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June 17th is World Day to Combat Desertification. In 1994, the United Nations declared June 17th the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought to promote public awareness of the issue. While the UN focuses on those countries experiencing serious drought or desertification, particularly in Africa, the United States is not immune. “The dust storms and … Read More
The idea of reaching for zero waste is contagious and improves with each new effort to reach 90% or more diversion from landfill and incinerators. The city of Parma, Italy, population 190,000 jumped from 45% recycling in 2012 to just under 75% this year. Intensive curbside recycling, buttressed by a pay as you throw system and … Read More
Revolution Recovery of Philadelphia and Delaware deals in all things deconstruction, from dumpster rentals to waste management planning. Founded in 2005 with only two employees, the company is unique because of its hands-on recycling services. Company founder Avi Golen’s entrepreneurial insight was to work directly with companies that take down buildings to segregate different materials to … Read More
A few years ago it looked like Maryland would start to resemble states like Connecticut and Massachusetts that invested heavily in garbage incineration. Baltimore has a downtown incinerator, Harford County wanted to expand theirs, Washington County wanted its own facility, Frederick and Carroll Counties were under contract for building a new 1,500 ton per day plant, a … Read More
The city of Niagara Falls, population 50,000, increased recycling efforts through education, public awareness and new enforcement procedures. In nearby Buffalo, NY progress is slower. Niagara Falls had the lowest curbside recycling rate in the region at 4 percent, a 2014 Investigative Post analysis found. Investigative Post analyzed the 2012 garbage and recycling data from the … Read More
Worms are pretty amazing creatures! When used as a soil amendment, their waste has been shown to accelerate plant growth, suppress pests and diseases, and even increase levels of anti-oxidants in food. But vermiculture has other benefits that can contribute to a community’s self-reliance.… Read More
Saint Vincent De Paul of Lane County, OR, continues to increase the number of partnerships with social service organizations across the US, adding 68 new jobs to the Cascade Alliance network of enterprises. Thanks to generous funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, St. Vincent de Paul is helping other nonprofits develop retail thrift stores, mattress … Read More
Since our founding in 1974, we have worked to rewrite the rules and empower communities to choose their own future. Across several vital economic sectors, we help break the corporate stranglehold that extracts wealth from local economies and undermines democracy. We give communities the tools to build a strong local economy themselves. From banking to energy, healthy soils … Read More
Technology has a role in moving toward a goal of zero waste, but so does the “soft” infrastructure of citizen activism and effective policies. No matter how smart a city is, however, getting to zero waste isn’t going to be easy. It will take the coordination of many factors, including not only technology but also citizen … Read More
