The Eco-Friendlier Future of the Disposable Spork

Two organizations in Pakistan are working to tackle the country’s waste problem. Saaf Suthra Sheher in Islamabad set up partnerships with offices and schools to process their dry waste like plastics and glass. TrashIt, a Karachi-based group, collects organic waste from vegetable sellers and restaurants and then processes and sells it as compost. Although the two organizations can only process so much of the waste produced in cities, they argue that until an effective municipal waste collection system is implemented, they can educate individuals and businesses about how to recycle properly.

Abandoned buildings can become spaces for economic innovation and experimentation. An abandoned resort spa in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, now houses BlueCity, an ecosystem of sustainable enterprises. The initiative aligns with The Netherland’s 2050 circular strategy, which aims to reduce waste and implement circular design into the economic. At BlueCity, the businesses are leaders in sustainable innovations, from brewers that share byproducts with bakers to companies that recycle plastic.

Companies and research initiatives around the world are developing and testing new toilets that can collect human urine and turn it into fertilizer. These urine diversion toilets have been implemented in places like South Africa with mixed results. However, researchers in Sweden are using portable toilets to gather the urine, dry it into fertilizer pellets that are then used to grow barley for beer. This work could show how to implement these kinds of toilets on a large scale.

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.

In Philadelphia, subscribers pay a monthly fee to Bennett Compost to have the company collect their food waste weekly and compost it so it doesn’t wind up producing greenhouse gases in the landfill.

A recycling initiative in Liberia turns plastic waste into tiles and provides income for the women who collect it. From picking up plastics, some women can earn up to $40 a week. While it’s not always easy, picking up the waste has also unblocked drains which has reduced flooding.

A chemical recycling plant in Germany is taking old tires and turning them back into their original components. From there, those materials can be used in the production of insulation, steel, and oil. The gas that is discharged during the process is also used to power the whole plant. Other plants around the world are also exploring how to take plastic waste and chemically recycle it instead of burning it, so there are less carbon emissions.

After the 2008 economic recession hit, Carla Walker-Miller shifted her energy services business model to not only supply electrical equipment but also implement energy efficiency programs for communities of color in Detroit. She has been able to service 75 households, which has resulted in energy bill savings up to $600 a year for families. The company also has a robust recruitment and training program for young people and those experiencing economic hardship.

A teenager in India came up with a solution to combat the plastic waste crisis that usually comes with planting trees. Srija created a biodegradable pot made out of groundnut shells that decomposes in the soil after 20 days. She’s working with an organization to scale her product, which costs just 27 cents to make.

The Colombian government has been working with regional regulatory agencies, the World Wildlife Fund, and local forest communities to encourage sustainable timber production and the implementation of forest management plans. They launched the Legal Wood Pact — a commitment with 69 entities to exclusively use wood from legal sources. While it can be difficult to convince people to purchase sustainable timber that’s more expensive, the sales of legal timber in the country increased from $500,000 in 2011 to $13 million in 2018.