Modern capitalism encourages consumption at levels previously unimaginable which has led to an inconvenient byproduct: the globalization of waste. High levels of consumption means more waste in our system, and with the gift-giving holiday next month we’re going to see a lot of wasteful purchases. This year think about what
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Things Are Good: Quebec Business Turns Waste into Juice
Juice Loop is a new company in Quebec that is taking food waste and turning it into juice and other products. This was isn’t what’s left on a plate from a restaurant, instead it comes from the supply chain inefficiencies present in how grocery stores run their operations. It’s a
Continue readingThings Are Good: How Cities are Turning Food Waste Into…Food
Cities have a problem with food: they waste a lot of it. The current food distribution setup encourages bulk deliveries via trucks which means that when that large amount of food goes bad – a lot of it does all at the same time. Governments have looked into this problem
Continue readingKersplebedeb | Kersplebedeb: Surplus Absorption, Realization Crisis, and Imperialism (David Gilbert, November 2015)
David Gilbert, a political prisoner held in New York State since 1981, wrote the following text in 2015, examining the the ways in which capitalism is confronted by, and contends with, crises in surplus absorption and realization, in the imperialist age. David was not entirely satisfied with this text in the end,
Continue readingCarbon49 – Sustainability for Canadian businesses: Nestlé Creating Shared Value Through Environmental Sustainability
Nestlé mark their 150th anniversary with key commitments to creating shared value in Canadian society. I look into their goals and progress as well as how their strategy of creating shared value differs from other corporate social responsibility programs.
Continue readingCarbon49 – Sustainability for Canadian businesses: Nestlé Creating Shared Value Through Environmental Sustainability
. Nestlé mark their 150th anniversary with key commitments to creating shared value in Canadian society. I look into their goals and progress as well as how their strategy of creating shared value differs from other corporate social responsibility programs. Found in Nestlé’s global report and Canadian report are their
Continue readingThings Are Good: A Plan for a Zero Waste Toronto
The Toronto Environmental Alliance (TEA) has released a new report on how to get Toronto to be a zero waste city. The report covers a lot of material from food waste to hazardous waste, in total there are five sections with suggestions on how to improve Toronto’s waste management. Even if you’re not in Toronto […]
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Continue readingThings Are Good: Floating Dam to Capture Waste in the North Sea
The world’s oceans are polluted with massive amounts of waste plastics, so much so that we’ve had to name a grouping of plastic waste because it’s so large. There are many ways to reduce our use of plastics and our production of waste (hint: don’t buy so many things); we still need to deal with […]
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Continue readingThings Are Good: Get Drunk While Wasting Nothing
Alcohol production is very energy intensive due to the temperature changes and sheer number of plant resources that go into it. Alcohol production is therefore quite wasteful. However, on the consumption side of alcohol the waste can be dramatically reduced. You may have seen bartenders squeezing a lime then discarding it or similar practices. Soon […]
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Continue readingThings Are Good: Human Waste as an Energy Source
Human waste is a problem for every place humans live and throughout history it has been dealt with in various ways. Instead of treating human waste as a problem that needs to be removed from our towns we may want to think about it as an energy source. That’s right:
Continue readingThings Are Good: Greenlid: An Easy Solution for Your Green Bin
The “dragons” on CBC’s show Dragons’ Den the investors funded a new product called Greenlid. Greenlid is a contraption that makes it easier to deal with household composting and waste diversion projects. In parts of Canada it is known as a “green bin” program. With most waste diversion programs it’s
Continue readingCarbon49 - Sustainability for Canadian businesses: WWF Offer Free Tools for Corporate Sustainability Initiatives
Need some help driving your office’s green initiatives? WWF Canada offers free downloadable tools including getting-started guides, spreadsheets, benchmarks, campaign poster templates for green initiatives on energy reduction, paper reduction, waste reduction, travel, procurement, and green team building. I find some of the tools very useful. As mentioned in an
Continue readingThings Are Good: China’s Changing Waste Management
China’s rate of economic development has caused massive change in the country and that includes the impact on waste management. Waste from consumer goods, industry, and other “good” things for the economy causes huge problems around the world. China is now at a turning point that can see interesting solutions
Continue readingThings Are Good: Edmonton Has a Massive Waste to Biofuel Facility
The province of Alberta is usually only mentioned on this site when people are campaigning against the tar sands and the destruction of the environment. Today though, the capital of Alberta, Edmonton, has done something rather great. Edmonton is home to a large industrial-scale waste processing plant that converts what
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Writings of J. Todd Ring 2013-11-12 19:39:07
Even “the wastes” of nature are never wasted, and never a waste. Time spent among chandeliers and caviar may be a waste; time spent chasing money or seeking status may be a waste; devoting one’s precious, short life to the accumulation of material things may be a waste; but it
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive | News & Analysis: British Columbia study advocates postconsumerist model of zero waste
By: Obert Madondo | The Canadian Progressive: A new study from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and the Wilderness Committee calls for a radical rethink of British Columbia’s waste management policies. It argues that recycling can’t solve the province’s pollution problems and calls for a postconsumerist model of zero waste. While acknowledging
Continue readingThe Scott Ross: Why Banning Guns Is Pointless, Or Soon Will Be
Thanks to 3D printing, a government ban on guns soon will be as enforceable as a government ban on pictures of guns. That is because, not in the too distant future, printing objects will be as easy as printing pictures, and if the government can’t prevent anyone from printing pictures
Continue readingEarthgauge Radio: Tomorrow on Earthgauge Radio: Canadian shark fin import ban and dreaming of a green Christmas
Tomorrow on Earthgauge Radio, it’s our second annual holiday special program. As you probably know, huge amounts of waste are produced during the holiday season – more than any other time of year. In addition, a lot of people find the holidays incredibly stressful. The pressure to buy gifts, social commitments, preparing meals
Continue readingThings Are Good: How to Reduce Household Food Waste
It was recently found out that Canadians waste a lot of food, 51% of which is wasted inside the home. This means that there are ways that each individual can make a difference! The CBC has a tip sheet on what you can do at home to ensure you don’t
Continue readingThings Are Good: A Zero-Waste Town in Japan
In Japan the town of Kamikatsu people there create zero-waste while living a modern life. The community has taken the idea of a plastic bag ban to the next level and have banned garbage outright. The crazy part? Most locals actually seem to like the extreme recycling process. Kikue Nii,
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