In Cremona, ideas to make the ‘circular economy' real for cities

Nationally, only about a third of municipal solid waste is recycled. An initiative to use simpler, standardized signs and labels is helping communities reap greater benefits from recycling.

While environmentalists continue to call for drastic measures to combat climate change, a Brisbane volunteer community has taken matters into its own hands by organizing weekly beach clean-up sessions. The group uses social media to organize and has recycled or thrown away more than 330kg of litter.

Recycling provides an economic alternative to heavy industry. In the former steel town of Eskilstuna, recovery from economic decline has meant re-platforming into a model of sustainability. From the city’s second-hand article mall to state-of-the art trash sorting technologies, innovations in closed-loop economics have created new jobs and possibilities for longtime residents and new arrivals alike.

From London to Vancouver, across the globe libraries of things are popping up to rent out common, but rare-to-use, household objects. Items include telescopes, lawn mowers, ice cream makers, power drills, you name it. These volunteer-led shops take reservations online and lease the items at no or low-cost to the user, all while strengthening the sharing economy and reducing waste.

Mysuru has become a gleaming example for solutions to India's vaster struggles with solid-waste management, toilet construction, sanitation strategy, public outreach, and other measures. The city uses a decentralized model that leverages a mix of municipal resources, NGO leadership, civil society, and cooperation from proud residents and businesses.

For the past three years, water levels in the San Antonio Edwards Aquifer have decreased to uncomfortable levels and drought periods may continue as the population booms. The San Antonio Water System organization has set up rules to limit water use and has recycled water for conservation frugal innovation.

Bogotá has become a danger for pedestrians. Cars have the right of the way and it is up to pedestrians to stay alert and safe. Now, citizens are using paint on sidewalks and roads to draw attention to dangers such as potholes or areas where pedestrians have been killed.

Rapid Results Initiatives are micro social change projects that a village, government office, or business will work accomplish in just 100 days. They have proven to be sustainably effective at various tasks because they create a sense of local ownership and empowerment within the community that inspires additional change and improvement.

The residents of Kikandwa, Uganda, came together to create the Kikandwa Environmental Association to implement nature-based solutions in their community. The solutions are combatting climate change and generating more income than options with a negative environmental impact. For example, many people traded cutting trees to make charcoal for selling seedlings at the local tree nursery.

Collaboration between the Hmong community, researchers, and park authorities in northern Thailand has allowed them to work together to restore the forest in Doi Suthep-Pui National Park. Between 1997 and 2013, they used assisted regeneration to restoring 33 hectares of forest, which also increased the area’s natural flora and fauna. Because of their efforts, their approach is being implemented in tropical forests around the world, including Cambodia, Madagascar, and Tanzania.