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'Zero waste' town recycles most of its trash

Sonia Narang

October 18, 2018 |

WHYY |

Radio |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: Japan, Kamikatsu

Kamikatsu, a small town in rural Japan, went from incinerating trash to recycling about 80 percent of it--all while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and saving money. The program is run by Zero Waste Academy, a nonprofit that helps train residents and businesses on best recycling practices. Now, Kamikatsu's success has drawn planners from around the world to learn.

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Women in Kenya Change Their Lives Through Basic Literacy Skills

Dominic Kirui

October 15, 2018 |

The Epoch Times |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Kenya

In a small town outside the Kenyan capital, a school offers adult education classes. Business and language courses have helped women to maximize the profits of their businesses and other entrepreneurial ventures.

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Taking Steps Toward a Community-Controlled Economy in Boston

Sandra Larson

October 12, 2018 |

Next City |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Boston, Massachusetts

The Boston Ujima Project is on “a mission to create an alternative economy,” one that is inclusive on all measures. The main initiative is a community capital fund, which is considering foregoing collateral on loans in exchange for other creative metrics, in the hopes of extending loans to those often excluding from traditional banking and investment. They are also creating a timebanking initiative, where labor that benefits the community can be used as a form of currency. An accessible Boston workshop cemented the group’s commitment to being community-driven.

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Every employee at this grilled cheese restaurant has a criminal record

Adele Peters

October 05, 2018 |

FastCompany |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Emily Turner, an attorney-turned-activist, runs the restaurant All Square, which only employs people with a criminal record. After years working in the field of prisoner reentry for the government, she decided to create a solution that would directly help people: providing jobs. By paying a living wage, providing mental health support, and teaching business skills, the “fellows,” as they are called, are finding a sustainable way to bounce back.

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Pot luck: the paint recyclers who put leftover litres to good use

Helen Pidd

October 01, 2018 |

The Guardian |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom

Home improvement projects often start with paint, but what happens when all of the purchased paint doesn't get used? Typically, it sits in someone's basement or storage closet with no plan for further use in sight. Community Repaint in the United Kingdom is committed to promoting the recycling of this paint, however, and has implemented 74 projects that work to re-sell or re-color unused paint, thus reducing the amount that's sent to landfills after it molds.

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'Startup in Residence' Wants to Help Entrepreneurs Understand City Hall

Linda Poon

September 28, 2018 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

A program in San Francisco to help small-businesses win government contracts is scaling to cities across the United States and Canada as more entrepreneurs look for ways to partner with government instead of just disrupting local markets. The program works by giving businesses an inside view of government processes, with four months dedicated to working in various departments, interviewing employees, and generally collaborating to produce products before entering into a contract.

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Changing the way people access the burliest waters in the country

Jason Blevins

September 28, 2018 |

The Colorado Sun |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Colorado

When faced with the challenge of creating a better raft to access unexplored whitewater, a family devised what is now known as the Alpacka Raft. Changing the way people can explore the outdoors, the family company has turned into "one of the largest custom outdoor gear manufacturing shops in the country."

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England has more than 200,000 empty homes. How to revive them?

Mattha Busby

September 25, 2018 |

The Guardian |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom, Stockton-on-Tees

There are an estimated over 200,000 vacant homes across England, and Community Campus 87 is one group attempting to bring those homes back to life. By employing apprentices, some who have experienced homelessness, to learn skills such as house painting, the social enterprise is helping homes as well as homeless people bounce back. This is just one example of a handful of social enterprises that are funding the rebuilding of vacant properties with the goal of filling the old homes with more affordable and sustainable housing.

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A Boost for the Worker-Owned Economy

Fran Korten

September 25, 2018 |

Yes! Magazine |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Washington, District of Columbia

Over two million baby boomers own their own companies, and with retirement looming, the government stepped in with a solution. A portion of a 2018 federal bill included language that will push the Small Business Administration to help baby boomers transition ownership of their companies to their employees if they wish. This will mitigate job loss often associated with a retiring business owner putting the company up for sale. Employee owners on average make a higher salary and have higher job stability, supporting the idea that employee ownership is beneficial for everyone involved, as well as for the econom

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The town that gave the world Spam is proud to be ‘autism-friendly'

Amy Ellis Nutt

September 23, 2018 |

The Washington Post |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Austin, Minnesota

In order to reduce autism stigma, the city of Austin, Minn., became an autism-friendly town. A system was created to label businesses as autism-friendly, if they implement specific requirements that reduce autism triggers like lowering the lights and diminishing loud noises, among others. Employees must also go through educational training's. So far, 15 businesses are designated as autism-friendly. The move, was “a grass-roots effort to improve our community. “Having this autism-friendly movement — it’s incredible to have people who want to understand.”

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