Sustainable hotel waste management — How hospitality is tackling its waste problem
This summer, hotels across the US will begin to resume normality. The COVID-19 pandemic hit the hospitality industry particularly hard, and after 18 months of restrictions, hotels are ready to welcome guests back. While much of the hospitality industry was beginning to focus on more sustainable operations before the pandemic, today, there are new elements…Read More…
How to recycle food waste in New Jersey – A guide
According to the EPA, the food waste we produce and send to landfill is the third largest source of human-related methane emissions in the US. Methane is a greenhouse gas that is 25 times more damaging than carbon dioxide, and since the industrial revolution, there has been a 250% increase in the amount of this gas in the atmosphere. Around one-fifth of all municipal solid…Read More…
Plastic eating bacteria – A new solution for plastic waste or just science fiction?
Every year, more than 380 million tons of plastic is produced around the world. A large portion of this plastic will end up in landfill, polluting our oceans and countryside, or be incinerated. In fact, with just 8.7% of plastic currently being recycled, chances are that well over 90% of the plastic we produce will…Read More…
Is recycling worth it? A look at the costs and benefits of recycling.
Today, the recycling industry is big business and as municipalities across the US strive to keep waste out of landfill, city- and statewide recycling seems like the right approach to our growing trash. Yet for a business or organization considering the costs of waste management, recycling is another expense that gets added into operational overhead,…Read More…
Interview with Brian Goldberg Assistant Director of MIT’s Office of Sustainability
Organizations are undergoing transformations to meet individual and community-driven sustainability goals. We sat down with Brian Goldberg, who works in MIT’s Office of Sustainability, to discuss how data drives their decision-making and the impact waste management makes on meeting their goals. Q: Tell us about yourself and your role on campus? I’m passionate about solving…Read More…
How to recycle food waste in DC – A guide
While food waste constitutes a troubling 22% of all waste generated in the US, it’s easy to think that because food biodegrades, it’s not as much of a problem as the plastic, metal, and other materials that end up in landfill. The truth is, that food and other organic waste present numerous issues if not…Read More…
The top five waste management resources your business needs to know
Waste management is an increasingly important topic for businesses and consumers across the country. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the total generation of municipal solid waste (MSW) in 2018 was 292.4 million tons, or 4.9 pounds per person, per day. Of this waste, just 69 million tons was recycled and 25 million tons…Read More…
PPE recycling – The need for innovation now
From the beginning of the pandemic, PPE has been in high demand and in heavy use. Due to its single-use nature, it’s leaving a damaging mark on the environment. In Spain, the amount of medical waste generated has increased by a staggering 350%, while China has seen an even bigger surge in medical waste, with…Read More…
How to recycle food waste in Chicago – A guide
As of 2015, the City of Chicago produced nearly 55 million pounds of food waste, a staggering amount of food scraps for a city with fewer than three million people! Across the state of Illinois, that figure rises to a massive 19 million tons of food waste going directly to landfill as of 2019, and with each American generating around…Read More…
Recycling offenders – The most difficult materials to recycle
Recycling has been a key part of sustainable waste management for decades, however, as many people both inside and outside of the recycling industry have pointed out, recycling alone won’t save the planet. Today, despite the advances and innovations within the industry, there are still many materials that are difficult to recycle. And, with new products…Read More…