Grab a box of tissues and hang on for the next 90 seconds. (I’m not kidding about the tissues. Brie, my wife, actually cried.)
This is why – Eco Products from Dan Knudson Productions on Vimeo.
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Going through DIA this week I saw the below picture on the trash cans in the main terminal restrooms.
Composting paper towels in restrooms is one of the simplest ways to launch a composting program and improve waste diversion. Think about all those paper towels that would normally end up in a landfill.
Great job Denver. I hope more airports follow your lead.
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New York City has made some major moves to get the city’s trash problem in order. I’m thoroughly impressed for a city that big to take these steps:
- They hired the Co-Founder and former CEO of RecycleBank, Ron Gonen, as the city’s new recycling czar, or Deputy Commissioner for Recycling and Sustainability as his business card reads. He has turned on the afterburners for increasing the city’s recycling rate . Ron is making fast progress and moving his agenda forward in a business minded manner.
- Mayor Bloomberg vowed to ban foam cups and containers.
- They launched a pilot composting program in NYC schools and are also developing composting education workshops for students and teachers in the form of worm composting workshops, classroom programs, and compost facility tours.
- They are launching a pilot curbside residential program this spring on Staten Island that they plan to take city wide if it is successful.
And last, but definitely not least, is something that I was completely blown away by when I heard the news yesterday…
NYC residents can now throw all rigid plastics (#3-7 included) into the recycling bin regardless of the shape.
NYC has partnered with SIMS Municipal Recycling on a new state-of-the-art recycling facility that can accept all plastics and all shapes.
That’s a huge freaking deal.
I thought it would be another 5-10 years before this would be a reality in a big city like New York, but I have been proven completely wrong. This is awesome and I’m psyched that NYC is leading the charge. Hopefully other cities will follow and investment will be made elsewhere in our nation’s recycling infrastructure.
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On the heels of my previous post about the need for improved recycling and sorting technology comes more news about the major issues US recyclers are now facing with the increased regulations in China on “recycled” waste the country imports.
China has formed an “Operation Green Fence” with support from China’s new President to inspect every shipment of paper and plastic waste imported into the country. They are rejecting shipments that have too much contamination, waste, or non-spec materials.
This is a major issue in the short term, but I believe it will benefit US recycling over the long term. If US recyclers don’t innovate, they will become the walking dead and so will our country’s recycling rate.
In the short term, bales of mixed #3-7 rigid plastics are under more scrutiny in China since there is higher likelihood of contamination in those bales. To my knowledge, there is currently no other robust market for US recyclers to sell #3-7 mixed bales, so the alternative is for recyclers to send them to the landfill. Major bummer.
In the long run, a shift like this theoretically should improve the recycling infrastructure in the U.S. If the Chinese market becomes a less viable market for reclaimed materials be to sold to, it should drive innovation in the U.S. by way of encouraging more recyclers to add sorting technology that helps sort #3-7 rigid plastics as well as other reclaimed materials. Ultimately, that should make each of those reclaimed resin types more valuable and legitimate for purchasers of recycled materials. However, that also hinges on needing a robust marketplace of recycled resin buyers who want to buy those types of materials.
What will drive more manufacturers and resin buyers of recycled materials is regulations and consumers who demand/require products made with recycled content.
So as a consumer, you now know your job… keep asking for products made from recycled materials.
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Nearly every week I read about a new type of plastic or other material that has been developed. When I talk to recycling companies or MRFs, generally speaking, their reaction is one of frustration by all of these new materials. They have a hard enough time as it is sorting the existing material streams. Their facilities are space-restricted and they don’t have the technology, funding, or desire to sort more materials than they currently do. They would if they could make higher margins from additional sorts, but they typically don’t receive inbound demand inquiries substantial enough to justify the cost to conduct a new sort.
There are new bioplastics being developed, bioplastic-conventional plastic blends, conventional plastics with modifying agents, and all sorts of other materials that are now ending up in consumers’ hands. Combine that with the growing desires of consumers to recycle and you end up with all sorts of crap in recycling bins.
Consumers think that if they put it in the blue bin that it will be recycled. And if it isn’t recycled, at least they tried. I don’t blame them because that line of thinking makes a lot of sense. Unfortunately, usually those odd items end up in the landfill. That’s right, if the MRF can’t recycle it, they sell it to China or send it to the trash site.
That’s why recyclers hate new materials, generally speaking. It creates more crap for them to sort through. In addition, it usually creates much higher levels of contamination. That means that they end up with lower quality bales of plastics (their finished product that they sell to make money) and are subsequently paid less for those bales. That’s why they don’t like it: it’s a pain in the ass, it screws up their processes, and they risk making less money.
Well, sorry recyclers, I’m in favor of material innovation and here’s why.
Our recycling infrastructure needs help. It’s a locally-managed system which creates different rules in different cities and states. That makes it extremely difficult to find uniformity across the country. That also puts the burden on you, the MRF operators, to invest significant capital to keep up with the rapidly changing industry and market demands. You need help. You need help from the government, industry stakeholders and other parties to help fund the capital investments and drive change.
Change needs to occur for the U.S. to increase our recycling rate. Putting composting aside, we won’t get much above 30% if we don’t overhaul the recycling infrastructure of this country. Hence, my hypothesis is that more material innovation will drive more innovation in recycling infrastructure and we’ll all be better off in 10-20 years. Do you see it from a different perspective?
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Mayor Bloomberg has made two bold moves in the past few weeks. One is to propose a ban on all polystyrene foam food containers and cups in New York City. The second is to ban sugary drinks over 16 oz in size. Each decision is attempting to tackle a different problem (trash vs obesity), but they both have ramifications on consumers and the restaurant industry, an industry that employees nearly 1 in 10 people.
I agree with the decision to ban foam. In a city that has a recycling rate of merely 15% with huge trash problems, they have to do something. I vividly remember seeing huge mounds of trash outside of buildings when I lived there about 9 years ago. It’s disgusting and disturbing. While banning foam won’t solve the problem, it’s one small step in the right direction that will get people thinking about the products they use and how to go about disposing of them properly.
The second decision Mayor Bloomberg made regarding banning sugary drinks over 16 oz is a little more difficult for me to swallow, pardon the pun. I am not a soda drinker. In fact, the last soda I drank was an Orange Fanta 5 months ago. Before that, it had been 5 years since I had a soda. That doesn’t mean that I don’t drink anything containing sugar – I definitely do, just not cola.
The reason I’m having a hard time with the ban is because it doesn’t solve the problem at hand. Bloomberg is trying to curb childhood obesity. That’s his reason for doing this. There couldn’t be a better cause for us to spend our time and resources on. I am in support of finding solutions. However, I don’t think limiting the size of drinks will solve the problem, it will just be a pain in the ass for people who want to drink more than 16 oz – they’ll have to get up to refill their cup.
Childhood obesity is a systemic issue. It is caused by much more than consuming a 16 oz cola. It’s education. It relates to what kids learn (or don’t learn) in school. It relates to economics and what’s affordable for people to buy. It relates to family values. It relates to motivation. To promoting exercise. There are so many issues causing childhood obesity.
Sure, banning 16 oz drinks “containing more than 50 calories and containing sugar or another high calorie sweetener” on March 12th (yes, 2 weeks away) could cause people to think twice before drinking another soda. So maybe it will have an impact. But my hypothesis is that spending time and resources on promoting exercise, health, education, and an active lifestyle would do so much more over the long run.
My suggestion to Mayor Bloomberg is to impose a tax on sugary drinks instead of reducing the available sizes that people can buy. Tack an extra $2 on every sugary drink and put that money into obesity awareness activities. Get something out of the deal that you can put to good use. Put that money into implementing health classes into your schools.
The other aspect of these two decisions is that the public debates surrounding them are occurring at the same time and colliding upon restaurant owners. Believe it or not, but those are big changes for some restaurants. I’d love to see this spur innovation. Maybe some low calorie, more natural soda alternatives will be developed.
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Coming off a week at the US Composting Council Conference in Orlando and a board meeting for the Biodegradable Products Institute, I’m now even more convinced of the important role composting MUST play in our future. And I mean everywhere, not just in green communities like Boulder, San Fran and Seattle. Composting will be everywhere in the next 10-15 years, so if you don’t yet compost in your backyard or through a curbside collection program, you will in the future. Composting is where recycling was 20 years ago and it’s going to grow at 2X the rate that recycling did.
According to the EPA, as much as 30% of the methane gas released from landfills come from discarded food. Composting is an immediate solution to that, not to mention the issue of our shrinking landfill space. We’re spoiled here in Boulder in that we have a curbside collection program that picks up our organics waste every other week. My family nearly fills our 32 gallon cart with organics to be “recycled.” We have a 3-gallon kitchen compost bin that we fill with orange rinds, banana peels, paper towels, and food scraps and then we empty it into the 32 gallon cart. It’s simple. Every time I travel and I don’t have composting available, such as last week, it pains me to throw food scraps in the garbage. Boulder does it right. A bunch of other communities now do it right as well.
As of December 2011, there were over 150 communities across 16 different states that had organics collection programs (i.e. curbside compost programs). That number grew by over 50% from the previous 2 years. BioCycle published an informative article a year ago on the status of curbside composting programs with details by state and they are publishing an updated one this spring. It will be interesting to see the growth over the past year. Of note, Vermont recently passed a bill that will make it illegal by 2020 to throw food waste into a landfill. They are building their composting infrastructure to achieve that goal and I hope other states follow suit.
Major grocery chains are jumping on board as well. In fact, they are driving the composting infrastructure build-out on a national scale Walmart has an 80% waste diversion rate and composting is a big part of that. They’ve built a national composting infrastructure to take the food waste from their stores. Other supermarkets are following suit. Weis Markets in Pennsylvania spurred the opening of 5 new composting facilities in PA over the past 18 months. Impressive influence. Apparently Target is also looking to include composting as part of their recent waste hauling bid process for all of their stores.
It makes sense for grocery stores to compost. As much as 45% of food in developed countries gets wasted. I was shocked when I heard that statistic. But it’s true. Think about the food that is wasted on plates and then think about how much food is wasted from spoilage at grocery stores or during transit. It’s staggering. And with food weighing as much as it does, dumping it in the trash causes grocery stores to pay more for their trash hauling than they should (they are charged by the pound usually). So composting helps save them money since composting is cheaper than landfilling. Walmart has saved $231 million through their waste diversion efforts. Not bad.
Colleges, universities, corporate campuses, stadiums, hospitals, restaurants, and other institutions are also joining the movement. They are all pushing to reduce their waste bills and also reduce their impact on the environment. The infrastructure is coming along nicely, so curbside programs in cities will be close to follow. Get ready.
For more information, Steve Mojo, the Executive Director of the Biodegradable Products Institute wrote a great article on composting. The article talks about the role of compostable products and how they help aid in the composting movement. It’s a great read so check it out. Steve is an instrumental force in leading change in this ever-important public issue. Stay tuned.
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Eco-Products is primary sponsor of a website and webisode series called Behind the Barriers. Both the site and the webisode series are based on one of the top Cyclo-cross racers in the world – Jeremy Powers, or J-Pow as insiders call him.
If you’re like me, you don’t have any idea what Cyclo-cross is except that it probably has something to do with biking. It involves riding a road bike on off-road terrain, getting off your bike and carrying it over obstacles (i.e. “barriers”), and outmaneuvering dozens of other competitors in an all-out, grueling race. It’s one of the fastest growing sports in the world with a huge following in Europe. Jeremy Powers, the guy whose site we sponsor, is the #1 Cyclo-cross racer in North America.
We had the pleasure of having J-Pow on site in our office to film one of his episodes. Rather than sit on camera talking about cups and plates and things, we decided to have a little fun with him. We created a day-filled interview process in which we made him answer customer service calls, design a new product, present his idea to our entire company, and, oh yeah, he had to race me on an adult-sized Big Wheels. I won, but I think he gave it to me.
It was a blast having him on site. Checkout the video. It will give you a flair of what it’s like to interview and work at Eco-Products.
Behind THE Barriers Season 3 Special Presentation from Behind THE Barriers on Vimeo.
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A recent UK-based study found that while only 58% of men living alone recycle (lazy asses), 79% of couples living together recycle. What I’m taking from that: men, we are better off with our wife in so many ways, recycling being just one of them.
The study also found that 69% of women living alone recycle while only 58% of men living alone recycle. Perhaps you could also take from this that (1) women are generally more inclined to do good by the environment, and (2) women are also better off with their spouse. But I still think men are MUCH more better off because of their spouse. They keep us in line. I know that’s the case for me in all aspects of my life. I am incredibly lucky to have found my wife, Brie. She has made me a better person, is relentless in her support, keeps me balanced, is completely selfless, and is one heck of a mother.
Gushy stuff aside, while she has always been an avid recycler, she sometimes has to ask me, “The Container Man” as she calls me, if an odd-shaped container is recyclable. Does that mean that I would have gotten extra points in this study for being the self-proclaimed expert in our house?
Like our parents always taught us, you shouldn’t keep score in marriage. If that’s the case, maybe we should throw this study out with the trash (or recycling).
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My wife and I watched a powerful movie over the weekend called Last Call at the Oasis. I’d highly recommend it and wish that every U.S. citizen would watch it. It’s very well done and portrays two key issues about water that the U.S. and the world are now facing:
- Massive water shortages – Did you know that Las Vegas is on track to run out of water within the next two decades, or sooner? Southern Cal is on a similar path. It doesn’t appear that sustainable plans are in place to avert the crisis.
- Chemicals in water that cause illnesses and major health issues – Levels of birth control hormones can now be detected in reservoirs like Lake Mead where Las Vegas feeds their recycled water and is unable to remove many chemicals. This is just the tip of the iceberg as far as chemicals being found in water.
Somehow I thought that most of the water problems in the world were in places like Africa or India or 3rd world countries where access to clean water is non-existent. Well, yes, those are some of the issues, albeit very big ones. What Last Call at the Oasis did for me, though, was put into context the water issues we face in the U.S.
This is an important movie to watch, so check it out. It will be worth your time.
The next film on my list: The Island President about Maldives.
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