Cobalt mining in Congo: ‘In the urban mines of tomorrow, cobalt will be processed from broken flatscreens TVs, not acid-rinsed from a million tons of rubble.’ Photograph: Sebastian Meyer/Corbis/Getty Images
In the urban mines of tomorrow, gold will be extracted from old computers, not ore; cotton will be harvested from well-worn shirts, not fields; and cobalt will be processed from broken flatscreen TVs, not acid-rinsed from a million tons of rubble. If this all sounds like a pipe dream, note that the medals at the Tokyo Olympics are made of gold, silver and bronze recovered from the nation’s e-waste.
Source: Today it’s cool, tomorrow it’s junk. We have to act against our throwaway culture | Jonathan Chapman | The Guardian
Many Viequenses build their own homes, but this practice is hindered by the limited supply and high expense of building materials, which are shipped from the main island. The “Unearthing Resources” concept would help to make Vieques more self-sufficient by finding new uses for materials from the island’s growing landfill. The proposal would establish a warehouse for different categories of recycled materials, and provide educational resources for building techniques, including classes. An instructional booklet for materials reuse would help to evolve the culture of self-sufficiency.
Source: 13 Proposals to Boost Resilience in Vieques, Puerto Rico
The South Kent Landfill, image courtesy Kent County.
“There are a lot of building materials and resources that are winding up in landfills,” Wieland says. “People are actually talking about deconstructing things instead of just demolishing them. We’re looking at all the waste materials that come out of the building industry and reusing them is one of the ways to reduce that waste.”
Source: UIX: Turning trash into money is going to take a community effort
Ramekon O’Arwisters in a bathtub of dinnerware for “Smooth the Edges”
Beginning Friday, January 20th, Recology’s Artist in Residence (AIR) Program will uncover the work of three artists who were granted untethered access to the Recology Center’s 47-acres of castaway materials to reinvent their own gallery exhibitions.
Source: Recycle, Reuse, Create. The Latest from Recology’s Artist in Residence Program – SF Station – San Francisco’s City Guide
Michael Arcega collects thrown away materials into a shopping cart to be used to create art in his studio at Recology SF Saturday, Feb. 21, 2015. (Drake Newkirk / Xpress)
The residency program will provide the sculptor and installation artists with a studio, a monthly stipend and unlimited access to the dump area for materials. In addition to the time dedicated to the program, Arcega will also teach three classes at SF State and has recently debuted three pieces in the on-campus exhibit Hydarchy: Power, Globalization and the Sea.
via One man’s trash is an opportunity for a professor to create art | Golden Gate Xpress.
A salvage effort is set to recover some bricks as souvenirs from Connaught School in Regina. (CBC)
According to Elliot, some of the material includes decorative limestone and terrazzo pieces along with intact bricks.
Elliot said she learned that the bricks were destined to be crushed.
“Some of it may be used for roadways,” she said. “But … it sounded like they were just pulverizing it into the landfill itself.”
via Connaught bricks to be salvaged from Regina dump – Saskatchewan – CBC News.
The GSC, according to material provided by Team Gemini, will provide its own electricity, generating the equivalent of what would be needed to power 30,000 homes. It will power the industrial park and the COR3 facility, which will serve as the main collection point for municipal solid waste and extract from the weekly waste flow 5,000 tons of recyclables — roughly a quarter of what goes into the landfill now.
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The long-term plan of the project is to eventually collect all incoming waste and to tap into the landfill itself to reclaim already buried material.
“This will redirect a lot of trash from the landfill” said Franklin County Commissioner John O’Grady. “This will help the community for generations to come.”
via Gemini Synergy Center aims to reclaim a quarter of waste stream | ThisWeek Community News.
Reclamation Administration: News and Research on Building Material Waste Prevention