According to a report by Greenpeace, Philippines is the third worst plastic polluter of oceans.
However, there is hope for change through a trash management programme developed by nonprofit, Mother Earth Foundation. The city council of San Fernando allows the poor to make a living by picking through trash from every house daily and bring it all to sell at one of its 35 waste warehouses throughout the city.
Through this new system, more than 75 percent of waste gets composted or recycled and it costs the city council about 80 percent less to manage waste, as trash trucks are no longer required to collect waste from every house.
To boost plastic recycling, Dutch designer, Dave Hakkens, provides free tutorial at Precious Plastic so that one can learn t build a machine that can shred up plastic waste so that the material can be used to make useful artifacts.
More money can be made from a finished product than from recycling, if the poor adopt this idea.
Showing posts with label recyclables. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recyclables. Show all posts
Wednesday, 3 January 2018
Monday, 9 February 2009
Saturday, 2 August 2008
Zero Waste Stadiums. Is that possible?
Members of GreenYes are actively looking for ideas towards "Zero Waste Stadiums" It started with a request for ideas from the University of Colorado's Athletic Department to meet the school's carbon neutrality goal through waste reduction, packaging changes, and trash can removal.
What ideas can I contribute towards a future of "Zero Waste Stadiums"? Let me start from my experience from years helping out at the Asian Aerospace Show in Singapore for my former company.
The company gave away beer mugs as souvenirs with logos of the company and the aerospace event printed on each sides of the mugs. As the event occurs every two years, customers enjoy collecting them as the year of the event is printed on one side of the mug.
The same idea can be adapted for stadiums anywhere in the world. Encourage sports fans to buy cups or beer mugs or food containers sold at the stadium. Call it the "Be Sporting Green" programme. The price for these F&B containers can be reduced by getting sponsors to advertise on one side of the mugs along with that of the sporting event.
Owners of these F&B containers can be encouraged to use them by offering them discounts at outlets when they buy their drinks or food with them; not only at the stadium but at participating outlets in the country. Since the stadium do not have to engage more staff to sort or pick up recyclables F&B containers from waste, the savings can allow them to consider reducing rentals space of F&B outlets in the facility to encourage owners to participate in the programme.
Set up a dish washing station in the stadium so that customers can opt to wash their containers at this station if they do not want to carry dirty containers with them. Should they be charged for this service or can this be factored into the purchase of tickets, containers or food? The message to project with this dish washing station is "Wash only when full". So, instead of waiting for the cleaning process to start or finish, customers will be given a clean set on hand.
If that is not a good option, then a special bag made of drip proof and washable material will have to be given out to customers who buy the F&B containers. Make it free by getting sponsors to supply them as a green initiative.
To go one step further, create a website to sell these F&B containers from previous years. If customers know that what they bought from a stadium they have been to a few years back can become collectors' item they would keep them with more care. If this idea catch on globally, they can also exchange what they have with sport fans worldwide. This should eliminate the fear that these F&B containers will end up in landfills.
How's that for an idea? Want to join in the fun? Take a look at the following links suggested by other GreenYes members and see what you can come up with:
* Oakland Coliseum Complex
* CRRA's Venues and Special Events Recycling Council
* CIWMB Venue
* Del Mar Fairgrounds
* The University of California Davis has a Zero Waste stadium.
What ideas can I contribute towards a future of "Zero Waste Stadiums"? Let me start from my experience from years helping out at the Asian Aerospace Show in Singapore for my former company.
The company gave away beer mugs as souvenirs with logos of the company and the aerospace event printed on each sides of the mugs. As the event occurs every two years, customers enjoy collecting them as the year of the event is printed on one side of the mug.
The same idea can be adapted for stadiums anywhere in the world. Encourage sports fans to buy cups or beer mugs or food containers sold at the stadium. Call it the "Be Sporting Green" programme. The price for these F&B containers can be reduced by getting sponsors to advertise on one side of the mugs along with that of the sporting event.
Owners of these F&B containers can be encouraged to use them by offering them discounts at outlets when they buy their drinks or food with them; not only at the stadium but at participating outlets in the country. Since the stadium do not have to engage more staff to sort or pick up recyclables F&B containers from waste, the savings can allow them to consider reducing rentals space of F&B outlets in the facility to encourage owners to participate in the programme.
Set up a dish washing station in the stadium so that customers can opt to wash their containers at this station if they do not want to carry dirty containers with them. Should they be charged for this service or can this be factored into the purchase of tickets, containers or food? The message to project with this dish washing station is "Wash only when full". So, instead of waiting for the cleaning process to start or finish, customers will be given a clean set on hand.
If that is not a good option, then a special bag made of drip proof and washable material will have to be given out to customers who buy the F&B containers. Make it free by getting sponsors to supply them as a green initiative.
To go one step further, create a website to sell these F&B containers from previous years. If customers know that what they bought from a stadium they have been to a few years back can become collectors' item they would keep them with more care. If this idea catch on globally, they can also exchange what they have with sport fans worldwide. This should eliminate the fear that these F&B containers will end up in landfills.
How's that for an idea? Want to join in the fun? Take a look at the following links suggested by other GreenYes members and see what you can come up with:
* Oakland Coliseum Complex
* CRRA's Venues and Special Events Recycling Council
* CIWMB Venue
* Del Mar Fairgrounds
* The University of California Davis has a Zero Waste stadium.
Thursday, 10 July 2008
Muhammad will go to the mountain.
Working on the phrase, "If the mountain will not come to Muhammad, then Muhammad will go to the mountain"; what would you do, other than complaining, when you noticed that people are not recycling as much as they should?
Me? I would ROM, that is, "Research", "Observe" and "Motivate".
First, I do a search and start collecting data from articles I have read and pick up points from members of GreenYes, a forum I am active in. Here are some that I have collected.
From GreenYes members on used beverage containers being trashed at events:
1) Problem observed: Percentage of beverage containers in the trash is directly related to the distance from the trash receptacle to the receptacle (recycling bin) for beverage containers.
Solution: Place containers receptacle (recycling bin) right next to the trash can.
2) People love to set them on either side of a doorway or path.
Solution: Recruiting volunteers to stand by the waste/recycle stations and coach folks in getting their waste into the right receptacle.
3) A useful link posted:
Barrier/Motivation Inventories by Aceti Associates provides influential factors through studies conducted to uncover what would stop or encourage someone to a specific "green" activity.
Here are some observations extracted from Aceti Associates:
1) Sign Strategy: When signs were posted indicating the number of aluminum cans deposited each week in recycling receptacles, can recycling increased by 65% at a Minnesota University.
My take: Place such signs in areas where recyclables are often left behind; either side of a doorway or path.
2) Outreach Volunteer Strategy: When outreach volunteers in Claremont, California personally provided non-recycling neighbors with recycling information, 28% of the non-participants began recycling curbside on a weekly basis. In contrast, when recycling information was simply dropped off to another group of non-recyclers, only 12% recycled every week. Other studies have shown that the outreach volunteer strategy can also be used effectively in drop-off communities.
My Take: Recruiting volunteers earlier mentioned does work.
3) School Recycling Incentive Program: In Cambridge, Massachusetts, monetary and non-monetary incentives, combined with other behavior change tools, led public schools to increase paper recycling by 148% over a period of three years.
My Take: Create ideas that would provide monetary and non-monetary incentives.
4) Commitment Strategy: Residents of Portland, Oregon who signed a commitment to recycle newspaper recycled 253% more than another group that simply had information dropped off at their door. Furthermore, the group that had made a written commitment continued to recycle more than the information-only group even after being informed that their commitment to the project was over.
My take: Brochures or tickets sold at events to include a commitment to recycle form.
5) Waltham Pilot Report: A pilot project conducted in the City of Waltham tested three different strategies that involved distributing a curbside bin decal to residents. The decal displayed photographs of recyclable items.
My Take: Putting trash can and recycling bin together would work better by pasting decal with photograph of recyclable item for each bin.
So, based on these points collected, what can I come up with to motivate Muhammad (recyclables abandoner) to go to the mountain (recycling bins)?
Look out for my write up on CSR Vending; an idea that would provide monetary and non-monetary incentives for recycling beverage cans.
Me? I would ROM, that is, "Research", "Observe" and "Motivate".
First, I do a search and start collecting data from articles I have read and pick up points from members of GreenYes, a forum I am active in. Here are some that I have collected.
From GreenYes members on used beverage containers being trashed at events:
1) Problem observed: Percentage of beverage containers in the trash is directly related to the distance from the trash receptacle to the receptacle (recycling bin) for beverage containers.
Solution: Place containers receptacle (recycling bin) right next to the trash can.
2) People love to set them on either side of a doorway or path.
Solution: Recruiting volunteers to stand by the waste/recycle stations and coach folks in getting their waste into the right receptacle.
3) A useful link posted:
Barrier/Motivation Inventories by Aceti Associates provides influential factors through studies conducted to uncover what would stop or encourage someone to a specific "green" activity.
Here are some observations extracted from Aceti Associates:
1) Sign Strategy: When signs were posted indicating the number of aluminum cans deposited each week in recycling receptacles, can recycling increased by 65% at a Minnesota University.
My take: Place such signs in areas where recyclables are often left behind; either side of a doorway or path.
2) Outreach Volunteer Strategy: When outreach volunteers in Claremont, California personally provided non-recycling neighbors with recycling information, 28% of the non-participants began recycling curbside on a weekly basis. In contrast, when recycling information was simply dropped off to another group of non-recyclers, only 12% recycled every week. Other studies have shown that the outreach volunteer strategy can also be used effectively in drop-off communities.
My Take: Recruiting volunteers earlier mentioned does work.
3) School Recycling Incentive Program: In Cambridge, Massachusetts, monetary and non-monetary incentives, combined with other behavior change tools, led public schools to increase paper recycling by 148% over a period of three years.
My Take: Create ideas that would provide monetary and non-monetary incentives.
4) Commitment Strategy: Residents of Portland, Oregon who signed a commitment to recycle newspaper recycled 253% more than another group that simply had information dropped off at their door. Furthermore, the group that had made a written commitment continued to recycle more than the information-only group even after being informed that their commitment to the project was over.
My take: Brochures or tickets sold at events to include a commitment to recycle form.
5) Waltham Pilot Report: A pilot project conducted in the City of Waltham tested three different strategies that involved distributing a curbside bin decal to residents. The decal displayed photographs of recyclable items.
My Take: Putting trash can and recycling bin together would work better by pasting decal with photograph of recyclable item for each bin.
So, based on these points collected, what can I come up with to motivate Muhammad (recyclables abandoner) to go to the mountain (recycling bins)?
Look out for my write up on CSR Vending; an idea that would provide monetary and non-monetary incentives for recycling beverage cans.
Wednesday, 19 December 2007
Tips for Recycling Boy at KAB
Recycling Boy of "Keep America Beautiful", one of the superheroes I posted about, has a problem getting people to recycle properly. If he can fly long haul, he would be able to study how people in other countries solved this problem.
In Taiwan, the people there would never missed the trucks for garbage and recycling because they play melodic music to warn of their arrivals.
On top of that:
1) Residents must place their recyclables only in city-approved trash bags that can be easily purchased from 7-Eleven.
2) The truck for collecting recyclables comes five nights a week and drives slowly down the streets or park at a designated spot.
3) The truck accepts only certain items on certain days, example, Styrofoam trays and cardboard dumpling boxes, are collected only on Mondays and Fridays.
4) Residents have to heave the bags onto the truck themselves.
I am sure that this concept can be modified to fit the lifestyle of any country facing the same problem. Imagine a truck with music playing driving around the neighbourhood streets. That should get the children interested enough to check out if the ice-cream man is around the corner and learn instead about recycling. Your 2-in-1 solution.
Do you want to know why the Taiwanese are willing to make these efforts? Julia Ross has the answer for you in her write up about "What I Picked Up About Trash in Taipei" during her stay in Taiwan.
In Taiwan, the people there would never missed the trucks for garbage and recycling because they play melodic music to warn of their arrivals.
On top of that:
1) Residents must place their recyclables only in city-approved trash bags that can be easily purchased from 7-Eleven.
2) The truck for collecting recyclables comes five nights a week and drives slowly down the streets or park at a designated spot.
3) The truck accepts only certain items on certain days, example, Styrofoam trays and cardboard dumpling boxes, are collected only on Mondays and Fridays.
4) Residents have to heave the bags onto the truck themselves.
I am sure that this concept can be modified to fit the lifestyle of any country facing the same problem. Imagine a truck with music playing driving around the neighbourhood streets. That should get the children interested enough to check out if the ice-cream man is around the corner and learn instead about recycling. Your 2-in-1 solution.
Do you want to know why the Taiwanese are willing to make these efforts? Julia Ross has the answer for you in her write up about "What I Picked Up About Trash in Taipei" during her stay in Taiwan.
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