Disposal

Making a Difference in Chicago

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Day 361 – Chicago has its fair share of problems. Crime, unethical politicians and the current state of our sports teams, are just a few of the challenges that residents face. Thankfully, their are plenty of amazing and wonderful things happening in the city as well. In today’s post I wanted to share information on a few organizations that are making a positive influence on the people of Chicago and the planet as a whole.

Plant Chicago

“We equip people and businesses with the tools to live more sustainably through community-driven, hands-on programs and innovative research projects. We are now in the process of renovating an abandoned firehouse as a center for circular economy programming in the Back of the Yards neighborhood on the southwest side of Chicago.” – Plant Chicago

CCRX

Creative Chicago Reuse Exchange is a nonprofit organization committed to the creative reuse and redistribution of surplus materials for arts, non-profit, education in the Chicago-area.

Community Glue Workshop

“Inspired the repair cafe movement in Amsterdam, Community Glue Workshop’s goals are to divert repairable items from the waste stream (or repurpose them if need be), encourage critical thinking, debunk the relentless myth that newer is better and foster community.” Community Glue Workshop

The Chicago Tool Library

“The Chicago Tool Library opened in fall of 2019. Located on the southwest side of Chicago, in the Bridgeport neighborhood, our non-profit lending library houses over 2,500 items that range from basic hand tools and table saws to ice cream makers and camping equipment. We are a forward-thinking organization hoping to help our city reshape its relationship to ownership, consumption, and creativity.” – The Tool Library

Chicago Green Theater Alliance

“The Chicago Green Theatre Alliance was founded in 2014 with a mission to encourage, educate, and motivate theatres and theatre professionals to work together to adopt more environmentally-friendly practices.” – Chicago Green Theater Alliance

The Chicago Green Theater routinely hosts events that help the environment. They host textile and e-waste recycling drives, along with helping the theater industry adopt more sustainable practices.

There are so many more people doing great things in your community. Make it point to seek them out and support them any way you can.

Tomorrow, inspiring the youth to make a difference.

Christmas Tree Recycling

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Day 360 – If you’re not boxing or bagging up your Christmas tree at the end of the season to reuse next year, then you either don’t have one or you have a real tree. And if you have a real tree you should not throw it away. In the city of Chicago you can have your tree turned into mulch

“By foregoing the landfill, your tree won’t be rotting away releasing greenhouse gas emissions or taking up landfill space; instead, the mulch it creates will be used to benefit plants and soil at local parks and forests.” – Recycle By City

Chicago’s Tree Recycling Program runs from January 8th through the 22nd at 26 parks across the City. 

A few things to know before dropping off your tree.

  1. Only live/natural trees without flocking are accepted.
  2. No garland or wreaths.
  3. All tinsel, ornaments, lights, and stands must be removed.
  4. Plastic bags used for transport should also be removed before putting trees in the stalls. 

Six locations will also provide free mulch on a first-come, first-served basis, starting January 12th: Lincoln Park, Margate Park, Mt. Greenwood Park, North Park Village, Warren Park, and the Forestry Site.

To see a complete list of all 26 participating parks, click HERE!

If you don’t live in Chicago and want to find your closest tree recycling location, click HERE! Type in Christmas trees and your zip code.

Start the new year off with a gift to the planet.

Tomorrow, Chicago organizations helping the planet.

Recycling Antifreeze

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Day 353 – Antifreeze lowers the freezing point of the water in your engine and prevents boiling in high temperatures. So, it is necessary for your car to use antifreeze throughout the year. There are two types of antifreeze, toxic and non-toxic. Antifreeze made from ethylene glycol is toxic. Antifreeze made from propylene glycol is non-toxic and has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for safe human consumption in low doses.

Tips on Recycling Antifreeze:

  1. If unopened, it will last indefinitely.
  2. Once opened it should last up to eight years.
  3. Some auto stores will accept antifreeze to have recycled. Check the Earth911 database for local recycling options. 
  4. Take it to your local household hazardous waste (HHW) program.
  5. Many HHW locations operate swap shops where you can pick-up free products. This is a great way to get more antifreeze.

“Most used antifreeze is recycled into new coolant by filtering out any metals or oil and adding new chemicals. So, you may be buying recycled antifreeze without even knowing it.” – Earth911

Tomorrow, to boycott or not to boycott palm oil.

Solar Farms Built on Closed Landfills

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Day 351 – Once a landfill has reached its capacity, there’s not much use for it. That is until it was realized that they could make a good location for solar farms. Solar farms take up a great deal of space. So, it’s ideal to build them on landfills that are no longer in use.

It is believed that the U.S. could increase the nation’s solar energy capacity by 63 gigawatts, or approximately 60%, simply by building solar farms on landfills.

“Nexamp’s Solar Star Urbana Landfill community solar farm occupies nearly 40 acres on a capped landfill. It features nearly 14,000 solar panels and generates 5.2 megawatts of clean energy for low and middle income residents, who receive discounts on their energy bill if they sign up to take on the solar energy. IKON Environmental Energy is building a 70 megawatt solar farm in Houston Texas called the Sunnyside Energy Project that will power 12,000 homes, atop a 240-acre capped, methane-leaking landfill that will also host community features like an electric vehicle charging point, bio-digester to turn certain waste sources into green energy and fertilizer, and a community garden.” – Good News Network

There are more than 10,000 closed or capped landfills around the country, and perhaps as many as 4,000 of them could be turned into solar farms immediately.

Tomorrow, products made from carbon.

From Garbage Island to Recycling Success Story

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Day 340 – In the 90s, Taiwan was only collecting about 70 percent of its trash and very little of that was being recycled. Their landfills were reaching capacity. After many protests and the call from residents to improve the situation, the government drafted a new waste management framework encouraging citizens and manufacturers to adopt practices to reduce the amount of waste produced.

“Companies play an active role either by handling their own garbage or by paying a waste fee subsidizing a government-run fund for waste infrastructure. Taiwanese citizens must put their mixed waste into government-approved blue bags they purchase. By contrast, recyclable materials like glass, aluminum and paper can be placed in any kind of bag. Classical music piped from trucks alert local residents that it’s time to go outside with bags containing the recyclables and mixed waste. A bright yellow pickup truck collects general trash, while a smaller white truck behind it has a set of bins into which people can throw recyclable materials, from raw food to cardboard.” – Smithsonian Magazine

Taiwan has gone from not recycling much of their waste, to reclaiming 55 percent from households and 77 percent from industries. Many factors go into Taiwan’s successful recycling initiative. However, two stand out as being integral to the program.

  1. Taiwan has created a recycling booth, where residents can bring their recyclables if they happen to miss the truck. By bringing these items to the recycle booth, value is added to their transit card.
  2. Taiwan has companies that are researching ways to take recyclables and various other waste streams and create building materials and other useful products. Arthur Huang and his team at Miniwiz have experimented on over 1,200 different waste materials to figure out their mechanical properties, in hopes to create new products for reuse.

Taiwan is a perfect example of what can be accomplished when you have the cooperation from the government, the business sector and residents.

Tomorrow, reusable mailers helping keep trash out of the landfill.

The Zero Waste Center We All Need

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Day 333 – Kamikatsu, Japan is a beautiful mountain region that has a total population of 1,500. In 2003, Kamikatsu became the first in Japan to issue a “Zero Waste Declaration.” The idea is to prevent the waste from happening at it’s origin. Making changes to manufacturing, logistics, and consumption systems is key to reducing waste.

The town residents held many discussions and decided to have each household compost kitchen scraps and bring other wastes to the town’s waste station. Waste was initially separated into nine different categories, eventually increasing to 34 categories with the start of the Zero Waste Declaration and then 45 categories today. The recycling rate surpasses 80%.

“Kamikatsu Zero Waste Center embodies the principle of Zero Waste as an earth-friendly complex facility that adds the functions of education, research, and communication to a waste-sorting treatment plant, aiming to recreate community and develop the region.” – nakam.info

The Zero Waste Center not only collects 45 different categories for recycling or reuse, but it also has a hotel, a community hall, a laboratory, and a resell shop. It is truly the blueprint for sustainability. Every town needs a Zero Waste Center. It may not be located in a lush mountain region, but it will make an immense positive impact on the planet.

Tomorrow, a playground that helps flooding issues.

Repurposing Turbine Blades into Bike Shelters

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Day 331 – Back on Day 167, I wrote about the waste related to wind energy. I mentioned a study by University of Cambridge (2017) that stated that turbine blades are set to account for 43 million tons of waste by 2050. Most blades end up in landfills, because they are hard to recycle. The article went on to say that there are companies coming out with 100% recyclable blades.

However, what do we do with all the ones currently being used today that are not recyclable?

Well, Denmark has figured out a way to deal with the waste produced by wind energy.

Wind energy makes up 40% of the energy in Denmark and they hope to increase that to 70% by 2030. With the lifespan of a non-biodegradable wind turbine blade around 20 years, the Danish government assigned the recycling task to several companies. They have come up with some very creative ways to deal with these giant structures and keep them out of the landfill.

Two ideas that have been discussed in Denmark are using the blades as bike shelters and footbridges. You can already find bike shelters in parts of the country. Considering there are 675,000 bicycles and just 120,000 cars in just Copenhagen alone (bikes outnumber cars by more than five-to-one), you can imagine there is great need to keep all those bikes protected from the elements.

In Ireland, they are working to reuse old blades in skate parks, stadium bleachers, sound barriers and electric towers.

Every country needs to take a look at the waste they are producing and devise a plan to both reduce and reuse what they have. Dumping it in a whole in the ground, in our waterways or incinerating it, is no longer an option.

Tomorrow, another great option for sustainable straws and cutlery.

The Decomposition of Everyday Items

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Day 328 – Most of us don’t give any thought about how long it takes for common items to decompose. We tend to toss things into the trash and never think about where it goes from there. Many everyday items are here to stay for a very long time.

Here are 20 items and the length of time it takes for them to decompose.

  1. Plastic bags – It can take up to 1,000 years to decompose.
  2. Cigarette butts – 10 years
  3. Plastic straws – 200 years
  4. Wet wipes – 100 years
  5. Plastic 6 pack holders – 450 years
  6. Tin cans – 50 years
  7. Tires – 2,000 years
  8. Nylon fishing net – 40 years
  9. Plastic bottles – 450 years
  10. Synthetic fibers – 100+ years
  11. Aluminum cans – 80-100 years
  12. Hairspray bottles – 200-500 years
  13. Shoes – 25-40 years
  14. Disposable diapers – 500 years
  15. Lumber – 10-15 years
  16. Batteries – 100 years
  17. Ink Cartridges – 450-1,000 years
  18. Glass – over a million years
  19. Aluminum Foil – never
  20. Styrofoam – never

We all need to think twice before we throw things away. We need to ask ourselves a few questions.

Can this be recycled? Items in bold print can be recycled.

Can this be reused?

Can I avoid using this item in the future?

We are running out of places to put our trash. We need to make changes now.

Tomorrow, dogs to the rescue.

How Much Trash Does One Person Make in a Year?

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Day 326 – An unlikely source, TitleMax, looked at some gross data to calculate what one person produces in garbage in one year by type of waste.

Here’s what they found.

  1. Mail – 23.06 pounds per person
  2. Toilet Paper & Paper Towels – 22.36 pounds per person
  3. Paper plates and cups – 8.22 pounds per person
  4. Cardboard boxes – 187.77 pounds per person
  5. Cartons – 34.97 pounds per person
  6. Glass beer and soft drink bottles – 12.74 pounds per person
  7. Other bottles and jars – 24.52 pounds per person
  8. Metal durable goods – 92.80 pounds per person
  9. Aluminum goods – 10.89 pounds per person
  10. Steel cans – 11.78 pounds per person
  11. Aluminum cans – 9.04 pounds per person
  12. Durable plastics – 72.99 pounds per person
  13. Plastic plates and cups – 6.75 pounds per person
  14. Plastic trash bags – 6.50 pounds per person
  15. Plastic bottles and jars – 17.77 pounds per person
  16. Plastic bags and wraps – 24.27 pounds per person
  17. Clothing and footwear – 70 pounds per person
  18. Food waste – 220.96 pounds per person
  19. Yard trimmings – 91.53 pounds per person
  20. Wood – 854.20 pounds per person

That’s a grand total of 1,803.12 pounds per person

We can help reduce our waste by refusing, recycling, reusing and composting items off the list.

Tomorrow, reusable sticky notes.

Too Much Seafood Going to Waste

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Day 325 – It’s World Fisheries Day! The first World Fisheries Day was celebrated on November 21, 2015. The day is dedicated to highlighting the critical importance of healthy ocean ecosystems and to ensure sustainable stocks of fisheries in the world. 

So, today was the perfect day to write about the large amount of seafood that is wasted every year. It is estimated that every year, almost half the seafood supply in the United States is lost, amounting to nearly 500 million pounds of protein waste. Globally, we lose 110 billion pounds. Getting fish from the sea to the table takes many steps through the supply chain. With each step comes a great deal of waste. It is estimated that 17 to 22 percent of fish caught in the US are discarded before reaching port. On top of that, many fish spoil during transport. Even more goes to waste at the markets and once they reach households.

Thankfully, there are some companies trying to combat the waste. They’re making fish jerky, turning fish skin into wallets and coin purses, making bioplastics for fish packaging, and much more.

There are things you can do to reduce seafood waste:

  1. Choose seafood caught or farmed via environmentally sound methods.
  2. Don’t be afraid to purchase frozen seafood. 
  3. If possible, buy whole fish straight from the source.  
  4. Find uses for your leftover seafood. 

“If current trends in overfishing and ocean pollution continue, scientists estimate that we’ll run out of seafood by 2050. Reducing global seafood loss will not only cut down on waste and reduce the amount of discards dumped back into the ocean, it’ll help combat overfishing and hopefully maintain a protein-rich supply of seafood to nourish a growing global population.” – Sierra Club

Tomorrow, the amount of waste one person creates in a year.