Made in the USA
Surprisingly, a large portion of the eco-friendly promotional products I encounter in my business are made overseas, which, ironically, is less environmentally friendly. So buying local, or at least domestically, is one way to reduce one’s carbon footprint. Also, concerns over product safety from foreign products have led to a renewed interest in “made in the USA”
Closing the green loop
For those products that are not safely or easily biodegradable, we will see movement towards “closing the green loop.” In other words, products will be built for easy disassembly to be used in other products or recycled into new material. With low rates of recycling participation, it will take a large and sustained effort, and mostly likely governmental intervention, to make this a reality.
Manufacturers and retailers are beginning to institute “take back” programs. Companies selling in Europe already must comply with take back regulations, which require manufacturers to handle the disposal of products after consumers are done using them. No doubt, if you know you’re going to have to deal with a product after it leaves your doors, and have to deal with its disposal, you’ll think pretty carefully about what you’re offering.
Plastics that safely degrade/biodegrade
Since petroleum-based plastics can have life spans that run into millennia, I think we will see a preference for degradable and biodegradable products that don’t add to the billions of tons of waste plastic already in existence.
You might ask why we can’t just recycle all that plastic. The answer is that we can, but the levels of participation in recycling are still very low.
Let’s take plastic bags for example. The Worldwatch Institute reports that each year Americans “throw away” about 100 billion plastic bags; only 0.6 percent is recycled.
Since it’s usually easier to change a product than it is to change behaviors, attention has turned to degradable and biodegradable plastics, which can degrade in as little as 10 years or less, breaking down into substances that are more earth-friendly than standard plastics.
However, there are some concerns about the risks of corn-based plastics emitting methane as they biodegrade. Additionally, if people throw biodegradable plastics in the same bin with petroleum-based plastics, the recycling of the petroleum-based plastic can become contaminated.
To address these issues, there is a new plastic called Oxo-biodegradable, which can be safely added to standard plastic recycling streams without contaminating them, provided it is not already in an advanced degraded state. It is “degradable,” meaning it doesn’t need microorganisms to begin degrading, as would be necessary for “biodegradable” products.
Heat and sunlight are the prime elements needed to trigger the degrading process. Though not required, the presence of microorganisms speeds the process.
Oxo-biodegradable material does not emit methane in landfills and only takes about two years to degrade. I just used this material for a client bag order and there is little difference in look and handling between the Oxo-biodegradable and standard petroleum-based plastics.
I think we will also see the development of even more degradable plastic-like substances over time.
Staffordshire offices are aiming for BREEAM Excellent rating through features including biomass boilers
VolkerFitzpatrick has been appointed to design and build offices for Staffordshire council, which are intended to be one of the most eco-friendly buildings in the UK.
The £23m, four-storey offices are part of the on-going regeneration of the centre of Stafford, involves a reinforced concrete frame cast in-situ and features biomass boilers, up-flow ventilation, innovative acoustic and energy insulation, BREEAM Excellent and an energy performance certificate rating of A.
Andrew Wilbram, regional director at VolkerFitzpatrick, said: “Having recently completed our head office at VolkerFitzpatrick, which has reduced our carbon footprint by 70%, we are pleased to share this expertise with Staffordshire council to help achieve their sustainability ambitions.”
VolkerFitzpatrick is working with architects 3D Reid and engineering consultants Arup.
The project will start on site before the end of the year and is expected to take 18 months to complete.
Fast-rising carbon emissions mean that worst-case predictions for climate change are coming true – By Steve Connor and Michael McCarthy
The world is now firmly on course for the worst-case scenario in terms of climate change, with average global temperatures rising by up to 6C by the end of the century, leading scientists said yesterday. Such a rise – which would be much higher nearer the poles – would have cataclysmic and irreversible consequences for the Earth, making large parts of the planet uninhabitable and threatening the basis of human civilisation.
We are headed for it, the scientists said, because the carbon dioxide emissions from industry, transport and deforestation which are responsible for warming the atmosphere have increased dramatically since 2002, in a way which no one anticipated, and are now running at treble the annual rate of the 1990s.
Read more – World on course for catastrophic 6° rise, reveal scientists – Climate Change, Environment – The Independent.
Gardening staff at Wimpole Hall National Trust property in Cambridgeshire are being encouraged to urinate on a straw bale in order to speed up the process of making compost.Head gardener Philip Whaites told BBC Look East reporter Mike Liggins how the process works.
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22% of all insecticides and 20% of all pesticides worldwide are used in cotton growing.
This causes problems to the local environment, harms wildlife and affects water and soil quality; thus causing an ecological imbalance.
Moreover, pesticides are dangerous to people – over 25,000 deaths a year are apparently caused by working with these chemicals. A lot of these pesticides contain ingredients that were originally developed in WW II as nerve gases!
Buy eco-friendly cotton goods now!
Drowning in plastic: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is twice the size of France
There are now 46,000 pieces of plastic per square kilometre of the world’s oceans, killing a million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals each year. Worse still, there seems to be nothing we can do to clean it up. So how do we turn the tide?
Richard Grant reports on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, and a new expedition that aims to make us reassess our relationship with plastic. Illustrations by Brett Ryder
via Drowning in plastic: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is twice the size of France – Telegraph.
Please take a look at the video to learn about how you can help the environment
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