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Valentine's Day Flowers Don't Have to Be So Bad for the Earth After All

Claire Ballentine

January 28, 2020 |

Bloomberg |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

The supply chain for Valentine's Day flowers is incredibly toxic for the environment and produces mass amounts of waste. In response, a "floral gifting" service industry emerged in which flowers from special events can get repurposed or recycled. One such company, NYC-based Repeat Roses, has a special service that restyles the flowers into petite bouquets to donate to hospitals, nursing homes, and family shelters. Their efforts have diverted more than 98 tons of waste from landfills and delivered almost 53,000 floral arrangements to people in need.

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From trash to treasure: the South African community taking ownership of waste

Imani Dlamini

January 24, 2020 |

Pioneers Post |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: South Africa, Melkhoutfontein

A community in South Africa tackles waste management and unemployment at the same time by hiring workers to find new uses for waste that would otherwise be burned or dumped in a landfill. Some workers - most of whom are local women - make mosaics and other art out of plastics; others make hangers, stools, and more out of discarded materials.

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2 Years Ago, Kenya Set The World's Strictest Plastic Bag Ban. Did It Work?

Sophie Mbugua

January 23, 2020 |

The Huffington Post |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Kenya, Kikuyu

In 2017, Kenya implemented a plastic bag ban and to ensure it was followed, set hefty fines and even jail time for those who broke the law. The law has had an impact – streets are cleaner and the use of single-use plastic bags has reduced, but there is still work to be done. The replacement bags, reusable ones made from polypropylene, have come under scrutiny for their lack of quality, and Kenyan residents cite confusion and fear as a result of not knowing which bags are allowed and which are not.

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The Philippines Is Making Roads and Cement With Plastic Garbage

Claire Jiao

January 23, 2020 |

Bloomberg |

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Under 800 Words

Response Location: Philippines

Discarded plastic can serve as construction material for major infrastructure and public works projects. In the Philippines, private companies like San Miguel are stepping in to participate in the government’s infrastructure projects. Companies are increasingly looking at closed-loop systems as a way to address plastic waste and drive construction projects. Nestlé and Unilver are among the other companies working to recover discarded plastics. Some of the programs offer incentives like cash for returned plastic waste.

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Mending Coastal Marshes

Kerry Rose Graning

January 20, 2020 |

Hakai Magazine |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Louisiana

Martin Ecosystems uses recycled plastic bottles to manufacture artificial islands and shorelines, allowing native vegetation to grow and preventing land erosion, which has restored Louisiana’s wetlands and barrier islands. Plastic mats are layered, injected with Coast Guard approved foam for buoyancy, and planted with native vegetation. Once anchored in rows of up to 20 or more, they act as breakwaters reducing wave height by up to 80% and minimizing erosion. The mats also provide cover for nesting birds and a complex ecosystem for aquatic life. They have withstood years of hurricanes and tropical storms.

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Fashion has a waste problem. These companies want to fix it

Rachel Cernansky

January 06, 2020 |

Vogue Business |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

Fashion has long been known as a major contributor to climate change, but brands (from fast fashion to luxury houses alike) are taking steps to address their carbon footprint. This article lists several initiatives working on reducing fabric waste, such as FabScrap, a NY organization that collects and resells 6,000 pounds of discarded fabric weekly.

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Solar Panels, Sustainable Workplaces Bring New Energy to Athens

Madeline Shepard

January 06, 2020 |

Grady Newsource |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Athens, Georgia

The town of Athens, Georgia has committed to a 100% renewable energy pledge. Both the local government and local businesses are working towards it by implementing sustainable practices such as solar panels and wastewater pretreatment systems.

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Are 'ableist' economies depriving themselves of the purple pound?

Mathilda Mallinson

December 20, 2019 |

Pioneers Post |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Indonesia, Gunungkidul, Yogyakarta

Although Indonesia is making efforts to improve disability rights, progress is slow. In the meantime, a group called Economic Empowerment for Entrepreneurs with Disability (EEED) was formed in partnership with the British Council’s DICE (Developing Inclusive Creative Economies) program. Participants in the program learn entrepreneurial skills by creating their own social enterprise, supplemented by lessons in things like marketing and management. This helps those in Indonesia with disabilities become socioeconomically independent and able to envision a develop a meaningful vision of the future.

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How Local Trash Disposal Affects Climate Change

Emily Lanoue Jordan Meaker Taylor Morain Tristen Webb

December 18, 2019 |

Grady Newsource |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Athens, Georgia

With Georgia’s Athens-Clarke county landfill nearing its fill limit, residents, organizations, and the city are taking a multi-pronged approach to reducing waste. A key part of this has been the fact that nearly half of what goes into the landfill can be recycled, and Georgia-based industries like aluminum and carpet manufacturing are willing to buy recyclables. In addition, composting supported by the state has grown in popularity, and universities have taken on recycling education and collection programs.

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Advocates want to recycle CT's wasted prescription drugs. The state says it's already doing that.

Jenna Carlesso

December 16, 2019 |

The Connecticut Mirror |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Bridgeport, Connecticut

Connecticut has a law that requires the state to collect unused prescription drugs to be reimbursed by the vendor companies, but advocates for better health equity want to see the unexpired drugs instead be distributed to those that need them. While one pharmacy in Bridgeport has already started a model to get the drugs into hands of the uninsured or underinsured by importing pharmaceuticals from a Tennessee non-profit, leaders of the Bridgeport operation hope to one day "see a drug reclamation program that steers unused medications from within Connecticut to charity dispensaries" within the state.

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