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

    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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  • Could a Detroit Experiment Unleash the Power of Urban Soil?

    July 16, 2020 |

    Civil Eats |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Detroit, Michigan

    A multi-year experiment in Detroit is looking at environmentally sustainable ways to build urban soil. Some urban farmers are concerned about the high alkalinity levels in their soils, which can lead to potentially contaminated produce. The project is studying how cover crops, compost, and tillage can improve a piece of land. Early results suggest that these techniques can improve soils for agriculture but also improve the soil’s capacity to absorb carbon to mitigate climate change in major cities.

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  • Tackling a notorious waste problem in Africa's largest informal community

    July 16, 2020 |

    Ensia |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: Kenya, Nairobi

    Kibra Green, a grassroots organization in Kenya, mobilizes the young people in the community to clean up their neighborhood. At times, the group has as many as 500 participants for a community-wide clean up. Yet, a lack of steady funding and socioeconomic barriers for volunteers to regularly contribute to the group has made it difficult to scale the organization.

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  • Beach Cleanups Prove Popular And Purposeful During Pandemic

    July 06, 2020 |

    Honolulu Civil Beat |

    Text |

    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?

    May 26, 2020 |

    Pioneers Post |

    Text |

    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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  • Chile's greenest town? What Finland can learn from La Pintana

    May 19, 2020 |

    BBC |

    Video |

    5-15 Minutes

    Response Location: Chile, La Pintana

    The Chilean town of La Pintana recycles and reuses everything in a circular economy which repurposes items that otherwise go to waste. La Pintana has reduced carbon emissions by 80 percent and is committed to minimizing waste despite the high costs of the programs.

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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.

    April 18, 2020 |

    The Counter |

    Text |

    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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  • “Ladies First!”: Women fight against solid waste dumping in this Himachal Pradesh village

    April 13, 2020 |

    Mongabay |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: India, Sudher, Himachal Pradesh

    A group of women volunteers, known as the Mahila Mandal, from Sudher in India are fighting against the dumping of garbage in their village and the pollution and potential negative health effects that come with it. Despite daily household and farm work, the group has been pressuring authorities through demonstrations and protests to clean up the solid waste dumping site.

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

    April 02, 2020 |

    Next City |

    Text |

    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

    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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