, who find it illogical.

For more read here

Above picture from www.mygreenstart.net

Technorati Tags: throwaway coffee cups waste minimisation waste prevention Toronto disposable cups

UK - Luxury items Tax them!

Throwaway razors and nappies should be taxed as luxuries, says Defra. Disposable razors and nappies could be taxed as luxury goods in order to cut the amount of waste going to landfill, a Government-funded report to ministers has suggested.

In the same way as taxes were applied to discourage the purchase of cigarettes and alcohol, they should apply to disposable goods that cannot be reused or recycled in order to prevent people from buying them as cheap and convenient alternatives to reusable items, the report said. Taxes would also encourage manufacturers to focus on the development of more durable products. If disposable razors were taxed at the same rate as cigarettes – about 80% of the price goes to the Treasury – a single Gillette Mach 3 would leap from £1 to £5.

The report, commissioned from Eunomia Research & Consulting by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), says: "Some products considered 'luxury', such as alcohol and tobacco, have heavy duties on them. If disposable products were categorised in a similar way, they could be subjected to similar duties." The report also advocates new taxes on household rubbish, claiming they could halve the amount of waste each person throws away from 363 Kg to 181 kg a year.

It also suggests imposing taxes on disposable items such as paper plates and nappies. Some three billion disposable nappies are thrown away every year in the UK, accounting for 4% of all household waste.

Matthew Sinclair, policy analyst for the TaxPayers' Alliance, told the Sunday Express: "Politicians must stop using environmental concerns as a smokescreen for raising taxes."
The TaxPayers' Alliance recently released a report claiming that families were paying an average of £783 a year in environmental taxes.

From The Independent

Technorati Tags: throwaway razors waste minimisation waste prevention diapers nappies luxury items

World- Half of food wasted - uneaten

Tremendous quantities of food are discarded in processing, transport, supermarkets and people's kitchens. This wasted food is also wasted water. In the US, for instance, as much as 30% of food, worth some USD 48.3 billion, is thrown away. That's like leaving the tap running and pouring 40 trillion litres of water into the garbage can - enough water to meet the household needs of 500 million people. Through international trade, savings in one country might benefit communities in other parts of the world.

More than enough food is produced to feed a healthy global population. Distribution and access to food is a problem - many are hungry, while at the same time many over-eat. The Report highlights an often overlooked problem: we are providing food to take care of not only our necessary consumption but also our wasteful habits.
"As much as half of the water used to grow food globally may be lost or wasted," says Dr. Charlotte de Fraiture, Researcher at IWMI. "Curbing these losses and improving water productivity provides win-win opportunities for farmers, business, ecosystems, and the global hungry. An effective water-saving strategy requires that minimising food wastage is firmly placed on the political agenda." Food production is constrained by the availability of water and land resources.

An estimated 1.2 billion people already live in areas where there is not enough water to meet demand. And with rising demand for water-intensive agricultural products, such as beef and bioenergy, pressure mounts. According to the Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture 2007, these trends will lead to crises in many places, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. "Unless we change our practices, water will be a key constraint to food production in the future," said Dr. Pasquale Steduto of FAO.

Technorati Tags: fodd waste waste minimisation waste prevention diapers water wastage

USA- Bagging the Bottles

In an innovative, viral campaign called “Message in a Bag,” non-profit Tappening is selling bags made from 100% recycled plastic to raise public awareness about the impact of drinking bottled water over tap. Tappening originally planned to ship 1,000,000 plastic bottles to the CEO of Coca Cola to send a powerful message, but they decided against this strategy for carbon-friendly reasons. According to Take Back the Tap, the American bottled water industry burns over 17 million barrels of oil each year. What’s more, over 80% of plastic bottles wind up in landfills.

Tappening's blue reusable totes sell for $49.95, with 100% of proceeds going to “the fight against bottled water.” On each bag is inscribed: "Made with 100% post-consumer recycled materials: yesterday's discarded bottles and yogurt containers." So even if you don't wear your heart on your sleeve, you can still wear your politics on your shoulder!

From Ecofabulous

Technorati Tags: bottle water waste minimisation waste prevention diapers message in abag

UK - Real nappies in the news

Channel 5 news story on real nappies

The number of parents using re-usable nappies is on the rise as mums and dads are becoming more environmentally aware.

The number has risen by 6% in the last 5 years which means that more babies are now wear re-usable nappies than at any time since the 1970s.

The impact on landfill sites is cited as the single biggest problem with single-use throwaway nappies.

Each baby is estimated to go through 4,500 before being trusted to give his or her parents sufficient warning to get to a loo in time.

Each year close to three billion disposable nappies are thrown away, accounting for 670,000 to 750,000 tonnes of waste.

Disposable nappies make up about 4 % of household waste and they may take up to 500 years to degrade.

Technorati Tags: nappies waste minimisation waste prevention diapers real nappies channel 5 cotton nappies

UK- Death through garden composting

Gardeners should take extra care when handling old bags of compost after a man died from kidney failure after inhaling poisonous fungal spores, doctors have warned.

The Guardian reports that the 47-year-old welder from Buckinghamshire, who has not been named, died in intensive care a week after being engulfed by "clouds of dust" when he opened bags of rotting plant material that had been left to fester, in a case reported in the Lancet.

Doctors were baffled by his condition until his partner said he had fallen ill after working in the garden. Later tests revealed he had developed acute aspergillosis, a dangerous reaction to Aspergillus fumigatus spores. The fungus, which is commonly found growing on dead leaves, compost piles and decaying vegetation, may trigger a relatively harmless allergic reaction but can cause serious problems if too many spores get into the lungs.


David Waghorn, a doctor at Wycombe hospital in Buckinghamshire and a microbiologist, said the man had been unlucky: "He'd been opening bags of compost and mulch which had been left to rot. The fungus spores had grown in perfect conditions. He was extremely unlucky - there must have been a very large number of spores which he inhaled."

People with weak immune systems are particularly vulnerable. "What we don't know is how strong his defences were. He was a smoker and a welder by trade and his lungs may have been damaged. It's a very unusual thing to happen but if people are dealing with big bags of mulch, there is a potential danger," said Waghorn.

The man, who had previously been healthy, became ill 24 hours later, but was not admitted to hospital until a week later, when he complained of chest pains and breathing difficulties. Despite being given oxygen by medical staff, tests showed his tissue was starved of oxygen and that he was suffering from "overwhelming sepsis", a life-threatening condition caused by an overactive immune system. Symptoms include a fast heart rate, low blood pressure and kidney problems.

Doctors initially thought he had developed pneumonia from a bacterial infection but treatment with antibiotics was not successful. Once aspergillosis was confirmed, intravenous antifungal drugs were given by doctors, but the treatment came too late.

Waghorn said: "I don't know if he could have been saved had we known about the spores, but we could have given the antifungal drugs sooner."

The authors of the article said that while acute aspergillosis after contact with decayed plant matter is rare, it "may be considered a hazard for gardeners".

In April, a group of German scientists raised concerns about the dangers of airborne mould spores produced when organic waste decayed. The spores could lead to allergic reactions, asthma attacks and hayfever-like symptoms, they said.

Harald Morr, a leading pneumologist, said: "Even just opening the lid of a bin containing organic waste can cause mould spores to be stirred up which, if breathed in, can damage the lungs."

Householders who regularly handled organic waste were advised to wear face masks and to keep a distance when handling rotting material.


Technorati Tags: compost waste prevention compost+death garden waste Aspergillus fumigatus spores Aspergillus fumigatus

Argentina - Zero Waste In Buenos Aires

BioCycle (May 2008) reports that in late 2005, the City Council in Buenos Aires, Argentina unanimously passed a law, “Integral Management Of Solid Urban Waste, ” a Zero Waste law. The law sets goals and milestones to reduce the volume of municipal solid waste going to landfill disposal. “The first milestone is 30% reduction of waste to landfill by 2010, ” says Cecilia Allen of Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives' (GAIA) Latin America office in Buenos Aires. “That is followed by a 50% reduction by 2012, and a 75% reduction by 2017.

The law bans landfilling of recyclable and compostable waste by 2020. ” The baseline used in the law is the tons of solid waste disposed in 2004 (1.5 million metric tons). Impending closure of two of the three landfills servicing the city and surrounding region helped build political support for the Zero Waste law. CEAMSE (Coordinación Ecológica Area Metropolitana Sociedad del Estado), a joint venture of the government of the Province of Buenos Aires and the government of the City of Buenos Aires, has been managing urban waste in the Greater Buenos Aires region for almost 30 years. It owns the landfills, which receive up to 5,000 metric tons/day of municipal solid waste from the city alone. Garbage collection in Buenos Aires is mostly privatized, with five of the six districts serviced by contractors to the city. Buenos Aires city government services the sixth.

Technorati Tags: Argentina waste prevention zero waste reducing rubbish compost Buenos Aires

USA- Climate report advocates zero waste concept

Stop Trashing the Climate - published by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives and Eco-Cycleprovides - claims that preventing waste and expanding reuse, recycling, and composting programs - that is, aiming for zero waste - is one of the fastest, cheapest, and most effective strategies available for combating climate change. This report offers a roadmap for how to significantly reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions within a short period.

Significantly decreasing waste disposed in landfills and incinerators will reduce greenhouse gas emissions the equivalent to closing 21% of U. S. coal-fired power plants. This is comparable to leading climate protection proposals such as improving national vehicle fuel efficiency. Indeed, preventing waste and expanding reuse, recycling, and composting are essential to put us on the path to climate stability.


The report advocates 12 measures:

1. Establish and implement national, statewide, and municipal zero waste targets and plans
2. Retire existing incinerators and halt construction of new incinerators and landfills
3. Levy a per-ton surcharge on landfilled and incinerated materials
4. Stop organic materials from being sent to landfills and incinerators
5. End state and federal "renewable energy" subsidies to landfills and incinerators
6. Provide policy incentives that create and sustain locally-based reuse, recycling, and composting jobs
7. Expand adoption of per-volume or per-weight fees for the collection of trash
8. Make manufacturers and brand owners responsible for the products and packaging they produce
9. Regulate single-use plastic products and packaging that have low or nonexistent recycling levels
10. Regulate paper packaging and junk mail and pass policies to significantly increase paper recycling
11. Decision-makers and environmental leaders should reject climate protection agreements and strategies that embrace landfill and incinerator disposal
12. Better assess the true climate implications of the wasting sector

http://www.stoptrashingtheclimate.org/

Technorati Tags: zero waste waste prevention Stop Trashing the Climate composting climate change recycling incinerator