Tag Archives: waste

Waste News

‘No-waste’ Japanese village is a peek into carbon-neutral future | World news | The Guardian

Household waste in Kamikatsu must be sorted into no fewer than 45 categories

Household waste in Kamikatsu must be sorted into no fewer than 45 categories. Photograph: Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP via Getty Images

Household waste must be separated into no fewer than 45 categories, before being taken to a collection centre where volunteers ensure items go into the correct bin, occasionally issuing polite reminders to anyone who forgets to take the lid and label off a plastic bottle or remove nails from a plank of wood.

Source: ‘No-waste’ Japanese village is a peek into carbon-neutral future | World news | The Guardian

Portland Area, Reuse Design

GLEAN Portland

GLEAN, Portland, Oregon

GLEAN exhibit blurs boundaries of “trash,” showcases artists at Lovejoy Square, Aug. 1 – 25

Inspiration often arrives in unexpected packages. See how five local artists – Vanessa Calvert, Jeremy Okai Davis, Asa Mease, Miel-Margarita Paredes and Lauren Prado – transformed a steady stream of the Portland area’s trash into art. Their works will be on display and sale at Lovejoy Square, 1313 NW Kearney St., Portland. Opening reception from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 1. Gallery hours: noon to 5 p.m. Friday – Sunday. Ends Aug. 25. Wheelchair accessible. Gleanportland.com

Source: GLEAN Portland

Waste News

Removal of ceramics molds part of demolition work underway at Tarentum building | TribLIVE

Amanda Anderson, of Greensburg, an employee with American Architectural Salvage, tosses a ceramic mold onto a pile outside a building on Fifth Avenue in Tarentum that had housed a ceramics business on Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2018. The building is being emptied and gutted to be redeveloped as a community center called 'The Depot.'

Brian C. Rittmeyer

Amanda Anderson, of Greensburg, an employee with American Architectural Salvage, tosses a ceramic mold onto a pile outside a building on Fifth Avenue in Tarentum that had housed a ceramics business on Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2018. The building is being emptied and gutted to be redeveloped as a community center called ‘The Depot.’

The molds have been piled outside against the side of the building. They are destined to become clean fill, Rankin said.

Source: Removal of ceramics molds part of demolition work underway at Tarentum building | TribLIVE

Deconstruction

WASTE HERITAGE Symposium, Ottawa, Canada Oct 26-27, 2018 – deconstruction, salvage & re-use

The goal of this event is therefore to bring together individuals and organizations active in related areas of heritage conservation, urban, architectural and construction history, critical heritage and discard studies, building deconstruction, sustainable materials and waste management, to address these gaps and possibilities for bridging between these areas as part of projects, policies, research or creative practices.

Source: symposium overview – WASTE HERITAGE deconstruction, salvage & re-use

Reuse Design

Malmö Upcycling Service creates homeware from recycled waste material

Malmö Upcycling Service has repurposed waste material from six different local industries to create a range of decorative home objects. 

“The initiative aims at generating new ideas about how to shape and produce in a more sustainable manner as well as create the conditions for circular manufacturing,” said Anna Gudmundsdottir, co-founder of Malmö Upcycling Service. “We continuously visit local manufacturers to find what waste is left over when they produce other products.”

Source: Malmö Upcycling Service creates homeware from recycled waste material

Deconstruction, Policy/Regulations/Government

SustainableScoop- Jim Schulman, Alliance for Regional Cooperation – YouTube

Video

Founder of Community Forklift & Executive Manager of the Alliance for Regional Cooperation, Jim Schulman discusses his work on the Building Materials Reuse Association. His work in cooperation with the DC Sierra Club and others are pushing building code changes to help rescue building materials from the waste stream.

Waste News

Evolution of Decay: Watch American Buildings Fall Into Ruin Over 40+ Years | Urbanist

Architecture that was at its prime in the 1970s has slowly fallen into decline and often ruin thanks to decades of neglect, especially in America’s poorest and most racially segregated communities, including Gary, Detroit, Camden and Harlem.

Source: Evolution of Decay: Watch American Buildings Fall Into Ruin Over 40+ Years | Urbanist

Waste News, Women in Deconstruction

Where is She Now? – Michaela Harms 2014 Intern Extraordinaire

Michaela Harms

After interning with the RA in the summer of 2014, Michaela Harms continued her studies in Civil Engineering on exchange in Lefkosia, Cyprus at Frederick University. Her focus in the program was on structural design and renewable energies, both vital aspects of sustainable construction innovations. Now in her final year of studies, she has returned to Helsinki to work and complete her thesis on estimating decentralized renewable energy potentiality with Bionova, a Helsinki-based sustainability consulting company and LCA innovator.

Upon completing her BSc, Michaela plans to return stateside. She hopes to gain further expertise in research and design through work with an innovative sustainable building or renewable energy company. Her heart still lies in grass roots sustainable solutions. She hopes to continue to her Masters in 2017 at the Iceland School of Energy.

michaela

See Michaela’s catalog of work for the Reclamation Administration.  Our great thanks Michaela!

 

Interested in interning for a cutting edge social media site dedicated to reducing waste with building material reuse and architectural salvage? Join the Reclamation Administration – we give good internships! 

 

 

Waste News

Mushroom Materials: DIY Kit Grows Custom Compostable Products | Urbanist

pendant lamp mush lume

Turning agricultural waste and fungal mycelium into construction materials, this do-it-yourself kit lets you grow your own compostable bio-plastic objects, from packaging furniture to surf boards and architectural building blocks.

via Mushroom Materials: DIY Kit Grows Custom Compostable Products | Urbanist.

Waste News

Salvage, recycling can cut home improvement waste – Sentinel & Enterprise

* Speak to contractors about recycling. Contractors working on a home typically know which materials can be recycled in a given area. When discussing prospective projects with contractors, homeowners can mention their willingness to recycle materials. Wood is a versatile material that can be turned into reclaimed or composite wood products, including decks or other items used around the home. Old wood being removed from a home may even work as mulch, which homeowners can spread around their yards to add aesthetic appeal and protect plants on hot summer days. Even asphalt and concrete can be recycled into new products, and homeowners should discuss their wishes to recycle as many materials as possible.

via Salvage, recycling can cut home improvement waste – Sentinel & Enterprise.

State of the Oceans

Reducing Waste Plastic & Poverty Around the World Through The Plastic Bank – YouTube

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbwIhqkkkwo&w=854&h=510]

It’s our mission to clean up the ocean and planet by ensuring that anyone can collect enough plastics to permanently ascend from poverty.

The Plastic Bank is a plastics return, repurposing, and 3D printing center strategically located in areas around the world with both an abundance of plastic waste & poverty.

Our self-sustaining business model empowers the poor to harvest plastics as a currency for various opportunities including education, training, necessities and 3D printing services.

We call the plastics harvested by the poor or removed from our oceans & waterways ‘social plastics’ and it is our goal to lead the movement towards the worldwide demand for the use of social plastics in everyday products. The higher the worldwide demand becomes, the higher the reward will be for harvesting social plastics.

via Reducing Waste Plastic & Poverty Around the World Through The Plastic Bank – YouTube.

Policy/Regulations/Government, Reuse Centers

Derry ‘upcycle’ scheme to promote jobs – UTV Live News

Derry ‘upcycle’ scheme to promote jobs

The ReUse centre will provide quality, good value products for the community and will keep money in the local economy.

Minister Durkan hailed the project as a win-win for Derry.

“The ReUse Centre will deliver three major benefits to Derry, improving the environment, improving the local economy and improving the employment opportunities for young people,” he said.

“This facility will keep items out of landfill, assisting Derry’s drive to be a sustainable city. The resultant diversion of 500 tonnes of waste per year from landfill will help recycling and climate change targets.”

He continued: “The estimated £50,000 per year in landfill cost savings can now be invested in more worthwhile activities by the council rather than being buried in the ground.

“The refurbishment of items provides novel opportunities and skills to help our young people find jobs. What I and DOE are about is a better environment and a stronger economy and this will help towards that goal.”

DSD Minister McCausland congratulated Joe Brolly, Manager of 4Rs Social Enterprise Project on the project securing its first contract from Council.

via Derry ‘upcycle’ scheme to promote jobs – UTV Live News.

Reuse Design

Merry-Go-Round: A Collection Made of Waste Material – Design Milk

Merry Go Round: A Collection Made of Waste Material in home furnishings Category

Gothenburg, Sweden-based design studio, Design Stories, set out to create a collection made of industrial waste material produced by local companies. Working in collaboration with a group of producers and artisans called Returhuset, Merry-Go-Round was born. The pieces are made from materials that would normally be thrown away as trash and the results are a charming collection of lamps and tables with an interesting story to tell.

via Merry-Go-Round: A Collection Made of Waste Material – Design Milk.

Waste News

TEDxYYC – Jamie Furniss – Recyclers – YouTube

Jamie Furniss discuss “Recyclers” at TEDxYYC 2011.

Jamie was born in Whitehorse and grew up in the North. After attending Pearson College in Victoria, he studied common law and droit civil at the University of Ottawa. Since winning a Rhodes scholarship in 2006, he has been working on a Ph.D in international development at Oxford. He lived in Egypt for nearly 2 years, studying Arabic and learning about Cairo’s garbage collectors.

In 2010, he was assistant director of an ARTE documentary looking at the history of Cairo through its waste, and is currently developing a new film on garbage. He is based at a Middle East research centre in Lyon.

via TEDxYYC – Jamie Furniss – Recyclers – YouTube.

Waste News

US Throws $11.4 Billion in the Trash. Every Year. : TreeHugger

Can We Really Afford to Do That?

A recent report by As You Sow, a non-profit focusing on promoting “environmental and social corporate responsibility through shareholder advocacy, coalition building, and innovative legal strategies”, shows that Americans are throwing cash in the trash, almost literally. At least 11.4 billion dollars in recyclables – steel, plastics, glass, paper, etc – are not recycled and thus wasted. The report argues for “extended producer responsibility” (EPR), which would shift the responsibility for post-consumer waste from taxpayers and municipal governments to the companies that produce the packaging, creating incentives for producers to reduce the amount of packaging they create, increasing packaging recycling rates, providing revenue to improve recycling systems, and reducing carbon and energy use.

Read the entire article on TreeHgger.com via US Throws $11.4 Billion in the Trash. Every Year. : TreeHugger.