Day: October 21, 2021

The head of environmental group Greenpeace on Thursday warned against efforts by countries and corporations at the forthcoming U.N. climate talks in Glasgow to “greenwash” their ongoing pollution of the planet.  The summit hosted by Britain has been described as ” the world’s last best chance ” to prevent global warming from reaching dangerous levels, and is expected to see a flurry of new commitments from governments and businesses to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases.  But climate campaigners say behind-the-scenes lobbying before the summit could hamper efforts to achieve an ambitious deal that would ensure the world stands a chance of capping global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) as agreed in Paris in 2015.

Finnish manufacturer Tomra makes “reverse vending machines” to accept can and bottle deposits for recycling. These types of machines typically accept one vessel at a time, with an internal scanner classifying each one as it comes down the chute. Even in eco-conscious Scandinavia, not everyone is willing to spend those minutes feeding the machine.  The Old Way – In a bid to increase recycling, Tomra designed their new R1 model to be “multi-feed.” The R1 has an opening the size of a clothes dryer, so recyclers can just dump their entire bags inside. The R1’s internal system quickly scans up to 100 bottles at once, and spits out the redemption receipt in seconds rather than minutes.

Sessions in the policy track included quick overviews of the history of EPR and the concept of individual producer responsibility (IPR), deep dives into eco-modulation and packaging consultations, and panel conversations on engaging stakeholders in policy development and the role of container deposit systems. The diversity of session topics speaks to the complexity of packaging policy and the many considerations that contribute to effective legislation. Dominic Hogg, Director of Equanimator, discussed the realities of EPR in driving improved recycling rates. He recognized that improving rates depends not only on well-written policy, but also on all the other initiatives at varying levels of government that support waste collection and infrastructure.

Adkerson, who also chairs a global mining industry trade group, described the political situation in Washington as a “head-scratcher.” Biden officials understand the importance of copper to climate goals, Adkerson said, but are not likely to lessen mine permitting standards “because that just runs against the grain of their political situation.” Copper prices meanwhile are up 10% this month due to that low supply, with analysts expecting demand will increase alongside the global economy. RISING COSTS Freeport itself is not immune to that price rise.

Earlier this month D-Wave Systems, the quantum computing pioneer that has long championed quantum annealing-based quantum computing (and sometimes taken heat for that approach), announced it was expanding into gate-based quantum computing.
Surprised? Perhaps we shouldn’t be. Spun out of the University of British Columbia in 1999, D-Wave initially targeted gate-based quantum computing and discovered how hard it would be to develop. The company strategy morphed early on.

Vyne, a recognized leader in end-to-end health information exchange and electronic healthcare communication management, hosted earlier today a company-wide “Growing Vyne Day.” The event took place across more than 20 states with in-person tree plantings in Indianapolis, Knoxville, Atlanta, and Kansas City and virtual events for remote employees in cities across the country. More than 100 employees participated in the event as part of the company’s drive to support global change and sustainability. In addition to donating time and resources to plant trees, the company’s medical, dental, and insurance payer businesses provide technology platforms that enable clients to reduce paper and consumption of other natural resources.

There is great market potential in the plant-based dairy alternative category, with innovation in beverages, frozen desserts, and vegan slices, and more. To help companies and startups stand apart from the crowd, Kerry has released a Plant-based Dairy Alternative Toolkit. This virtual toolkit is designed to give innovators in the U.S. simple, scalable, and sustainable solutions to help with plant-based food and beverage product development and growth prospects. “Emerging and innovative plant-based brands and products need straightforward expert assistance, a road map to scalability, and a focus on sustainability—which Kerry’s 2021 proprietary research says is important to 75% of consumers in this category,” said Elizabeth Horvath, Vice President of Marketing at Kerry North America, in a press release.

A research team, led by Northwestern Universitychemists, has made a breakthrough in surface science by introducing a new active mechanism of adsorption. Such adsorption-based phenomena, in which molecules are attracted onto a solid surface,are essential for today’s catalysts, energy storage and environmental remediation. The research demonstrates how artificial molecular machines — wholly synthetic molecular components that produce machine-like movements — grafted on surfaces can be used to recruit molecules actively onto these surfaces at very high concentrations, thereby storing significant amounts of energy.

Steel is a low cost material with high tensile strength, which is why you can find it in just about every bridge you cross. Steel girders, cables, and rebar have become the standard building blocks of bridges over the last 70 years. Bridges made with steel turn into bridges made with rust, and bridges made with rust become structurally deficient very quickly. As stated above, there is already $123 billion worth of backlog work for bridge rehabilitation to mitigate structural deficiency. This cost does not account for any costs related to replacing these bridges in the near future. It is time for a more sustainable bridge option. 

Plastic bags are the leading cause of death in marine life, not only is it unpleasant to look at on the streets its harmful to our environment. Plastic pollution in the ocean has gotten so bad that trace amounts of microplastic has been found in aquatic life.

Former NHL player TJ Galiardi totalled 44 goals and 105 points during his decade-long hockey career, but his most important assist might ultimately arise from his work in food processing sustainability.  Along with business partner Dr. Darren Burke, Galiardi created Outcast Foods, a Dartmouth, Nova Scotia-based company that upcycles surplus or past-date fruits and vegetables it sources from food processors, grocers and farms.  When consumers are increasingly attuned to everything from a company’s carbon footprint to where the materials for its products are sourced and how those products are made, Outcast is becoming a champion for sustainability.

In an ongoing drive to minimise waste, Wilderness Safaris Rwanda, together with local communities and businesses, has developed novel ways to tackle waste at Magashi in Akagera and Bisate Lodge near Volcanoes National Park. With the dining experience already centred around locally sourced produce, new opportunities have also developed through Wilderness Safaris’ War on Waste impact strategy. “In keeping with the light ecological footprint adopted by all aspects of our operations, we are also always looking for solutions to try and find ways that our waste can be re-used, reduced, recycled and upcycled,” explained Wilderness Safaris Rwanda Operations Manager, Ingrid Baas, “We work together with a company called PIMA – Zero Waste Shop. It is the first physical zero-waste outlet in Rwanda, creating a circular economy through supporting #madeinrwanda and #madeinafrica producers”.

With a fleet of more than 3,000 lift trucks, a large retailer with hundreds of locations throughout the United States had difficulty monitoring and managing its equipment maintenance activity and downtime.  The retailer used a guaranteed maintenance plan through a secondary provider and had little insight into key metrics like repair history, intervals between failures, preventative maintenance (PM) completions and first-time fixes.  Without the ability to monitor these metrics, the retailer lacked clarity regarding the impact of maintenance on its bottom line, along with the value of the secondary provider’s guaranteed maintenance plan, which it was charged for monthly.

Battery storage and green hydrogen – markets that are critical for India’s renewable future and energy security – could scale up rapidly in the country, bolstered by government policy and private company ventures, according to a new briefing note from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA). “Grid-scale energy storage technologies will play a critical role in India’s decarbonisation journey, helping to integrate the 450 gigawatts (GW) of variable renewable energy capacity targeted by 2030 into the grid,” said, IEEFA analyst Kashish Shah. “The Government of India is giving the right push for the Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) market through production-linked incentive schemes, big battery storage capacity tenders and improving the market structure to be more competitive.”