Read the full story in Environmental Leader.
McCormick & Company is aiming for making sure that 100% of their plastic packaging can be reused, recycled or repurposed by 2025. The maker of spices, seasoning mixes, condiments set this target as part of their purpose-led performance goals.
Read the full story from Zero Waste Scotland.
Key regions of Scotland could be at the heart of an estimated £1bn boom for circular economy businesses in Scotland, the First Minister of Scotland announced.
The PADI Foundation encourages and supports research and education related to aquatic environments. In pursuit of that mission, the foundation has awarded nearly $4.7 million to almost nine hundred projects since 1992.
In 2019, the foundation will award grants of up to $20,000 to projects that enrich mankind’s understanding of aquatic environments and encourage sensitivity to and protection of ecosystems; increase understanding of sport diving physics and physiology that will benefit the general diving public and add to the scientific understanding of man’s relationship and ability to survive in the underwater environment; and/or improve understanding of, and response to, hazards to humans and ecosystems related to climate change in coastal and ocean environments. Generally, the foundation will not fund overhead or other indirect expenses.
To be eligible, applicant organizations must be recognized as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code.
All applications must be submitted beginning November 1, 2018 and no later than January 6, 2019. Successful applicants will be notified by May 10, 2019 and funds will be disbursed shortly thereafter.
Read the full story at Ensia.
An evolving concept called “sustainable intensification” aims to bridge the gap between conventional agriculture and organic farming
Read the full story from Aalto University.
The average person in Europe uses 3000−5000 litres of water per day, of which the lion’s share is spent on food production – a considerable part on the other side of the globe. The world’s limited water resources are becoming an even more pressing issue as populations grow and climate change causes droughts in the global South and North. While studies have already provided a number of ways to reduce our consumption of water, this valuable information is often left unused.
Water researchers at Aalto University wanted to better communicate research findings to a broader audience. The Water Scarcity Atlas, a web application created by Postdoctoral Researcher Joseph Guillaume and Assistant Professor Matti Kummu, uses interactive global maps to provide an introduction to the problems that arise with limited water – water scarcity – and ways to fight them.
Read the full story in Environmental Leader.
The federal government hopes to improve coordination across federal agencies to help reduce food waste with a new joint agency formal agreement signed this week under the Winning on Reducing Food Waste Initiative. In conjunction with the signing, two new companies – Kroger and Hilton – joined their US Food Loss and Waste 2030 Champions.
The joint agreement begins a partnership between the EPA, the FDA, and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), via which the agencies say they will “enhance food recovery efforts and educate the public on the need for improved food waste management.”
Read the full story from the National University of Singapore.
Researchers from the the National University of Singapore (NUS) have made a significant contribution towards resolving the global issue of plastic waste, by creating a way to convert plastic bottle waste into aerogels for many useful applications.
Plastic bottles are commonly made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is the most recycled plastic in the world. The PET aerogels developed by the NUS-led research team using plastic bottle waste – a world’s first – are soft, flexible, durable, extremely light and easy to handle. They also demonstrate superior thermal insulation and strong absorption capacity. These properties make them attractive for a wide range of applications, such as for heat and sound insulation in buildings, oil spill cleaning, and also as a lightweight lining for firefighter coats and carbon dioxide absorption masks that could be used during fire rescue operations and fire escape.
Read the full story in Western Farm Press.
California Secretary of Agriculture Karen Ross and UC Agriculture and Natural Resources vice president Glenda Humiston signed a memorandum of understanding in Sacramento Oct. 26 to initiate a new partnership to advance climate-smart agriculture in California.
Read the full story in Waste360.
Colleges and universities are utilizing better waste management practices at their football stadiums, with some striving toward zero waste.
Read the full story in Fast Company.
If you buy an ink cartridge from HP, some of the plastic might have come from bottles collected on streets and canals in Port-au-Prince, Haiti–intercepted before they could end up in the ocean. Since 2017, the company has worked with local collectors to gather more than half a million pounds of plastic in the area, keeping around 12 million plastic bottles out of the Caribbean.
It’s one of a growing number of companies incorporating ocean-bound plastic into its supply chain. Today, HP announced that it is joining a coalition of those companies called NextWave Plastics, founded by Dell and the nonprofit Lonely Whale last year. Ikea also joined today, and plans to make its first prototypes out of ocean-bound plastic by the end of 2019.
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