dsquared: ESD/Sustainability consultant

When my son was 3 years old and asking his mummy what was this “circular economy” thing she was working on, here is what she told him: it is when everything is healthy food for something else. So simple and sweet. I love it! In other words, it means running the economy like nature runs its own business: plants use carbon dioxide and nutrients to grow and produce oxygen. Animals use oxygen and create carbon dioxide and nutrients. Nothing is wasted. It is a closed loop system. Circular economy is generally opposed to the linear economy (take-make-waste) we have been running for many years. Some people also use the term cradle to cradle as opposed to cradle to grave.”

Get ready for some big changes at grocery stores and restaurants across the country starting next year. The Liberal government announced this week that a ban on some single-use plastics will go into effect by the end of 2021.
“Your local stores will be providing you with alternatives to these plastic products, like reusable or paper bags in place of plastic,” said Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson. Read more

This year’s International E-Waste Day (#ewasteday), taking place on 14 October, will focus on the crucial part each of us, as consumers and as citizens, has in making circularity a reality for e-products. According to the UN, in 2021 each person on the planet will produce on average 7.6 kg of e-waste, meaning that a massive 57.4 million tonnes will be generated worldwide. Only 17.4 per cent of this electronic waste containing a mixture of harmful substances and precious materials will be recorded as being properly collected, treated and recycled. Many initiatives are undertaken to tackle this growing concern, but none of them can be fully effective without the active role and correct education of consumers.

The heat has been attributed to a dome of atmospheric high pressure over the upper U.S. Northwest and Canada, similar to conditions that punished California and southwestern states earlier this month. The Canadian city of Vancouver also set an all-time heat record on Sunday and was not expected to cool off until Tuesday. Temperatures were expected to shatter records in the Pacific Northwest again on Monday, bringing the city of Portland to a standstill as residents hunkered down in air conditioned homes or cooling centers. One day after Portland saw temperatures reach 112 degrees F (44.5 degrees Celsius) on Sunday, the hottest recorded there since daily record-keeping began in 1940, the National Weather Service predicted more of the same for Monday.