Read the full story from Practice Greenhealth.
Practice Greenhealth and Feeding America announced today a new collaboration to help Americans living at risk of hunger. The nation’s largest domestic hunger relief organization and leading health care sustainability membership organization have created a nationwide program to donate excess food from hospitals and health care facilities to local food banks.
Read the full story at Waste360.
The recycling industry is in an ongoing battle with the decrease in commodities prices and improper disposal, but the growing sector of e-waste recycling is especially difficult to manage. For example, if e-waste is improperly disposed of, toxic materials could seep into soil and ground water, as well as pose a risk for those who are handling the e-waste.
While commodities will continue to fluctuate, recyclers are faced with the decline in the value of materials, and in increase in the returns of low-value devices.
Waste360 recently spoke with Jason Linnell, executive director for the National Center for Electronics Recycling, and Eugene Niuh, business development director for Omnisource Electronics Recycling, about the latest e-waste recycling trends and challenges and the future of the e-waste recycling industry. The duo will lead a discussion on electronics recycling trends and markets at WasteExpo in Las Vegas on Wednesday, June 8, 2016.
Read the full story from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
Organizers of the statewide Wisconsin Breeding Bird Atlas survey are recruiting volunteers to help update information about what birds breed in Wisconsin and where, and they are conducting free field trips June 11-12 in many locations to introduce people to the survey and its methods.
The Sustainability Literacy Test (Sulitest) provides higher education institutions, companies and other organization around the world with an internationally recognized and locally relevant tool to measure and improve sustainability literacy for all. The fee structure is available here.
Read the full story in GreenBiz.
In the late 1990s, the main goal was simply to create electronics that worked. Then, concerns about emissions prompted IT manufacturers to implement health and safety protocols. Environmental concerns emerged at the dawn of the new millennium, ushering in the green manufacturing era.
Most recently, social responsibility has become an issue as reports of labor abuses and unethical manufacturing practices have come to light. With growing consumer awareness of all of these issues, finding a path to sustainability is becoming increasingly important.
Read the full story from the University of Minnesota Institute on the Environment.
Over 2,000 new renewable energy jobs could be added to the Northeast Minnesota / Northwest Wisconsin economy if a range of biomass and solar projects come to fruition according to a new report titled “Duluth’s Energy Future: Economic Modeling of Proposed Biomass and Solar Initiatives.”
Read the full story at The Conversation.
Can we predict where in the world will be water-stressed? Using a more fine-tuned model, researchers find there is no global water crisis, just local ones.
Read the full story at Data Smart City Solutions.
Cities are facing a number of environmental, social, and economic challenges regarding the sustainability of their infrastructure systems. When different city stakeholders refer to different sources of information and have different points of view, it is difficult to identify successful solutions to these challenges. Responding to this need, Harvard’s Zofnass Program for Sustainable Infrastructure built the Zofnass Information Tool to enable the city of Chelsea, MA to start a shared dialogue on water infrastructure issues.
Read the full story at REJournals.
The number of industrial buildings that have achieved LEED certification status is steadily growing. According to the U.S. Green Building Council, as of 2013 a total of 117 industrial manufacturing facilities had earned LEED certification. These buildings accounted for 41 million gross square feet of green industrial space.
An additional 703 industrial projects had registered for LEED certification as of 2013, buildings that totaled 221 million square feet. The U.S. Green Building Council said that the market of green industrial buildings had grown by 375 percent in the four years leading up to 2013.
Read the full story in Modern Healthcare.
Reprocessed devices generally cost between 40% and 50% less than new products, according to Kathy Werner, a director with FTI Consulting. The firm encourages hospitals to reprocess any device that can be guaranteed to match the quality of a new product, but that’s not happening everywhere. “We don’t have them all reprocessing as much as we’d like them to be,” said Werner, who has a background in nursing.
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