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Use of plastic bags in England drops by 59% in a year

Rebecca Smithers

July 30, 2020 |

The Guardian |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom, England

The sales of single-use plastic bags has dropped by more than 95 percent in England’s supermarkets since 2015 when a monetary fee was introduced to encourage shoppers to reduce their plastic waste. Despite this reduction, research suggests that the amount of plastic waste in the world’s oceans was still likely to triple in volume in the next 20 years.

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Beach Cleanups Prove Popular And Purposeful During Pandemic

Claire Caulfield

July 06, 2020 |

Honolulu Civil Beat |

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Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Hawaii

Since single-use plastic usage has increased since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, organizations in Hawaii are planning beach cleanup events to pick up the plastic waste. Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii’s first beach cleanup event since the start of the pandemic drew 150 registrations in less than a day. 808 Cleanups is growing its adopt-a-site program where households identify a beach, waterway, or trail they’d like to regularly clean up. Coordinating a large number of volunteers while maintaining social distancing guidelines has been difficult to navigate.

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Can social enterprise fix Pakistan's waste problem?

Asad Pabani

May 26, 2020 |

Pioneers Post |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Pakistan, Islamabad

Two organizations in Pakistan are working to tackle the country’s waste problem. Saaf Suthra Sheher in Islamabad set up partnerships with offices and schools to process their dry waste like plastics and glass. TrashIt, a Karachi-based group, collects organic waste from vegetable sellers and restaurants and then processes and sells it as compost. Although the two organizations can only process so much of the waste produced in cities, they argue that until an effective municipal waste collection system is implemented, they can educate individuals and businesses about how to recycle properly.

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Tech startups want to reinvent the bulk aisle—grocery's most glorious, affordable, unwieldy section. That's going to be harder than it looks.

Karine Vann

April 18, 2020 |

The Counter |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

The bulk food aisle in grocery stories - where dry goods are weighed and put in containers that consumers can bring from home - is getting more attention as tech solutions arise to revamp this shopping experience. From SmartBins to MIWA, solutions typically involve using technology to track weight more efficiently and cleanly while generating data on consumer habits. These solutions help consumers save money, have a higher profit margin for companies, and reduce waste in the process.

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Baltimore Social Enterprises Turn Abandoned Homes into High-End Furniture and So Much More

Scott Kirkwood

April 02, 2020 |

Next City |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Baltimore, Maryland

In Baltimore, a successful social enterprise collaboration involves employing formerly incarcerated people to deconstruct valuable old wood from abandoned homes, preparing the wood for production, then turning the wood into high-end furniture. The initiative has expanded by working with the U.S. Forest Service to repurpose fallen wood from around the country, and it has already found a new life for wood for at least 90 homes.

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Can You Recycle That? An AI Bot Can Let You Know

Victoria Swyers

March 31, 2020 |

Grady Newsource |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Can I Recycle This operates via social media profiles where, on Amazon Alexa and Facebook, the AI bot “Green Girl” tells people what materials can or cannot be recycled, helping avoid contamination of legitimate recyclables. The bot responds to descriptions and pictures with recommendations based on the user’s location. The company also takes questions on Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat, but answers come from staff and interns, not "Green Girl". Being only on social media limits accessibility, particularly for older generations, and the startup has only developed information for 10 cities in its databases.

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Baker who recycles bread expands waste-busting range

Rebecca Smithers

March 09, 2020 |

The Guardian |

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Under 800 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom, London, England

At Gail’s, a UK bakery chain, its new “Waste Not” line of food repurposes day-old food into new menu items, reducing waste in the process. By reusing resources, as part of the circular economy model, Gail’s minimizes waste while also making new bread, sandwiches, and even beer.

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How medication donation programs could be a game-changer in PA

Brianna Baker

February 25, 2020 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Cheyenne, Wyoming

Unused prescription drugs can often end up in landfills or in "the hands of those who may be vulnerable to misuse and addiction," so Wyoming has introduced a program to decrease those likelihoods from happening. This program, like that of other programs in 38 other states, collects unused medications and redistributes them to uninsured residents.

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University of Notre Dame converts tons of dining hall leftovers into energy

Catherine M. Odell

February 25, 2020 |

EarthBeat |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Notre Dame, Indiana

The University of Notre Dame installed three Grind2Energy systems, which aims to reduce the amount of food waste from the campus’ dining halls. The systems process the waste and send it to a local dairy farm where they break down the material to produce biogas that is used to generate electrical power for 1,000 homes each day in Plymouth, Indiana. While not everyone at the university has committed to the sustainability efforts, these systems can be scaled to be used on other college campuses.

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Money trees: U.S. cities find new ways of valuing urban forests

Carey L. Biron

February 20, 2020 |

Thomson Reuters Foundation |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Washington, District of Columbia

Policymakers, nonprofit leaders, and corporate heads have recently undertaken efforts to increase urban forestry. Urban trees decrease energy use, protect storm drain infrastructure, decrease noise, and help boost wellbeing. City Forest Credits in Seattle assesses urban tree projects for carbon credits that companies can purchase, while Baltimore has recycled trees into park furniture, and Sacramento continues to uphold its reputation as the “City of Trees.”

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