Waste // Current

The food we throw away

On the day after the start of the FAO summit in Rome, (the UN organization that deals... more

bibabiba
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5 days ago
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Non-Recyclable Disposable Single Cup Coffee Packaging. The K-Cup.

I'm starting to see these little empty non-recyclable, non-biodegradable... more

ninthstate
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5 days ago
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5 comments

Worst Mass Poisoning of Humans in History

Manmade ponds contaminated with arsenic have poisoned millions in Bangladesh.

Progresshiv
added this
7 days ago
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7 comments

The 15 most toxic places to live

Earth's orbit Believe it or not, even space contains copious amounts of pollution. An... more

quanta
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1 month ago
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20 comments

10% of US Energy Derived From Old Soviet Nukes

The New York Times reports that about 10 percent of electricity generated in the... more

Tyrannous
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12 days ago
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The Digital TV Switch Causes 70% Rise in E-Waste

We worried about the rise in dumped TVs when the switch to digital in the US occurred back in June. The UK is also switching to digital and figures show a frightening rise in dumped TVs, rising by 70% in the past year, with over half of them being upgradable. But they were dumped instead. As more areas switch to digital over the next two years, including London, just how much more of an impact can we expect, and can citizens be convinced that they don't need to dump their TVs at all?

The Guardian reports that the digital switch happened yesterday in the north-west of England. "This year, the council has recycled 50,000 analogue TVs thrown away by households, of which 30,000 could have been upgraded to receive digital TV signals with a simple £20 set-top box."

As in the US, most TVs don't need to be replaced - only a new box is needed. Yet many consumers are upgrading to new TVs anyway. Simon Birch, who is investigating the environmental impact of the digital switchover for Ethical Consumer magazine, blames Digital UK for the crush of discarded TVs, saying it isn't doing a good enough job telling consumers that they don't have to toss their televisions.

The eco-impact of televisions is under debate, though, as the Energy Saving Trust notes that a TV with a built-in digital tuner requires only one power supply and can save £7 and 20kg of carbon each year compared with an equivalent analogue TV combined with a set-top box.

However not factored in is the environmental cost of recycling a television, or worse, seeing it head to landfill, or worst, seeing it head to e-waste dumps in developing nations. In the US, only about 18% of the 23.9 million toxic CRT TVs thrown out in 2008 were recycled. And Sarah Westervelt, a Basel Action Network official, said about 80% will actually be shipped abroad to be "recycled" in China and Africa - and that is a violation of provisions of the Basel treaty that ban the shipment of toxic waste from the rich countries to poor ones. The same problems are to be expected in the UK, where e-waste in landfills is already a significant problem.

Over the long run, it is likely better to have an extra set-top box and not a new TV. It's just a matter of actually telling people this, and encouraging them to keep what isn't broken.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/11/the-digital-tv-switch-causes-70-rise-in-electronic-trash.php?dtc=th_rssWe worried about the rise in dumped TVs when the switch to digital in the US occurred... more

extemporaneous
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17 days ago
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1 comment

Clean Space? Russia plans nuclear rocket for Mars, safe and ethical?

Russia will spend $600 million on a nuclear-powered spacecraft to take men to Mars,... more

Solarlife
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23 days ago
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3 comments

People of rubbish

A new documentary uncovers the truly disastrous effects of the Swine Flu following the... more

Greenpointer
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26 days ago
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3 comments

Kuwaiti Contractor May Have to Repay $130 Million to US Taxpayers

The extent of the massive waste and abuse surrounding the construction of the monstrous US embassy in Baghdad continues to expand. The State Department has just released another audit of the embassy’s construction and suggests that the Kuwaiti contractor hired by the Bush administration to do most of the construction work may have to repay more than $130 million to US taxpayers as a result of construction deﬁciencies, incomplete and undocumented design work, inadequate quality control and interest on unauthorized payments.

The Baghdad embassy—the largest of any nation on planet earth and ten times bigger than any other US embassy—is striking evidence indicating a continued US presence in the country for many years to come. The structure cost more than $700 million and is the size of 80 football fields. It is bigger than the Vatican, six times larger than the United Nations compound in New York and is about two thirds the size of the National Mall in Washington. It has space for 1,000 employees who are guarded by scores of paramilitary mercenary forces. In other words it is the perfect structure for a nation that claims to be leaving Iraq very soon.

Among the allegations against First Kuwaiti in the State Department audit are:

The company failed to follow contract specifications when it constructed “safe areas” in the embassy, which are “vital to protecting staff in emergency situations.”

Deficiencies at the embassy’s water treatment plant.

Using nonstandard wiring in the embassy’s power distribution system. The audit charges that First Kuwaiti “substituted a less reliable system.” The audit also says the company should repay $11 million because of the “additional operating costs” resulting from the installation of a “less efficient” system it installed.

Plumbing deficiencies at over 200 locations at the embassy.

The embassy’s fire protection systems are “not compliant with code,” while fire protection water mains were “improperly constructed.”

More @ linkThe extent of the massive waste and abuse surrounding the construction of the... more

Future_America
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1 month ago
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Anti-Waste Group Accused Of Massive Wasteful Ad Campaign

One of Washington's most forceful critics of government waste is being accused of,... more

tcmfan08
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1 month ago
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Mission Impossible?!? Can A Die-Hard Greenie Generate 0% Garbage In a 24 Hour Period?

Please take a moment to read all about the mini zero tolerance garbage experiment that... more

sfinfgeld2
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1 month ago
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1 comment

Learn new tricks with Amanda Holden

Watch Amanda Holden as she learns top tips for reusing and reducing packaging waste... more

PurpleLight
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1 month ago
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You'll not see them on prime time

There are things that you hardly see on television. Not only the hyper-censored... more

hyperion74
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1 month ago
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1 comment

An Inspiration - Interview with Activist Heidi Taylor.

Brief Bio: Heidi Taylor was born in Australia. She is the Co-Founder of Tangaroa... more

GreenhouseNeutralFoundation
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1 month ago
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Is Garbage The Solution To Tackling Climate Change?

Converting the rubbish that fills the world’s landfills into biofuel may be the... more

julesrs007
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1 month ago
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Waste, commercials and reality

Premier Berlusconi gaffe, freedom of press and the new houses in L'Aquila: so many... more

bibabiba
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1 month ago
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Packaging - Who Needs It?

What are we buying anyway? The product or the packaging? And one more thing, who makes... more

GreenhouseNeutralFoundation
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1 month ago
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McDonalds Density

If you go to northwest South Dakota, between Meadow and Glad Valley, there you will... more

pjacobs51
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1 month ago
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48 comments

‘Trash Humpers’: In Pursuit of Ugliness

"The new indie film Trash Humpers observes the lives of three fictional cretin-like... more

sk8bs55
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1 month ago
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Video: 20,000 Detergent Bottles Under the Sea

—Photo of marine debris courtesy of Tay Wiles. Front page photo courtesy of Project Kaisei.

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"benign by design."

it seems as though much of what we consume to day is here to stay. more particularly plastic products. How long could we expect to go on like this before it coming back to haunt us? not long, that is for sure.

Right now, as we speak there is a floating mass of garbage as big as the size of texas drifiting 400 miles off the coast of California. I don't know about you but this sounds like a job for....the conscientious consumer! Not only are we responsible for the goods we buy and the services we use them for but, also the recycling and disposal of used products.

it may seem like a monstrous task in the undertaking and that no one person can do it on their own, however, don't be deceived. it is possible and it is going to have to start with you. what you do with your time and money doesn't only affect you, it affects that of those around you as well. why you buy each product and what you use it for is your business except when the manner in which you dispose of it encroaches on your neighbors or the surrounding natural wild life.

despite all this, rest assured there have been motions towards movements against this and there are steps being made to take action and it can happen from your garage, out on your front lawn, in the alley, down on the corner, out in the street and then eventually the world. it's "micro-enviro-nomics." make it happen people. grass roots rock! see: http://current.com/items/90965135_the-dc-concierge-help-turn-dc-s-parking-spots-into-parks.htm ; http://current.com/items/90964353_parking-spaces-become-parks-in-hundreds-of-cities.htm // at the very least it is feigning an attempt at something bigger but it is better than nothing. let's join the cause so that all our efforts will not be in vain.

life is art: art is life; make it beautiful: make it happen.

~sk8bs55

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------—Photo of marine debris courtesy of Tay Wiles. Front page photo courtesy of Project... more

sk8bs55
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1 month ago
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tagged w/ Waste

The food we throw away

Non-Recyclable Disposable Single Cup Coffee Packaging. The K-Cup.

Worst Mass Poisoning of Humans in History

The 15 most toxic places to live

10% of US Energy Derived From Old Soviet Nukes

The Digital TV Switch Causes 70% Rise in E-Waste

Clean Space? Russia plans nuclear rocket for Mars, safe and ethical?

People of rubbish

Kuwaiti Contractor May Have to Repay $130 Million to US Taxpayers

Anti-Waste Group Accused Of Massive Wasteful Ad Campaign

Mission Impossible?!? Can A Die-Hard Greenie Generate 0% Garbage In a 24 Hour Period?

Learn new tricks with Amanda Holden

You'll not see them on prime time

An Inspiration - Interview with Activist Heidi Taylor.

Is Garbage The Solution To Tackling Climate Change?

Waste, commercials and reality

Packaging - Who Needs It?

McDonalds Density

‘Trash Humpers’: In Pursuit of Ugliness

Video: 20,000 Detergent Bottles Under the Sea

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