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Kenyan scientist builds with bottles to beat plastic pollution

Nita Bhalla

December 13, 2019 |

Thomson Reuters Foundation |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Kenya, Gilgil

Repurposing plastic waste into construction materials reduces pollution and lessens the carbon footprint of construction. Eco Blocks and Tiles, an environmentally-savvy company based in Gigil, Kenya, manufactures roof tiles from discarded plastic and glass. The value-added product is more durable and lighter than clay. The company has received support through crowd funding and grants, and has also attracted the attention of Kenya’s National Construction Authority (NCA).

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Chew On This: Farmers Are Using Food Waste To Make Electricity

Allison Aubrey

November 30, 2019 |

NPR |

Multi-Media |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Shrewsbury, Massachusetts

Food waste typically ends up on in landfills, which exacerbates climate change, but in Massachusetts, dairy farmers are converting the waste into electricity. Food waste from around the state is gathered, ground, and liquefied and then transported to an anaerobic digester on a dairy farm which is able to convert enough energy to power more than just the farm.

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Can old fridges be recycled to make new ones?

Dougal Shaw

November 29, 2019 |

BBC |

Broadcast TV News |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United Kingdom, Telford

A recycling plant in Telford, England has found a way to recycle old refrigerators into new ones using a new technology that preserves the plastic without contamination from the refrigerator coolant. Usually, recycled refrigerator materials can only make simple products, like plant carriers; now, new technology can reduce the waste created from thrown-away fridges.

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America trashes 40% of its food. A Colorado startup is connecting the discards to dinner tables.

Tamara Chuang

November 26, 2019 |

The Colorado Sun |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Finding alternatives for uneaten or imperfect food reduces waste. In Denver, multiple initiatives, ranging from the city’s Certifiably Green Denver program to tech startups and nonprofits, are working to tackle the problem of excess and wasted food. The nonprofit organization, We Don’t Waste, redistributes unused food from large venues at food banks and farmers markets. The tech startup, FoodMaven, similarly aims to reroute food from the landfill to consumers.

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Philadelphia's new toy library lets families save money — and the environment — while forming a community

Grace Dickinson

November 24, 2019 |

The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia Media Network) |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The Rutabaga Toy Library in Philadelphia - which was born out of a borrowed idea from Austin, Texas - helps parents afford to checkout donated toys for their kids by offering low-price memberships to families in the surrounding area. The business addresses the common trend that enables parents to throw old toys away and create unnecessary waste; instead, Rutabaga accepts donations to the toy library for other families to use while offering a space for sharing and community gathering.

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How this North Salt Lake plant will turn table scraps into natural gas

Amy Joi O'Donoghue

November 24, 2019 |

Deseret News |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Salt Lake City, Utah

Food waste often ends up in landfills, but the Wasatch Resource Recovery facility in Utah transforms the thrown-out food into renewable energy instead. Companies such as Kroger, Dannon, and Nestle send their food waste to the facility on a daily basis, where it is liquefied, broken down by microbes and eventually converted into natural gas.

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The recycling program helping migrants cut down contamination in Melbourne's outer west

Margaret Paul

November 24, 2019 |

ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Australia, Melbourne

Cities in Australia were facing a recycling problem, but realized it was related to a large migrant population and a language barrier with the word "recycling." To help address this problem Melbourne implemented the 'Waste Watcher' program, which provides hands-on education through recycling bin audits.

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San Francisco's Quest to Make Landfills Obsolete

Erick Trickey

November 21, 2019 |

Politico |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

Reducing landfill waste takes a comprehensive approach. By implementing city-wide composting alongside trash collection and utilizing the sorting technology of Recology, the city’s municipal waste recovery company, San Francisco has significantly reduced the amount of waste residents send to landfills. Although it missed the ambitious target of achieving zero waste by 2020, the city aims to cut what it sends to landfills in half by 2030.

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How Behavioral Science Solved Chicago's Plastic Bag Problem

Leigh Giangreco

November 21, 2019 |

Politico |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

In 2016, the city of Chicago “became a municipal laboratory” to test the different ways to disincentivize the use of plastic bags. The city initially attempted eliminating plastic bags, which led to more paper waste. Then it levied a plastic bag tax of 7 cents, an effective behavioral nudge that decreased plastic bag use and increased city revenue. The effort is now spreading across Illinois, as part of a growing trend of decreasing plastic usage across the country.

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Green party: how are festivals upping their environmental credentials?

Lucy Douglas Laura Mahler

November 19, 2019 |

Positive.News |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom, London

Finding ways to implement circular systems reduces the environmental impact of festivals. The London-based nonprofit, a Greener Festival, works with festival planners across Europe to make events more sustainable. In addition to recycling and moving toward plant-based food options, a Greener Festival also leverages its partnerships to collect and reuse catered food through its EighthPlate initiative.

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