Top Dumpster Rental Services in Your Hometown
Recycling
Detroit has had its fair share of problems in recent years -- bankruptcy, high unemployment rates and a housing crisis to name a few. You can throw the City’s dismal recycling rates in the mix, as well. The national recycling rate hovers around 35%, while Detroit’s has barely been able to crack double digits at about 10.5%. So, what’s the problem, and how can it be fixed?
Has recycling reached its peak? In some parts of the U.S. this may very well be the case. Recycling rates have fallen in recent years or have failed to gain any traction in the first place due to factors like cost and accessibility.
Some communities are resorting to garbage incineration as a more cost-effective and convenient alternative to recycling.
According to Let’s Do It!, a global organization helping to clean up illegal dump sites, there is approximately 100 million tons of illegal garbage lying around the world. It’s a problem that affects all parts of the United States, particularly big cities and rural areas.
The City of New York sifts through 11,000 tons of trash per day along with 2,000 tons of recyclables. That’s a remarkable amount of garbage, but even more amazing is managing to find ways to efficiently deal with all this waste. Could a pneumatic pipe collection system work?
What’s that classy wine your Mom used to drink when you were a kid? Boxed wine, of course! What’s better than 5 full liters of cardboard-contained White Zin?
Well, this article has almost nothing to do with boxed wine, but it’s a smooth segue into introducing a brand new eco-friendly wine bottle design from winemakers Truett-Hurst Inc. called the Paper Boy. It’s another type of cardboard-contained wine, but this one is a little greener.
Vermont is the first state in the nation to enact a law that makes composting mandatory for everyone. It’s all part of Act 148, Vermont’s Universal Recycling Law, which was put into effect in 2012. The plan will roll out in phases and be fully implemented by 2020.
Is this the year for change? We all make New Year’s resolutions, set goals and strive for healthier lifestyle changes. But, have you made tangible changes toward a more sustainable, eco-friendly lifestyle? The late author and poet Dr. Maya Angelou said,
"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude."
Mt. Everest stands 29,035 feet above sea level and is known for being the highest mountain on earth. From afar the mountain is jawdroppingly beautiful. Upclose and personal it is riddled with empty oxygen tanks, food containers, and all kinds of garbage.
Automobiles have been mass produced for more than a century – that equates to a lot of scrap tires. Until about two decades ago the vast majority of these tires were simply tossed in a landfill or stockpiled somewhere.
In fact, the Rubber Manufacturer’s Association (RMA) states there were 1 billion tires stockpiled in the U.S. as recently as 1990.
2011 figures show that number has dwindled down to about 111.5 million tires. About 60 million of these tires are stockpiled at two locations in the “Rubber Mountain state”, Colorado.
So much is being done across the country to help spruce up our environment. Recycling has picked up over the past several decades and continues to build traction in every state thanks to recycling initiatives, legislation, and the efforts of nonprofit organizations.
According to the EPA, the national recycling rate has increased from about 10% in 1985 to about 35% in 2012. It has steadily increased year after year due to advancements in recycling technology and the realization that recycling has a major economic impact. Oh…not to mention the huge environmental benefit!
LEED isn’t just for tree-hugging hippies. Everyone benefits. It’s a set of standards designed to boost green building practices. It helps preserve the environment and also has a positive impact on the economy.
To the average person, the idea of sewage is best left out of sight, out of mind. Applied CleanTech, an Israeli startup focused on recycling raw wastewater into reusable materials, is making sewer water seem sweet. They’ve developed an efficient way to recycle the waste product in a process that saves millions of dollars on operational costs compared to traditional sewer water treatment processes.
The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, or ACEEE, has released its 2013 energy efficiency scorecard which ranks each of the 50 U.S. states plus the District of Columbia based on its energy and sustainability commitments.
(Nov,2013) November 15 is the day nationally recognized as America Recycles Day (ARD). It started back in 1997 by the National Recycling Coalition and as of 2009 has been handled by Keep America Beautiful (KAB) -- one the nation's largest non-profits focused on improving the health and vibrance of communities through sustainability, recycling and other green initiatives.
Make recycling easier and people will actually do it. Read on to see what I’m yapping about. A first-of-its-kind optical sorting system is one of the most efficient recycling machines in the nation. Action Environmental Group of the Bronx, New York borrowed recycling innovation ideas from all over the world – Canada, Europe and Germany – to build one of the most technologically advanced recycling machines in the U.S.