Download or read book Recycling Reconsidered written by Samantha Macbride and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2011-12-09 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How the success and popularity of recycling has diverted attention from the steep environmental costs of manufacturing the goods we consume and discard. Recycling is widely celebrated as an environmental success story. The accomplishments of the recycling movement can be seen in municipal practice, a thriving private recycling industry, and widespread public support and participation. In the United States, more people recycle than vote. But, as Samantha MacBride points out in this book, the goals of recycling—saving the earth (and trees), conserving resources, and greening the economy—are still far from being realized. The vast majority of solid wastes are still burned or buried. MacBride argues that, since the emergence of the recycling movement in 1970, manufacturers of products that end up in waste have successfully prevented the implementation of more onerous, yet far more effective, forms of sustainable waste policy. Recycling as we know it today generates the illusion of progress while allowing industry to maintain the status quo and place responsibility on consumers and local government. MacBride offers a series of case studies in recycling that pose provocative questions about whether the current ways we deal with waste are really the best ways to bring about real sustainability and environmental justice. She does not aim to debunk or discourage recycling but to help us think beyond recycling as it is today.
Download or read book Recycling for the Future written by and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Industry 4 0 and Circular Economy written by Antonis Mavropoulos and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2020-11-16 with total page 447 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How the marriage of Industry 4.0 and the Circular Economy can radically transform waste management—and our world Do we really have to make a choice between a wasteless and nonproductive world or a wasteful and ultimately self-destructive one? Futurist and world-renowned waste management scientist Antonis Mavropoulos and sustainable business developer and digital strategist Anders Nilsen respond with a ringing and optimistic “No!” They explore the Earth-changing potential of a happy (and wasteless) marriage between Industry 4.0 and a Circular Economy that could—with properly reshaped waste management practices—deliver transformative environmental, health, and societal benefits. This book is about the possibility of a brand-new world and the challenges to achieve it. The fourth industrial revolution has given us innovations including robotics, artificial intelligence, 3D-printing, and biotech. By using these technologies to advance the Circular Economy—where industry produces more durable materials and runs on its own byproducts—the waste management industry will become a central element of a more sustainable world and can ensure its own, but well beyond business as usual, future. Mavropoulos and Nilsen look at how this can be achieved—a wasteless world will require more waste management—and examine obstacles and opportunities such as demographics, urbanization, global warming, and the environmental strain caused by the rise of the global middle class. · Explore the new prevention, reduction, and elimination methods transforming waste management · Comprehend and capitalize on the business implications for the sector · Understand the theory via practical examples and case studies · Appreciate the social benefits of the new approach Waste-management has always been vital for the protection of health and the environment. Now it can become a crucial role model in showing how Industry 4.0 and the Circular Economy can converge to ensure flourishing, sustainable—and much brighter—future.
Download or read book The Future of Packaging written by Tom Szaky and published by Berrett-Koehler Publishers. This book was released on 2019-02-05 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Outstanding Book of the Year gold medalist and “Most Likely to Save the Planet” from the Independent Book Publisher Awards. Tom Szaky sets out to do the impossible – eliminate all waste. This book paints a future of a “circular economy” that relies on responsible reuse and recycling to propel the world towards eradicating overconsumption and waste. Only 35 percent of the 240 million metric tons of waste generated in the United States alone gets recycled, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. This extraordinary collection shows how manufacturers can move from a one-way take-make-waste economy that is burying the world in waste to a circular, make-use-recycle economy. Steered by Tom Szaky, recycling pioneer, eco-capitalist, and founder and CEO of TerraCycle, each chapter is coauthored by an expert in his or her field. From the distinct perspectives of government leaders, consumer packaged goods companies, waste management firms, and more, the book explores current issues of production and consumption, practical steps for improving packaging and reducing waste today, and big ideas and concepts that can be carried forward. Intended to help every business from a small start-up to a large established consumer product company, this book serves as a source of knowledge and inspiration. The message from these pioneers is not to scale back but to innovate upward. They offer nothing less than a guide to designing ourselves out of waste and into abundance.
Download or read book The Rubbish Book written by James Piper and published by Unbound Publishing. This book was released on 2022-02-17 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Plastic bottles, cardboard boxes, aluminium cans... we all get through a lot of rubbish, but do you really know what happens after you put it in the bin? Are you even sure which bin it goes in? Recycling has never been more important – but it has also never been more complicated. Where do you put bottle lids? Why can't black plastic be recycled? What do you do with labels? The Rubbish Book answers all these questions and many more, providing you with all the information you need to become a true recycling expert, so you can help protect the planet with confidence. Written by an award-winning sustainability expert, it includes an A–Z of household items and whether they can be recycled; an in-depth look at the collection and sorting processes; a break-down of what the recycling symbols on our packaging actually mean; and an insight into the future of recycling and the new materials that will change the way we look at rubbish for ever.
Download or read book Recent Developments in Plastic Recycling written by Jyotishkumar Parameswaranpillai and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2021-10-01 with total page 383 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides a systematic and comprehensive account of the recent developments in the recycling of plastic waste material. It presents state-of-the-art procedures for recycling of plastics from different sources and various characterization methods adopted in analyzing their properties. In addition, it looks into properties, processing, and applications of recycled plastic products as one of the drivers for sustainable recycling plastics especially in developing countries. This book proves a useful reference source for both engineers and researchers working in composite materials science as well as the students attending materials science, physics, chemistry, and engineering courses.
Download or read book Explaining the Future written by Sunny Bains and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2019-01-04 with total page 223 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Will this new technology work to solve the problem its inventors claim it will? Is it likely to succeed? What is the right technical solution for a particular problem? Can we narrow down the options before we invest in development? How do we persuade our colleagues, investors, clients, or readers of our technical reasoning? Whether you're a researcher, a consultant, a venture capitalist, or a technology officer, you may need to be able to answer these questions systematically and with clarity. Most people learn these skills through years of experience. However, they are so basic to a high-level technical career that they should be made explicit and learned up front. Bains provides you with the tools you need to think through how to match new (and old) technologies, materials, and processes with applications. It starts with key questions to ask, goes through the resources you'll need to answer them, and helps you think through who is most (and least) likely to deserve your trust. Next, it talks you through analyzing the information you've gathered in a systematic way. The book includes chapters on audience (and how to tailor your explanation to them), how to make a persuasive and structured technical argument, and how to write this up in a way that is credible and easy to follow. Finally, the book includes a case study: a real worked example that goes from an idea through the twists and turns of the research and analysis process to a final report.
Download or read book The Water Recycling Revolution written by William M. Alley and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2022-04-18 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A 2023 Choice Reviews Outstanding Academic Title Move past the “yuck factor” by learning the benefits and science behind recycling wastewater to beat climate change. In recent years, humans have begun to turn the age-old taboo against mixing sewage and drinking water on its head by using advanced treated wastewater to supplement a city’s drinking water supply. This increasingly widespread practice, known as potable reuse, qualifies as nothing less than a drinking water revolution. Water reuse offers a renewable, locally managed, and drought resistant water supply. The Water Recycling Revolution tracks the story of this development, examines the pros and cons, and explores its future potential. In this book, William M. Alley and Rosemarie Alley answer our most pressing questions: How do you get people to overcome the visceral reaction known as the “Yuck Factor” and not only drink, but appreciate, recycled water? What about all those pharmaceuticals and personal care products that people casually flush down the drain? Will diverting discharges from a wastewater treatment plant damage downstream users or ecosystems that previously depended on that water? And what are the implications for climate change? These questions are answered by delving into the history of major water recycling projects from California to Virginia, each with a unique story of what led them to develop potable reuse, as well as the challenges they had to overcome. Additional concerns addressed include pathogens, contaminants of emerging concern, achieving acceptable risk, onsite and decentralized reuse systems, and directpotable reuse. Recycling wastewater can make for a bright future in the fight against climate change, and this book is a valuable resource to convince readers.
Download or read book The Recycling Myth written by Jack Buffington and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2015-12-14 with total page 166 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book states the harsh truth: that despite best intentions, our current environmental practices are doing more harm than good, and that the solution lies in creating supply chains of the future that design, produce, consume, and reuse materials in a manner that is balanced economically and environmentally. One billion beverage containers are used on a daily basis in the United States, with at least 600 million of them ending up in landfills. Even the 400 million that are recycled—at a great cost—are not accomplishing the task of helping the environment. This economic and environmental catastrophe cannot be solved by recycling programs. From his experience as a leader in the American consumer beverage industry and a researcher in Sweden, author Jack Buffington has developed a transformational solution that seeks to not just mitigate the environmental damage but jumpstart the economy while actually achieving zero waste. The Recycling Myth tells the story of how our current environmental practices are unintentionally doing more harm than good and how we need to create a radically different supply chain of the future that must, as best as possible, copy the natural system of growth, decay, and regrowth, and discontinue a disastrous pattern of material design and use. Backed by irrefutable evidence, the book destroys our comfortable notions of the recycling status quo; explains why recycling will never work in the United States, despite decades of attempts; and introduces a new system that will actually work—without asking consumers to consume less.
Download or read book How to Live a Low Carbon Life written by Christopher Goodall and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2012-05-04 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drastic reduction of carbon emissions is vital if we are to avoid a catastrophe that devastates large parts of the world. Governments and businesses have been slow to act - individuals need to take the lead now if we are to avoid climate chaos.Each Westener is responsible for an average 10 - 20 tonnes of carbon emissions each year (depending on where you live). In How to Live a Low-Carbon Life, Chris Goodall shows how easy it is to take responsibility, providing a comprehensive, one-stop reference guide to calculating your CO2 emissions and reducing them to a more sustainable 2 tonnes a year.
Download or read book Environmental Engineering for the 21st Century written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2019-03-08 with total page 125 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Environmental engineers support the well-being of people and the planet in areas where the two intersect. Over the decades the field has improved countless lives through innovative systems for delivering water, treating waste, and preventing and remediating pollution in air, water, and soil. These achievements are a testament to the multidisciplinary, pragmatic, systems-oriented approach that characterizes environmental engineering. Environmental Engineering for the 21st Century: Addressing Grand Challenges outlines the crucial role for environmental engineers in this period of dramatic growth and change. The report identifies five pressing challenges of the 21st century that environmental engineers are uniquely poised to help advance: sustainably supply food, water, and energy; curb climate change and adapt to its impacts; design a future without pollution and waste; create efficient, healthy, resilient cities; and foster informed decisions and actions.
Download or read book Rubber Recycling written by Jin Kuk Kim and published by Royal Society of Chemistry. This book was released on 2018-10-03 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rubber is used in a vast number of products, from tyres on vehicles to disposable surgical gloves. Increasingly both manufacturers and legislators are realising that recycling is essential for environmental sustainability and can improve the cost of manufacture. The volume of rubber waste produced globally makes it difficult to manage as accumulated waste rubber, especially in the form of tyres, can pose a significant fire risk. Recycling rubber not only prevents this problem but can produce new materials with desirable properties that virgin rubbers lack. This book presents an up-to-date overview of the fundamental and applied aspects of renewability and recyclability of rubber materials, emphasising existing recycling technologies with significant potential for future applications along with a detailed outline of new technology based processing of rubber to reuse and recycle. This book will be of interest to researchers in both academia and industry as well as postgraduate students working in polymer chemistry, materials processing, materials science and engineering.
Download or read book A Trip to the Recycling Center written by Sara Milner and published by The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. This book was released on 2016-12-15 with total page 26 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recycling is an important part of helping the planet. In this narrative, readers will learn all about their local community recycling center. Each spread features text that is perfect for kindergarteners and perfect for reading to younger kids. Full-color photographs of familiar sights and events help readers make connections with the text. Children will love learning about how old paper and metal are turned into new things through the magic of recycling.
Download or read book Plastic Waste and Recycling written by Trevor Letcher and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2020-03-10 with total page 688 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Plastic Waste and Recycling: Environmental Impact, Societal Issues, Prevention, and Solutions begins with an introduction to the different types of plastic materials, their uses, and the concepts of reduce, reuse and recycle before examining plastic types, chemistry and degradation patterns that are organized by non-degradable plastic, degradable and biodegradable plastics, biopolymers and bioplastics. Other sections cover current challenges relating to plastic waste, explain the sources of waste and their routes into the environment, and provide systematic coverage of plastic waste treatment methods, including mechanical processing, monomerization, blast furnace feedstocks, gasification, thermal recycling, and conversion to fuel. This is an essential guide for anyone involved in plastic waste or recycling, including researchers and advanced students across plastics engineering, polymer science, polymer chemistry, environmental science, and sustainable materials. - Presents actionable solutions for reducing plastic waste, with a focus on the concepts of collection, re-use, recycling and replacement - Considers major societal and environmental issues, providing the reader with a broader understanding and supporting effective implementation - Includes detailed case studies from across the globe, offering unique insights into different solutions and approaches
Download or read book Introduction to Plastics Recycling written by Vannessa Goodship and published by iSmithers Rapra Publishing. This book was released on 2007 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As in the successful first edition, this book provides straightforward information on plastic materials and technology, including the options for recycling plastics, with special focus on mechanical recycling. This new edition reflects the great strides that have been made to increase recycling rates worldwide in recent years. It considers the expansion of infrastructure in the UK to support plastic recycling and major achievements that have been made in gaining widespread public support and participation for recycling schemes; specifically the need to manage waste on an individual household level. Current issues surrounding council recycling of plastic bottles, and the practice of providing free plastic carrier bags by supermarkets, are also considered. Biopolymers are expected to have a major impact on plastic markets in the future and therefore some of the issues of biodegradability versus recycling are expanded in this second edition, as is the wider context of life cycle analysis and legislation.
Download or read book Reduce Reuse Reimagine written by Beth Porter and published by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. This book was released on 2018 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: People are proud to recycle, but in recent years many have become suspicious the process isn't operating as seamlessly as we'd like to think. Reduce, Reuse, Reimagine makes sense of the complex system for any reader who wants to learn how it works, what the problems are, and what they can do to help recycling thrive
Download or read book The Circular Economy written by Ken Webster and published by Ellen MacArthur Foundation Publishing. This book was released on 2017-01-31 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides an overview of a circular economy. This model has profound consequences for production, employment, education, money & finance but also induces a shift in public policy and taxation. Its economic advantage lies in designing out waste and favouring radical resource productivity with the prospect of rebuilding capital & resilience.
