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Elevating Trash Talk: Addressing Jakarta’s Organic Waste Problem

04.15.20

Every year, we throw away about one-third of the world’s food. This is the equivalent of USD 936 billion, more than the Netherlands’ entire GDP.1 Most of this food is dumped in landfills where it decomposes and produces greenhouse gases (GHG). In 2010, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimated that about 3 percent […]

A circular economy for all: The case for integrating the informal waste sector in developing countries

02.17.20

To outsiders, Minh Khai Village in Vietnam is an assault to the senses; bales of plastic waste line its streets, waterways are deluged with litter, and toxic fumes permeate the air. Minh Khai is believed to be the largest plastic waste importer in the country[1]. It is made up of more than 1000 households, which […]

A Million-Ton Disaster: America’s Recycling is Trash

06.6.19

BY LISA SETRAKIAN What happens to your recycling when the noisy, traffic-inducing truck picks it up each week? If you are like me, you picture it arriving at a nearby plant and then magically getting reincarnated. The reality is more complicated. First, our recycling is cleaned, sorted, and packaged into bales at local Materials Recovery […]

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