Materials and Waste

The Poisoned Generation

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The Poisoned Generation

Inside the apartment, her boys were insulated from the crossfire outside. But like thousands of others seeking shelter behind the peeling walls muffling the bubbling bass dripping from Crown Vic speakers, the poison of lead would find a way into her sons’ bodies all the same. Ryan and Ronnie, along with thousands of other poor children in New Orleans whose parents believed they could shelter their children from the violence outside, would become an entire poisoned generation.

Lead was only one of many ecological risks her family faced. The playgrounds where Ryan and Ronnie played often brimmed with pools of fetid, standing water—owing to New Orleans’s fabled and constant flooding—that were sometimes tainted with battery acid. Billieson had heard tell about the regurgitated sewage and chemical waste from Louisiana’s booming petrochemical operations that flowed back into dirt common spaces where her children learned to walk, all while they breathed in the emissions from the nearby roads and highways.

What Really Happens When You Donate Your Clothes—And Why It’s Bad

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What Really Happens When You Donate Your Clothes—And Why It’s Bad

What actually happens to your donated clothes is a very involved process with a lot of complicated layers, each worth taking the time to understand. Let’s start here: Contrary to popular (naive) belief, less than 20 percent of clothing donations sent to charities are actually resold at those charities. Generally, the other 80 percent is sent to textile recyclers who then determine the next cycle of the garment's life. Almost half of the donations will be exported and sold in developing countries, while the other half will be recycled into rags and household insulation.

Landfill operators say cap-and-trade could cost $138M in first year alone if emissions standards not changed | Waste Dive

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Landfill operators say cap-and-trade could cost $138M in first year alone if emissions standards not changed | Waste Dive

Growing scrutiny of landfill emissions is becoming a flashpoint for the waste industry, as shareholders and regulators alike increasingly prioritize sustainability and climate action.

That heightened attention is creating concern in the sector, as operators of all sizes worry about the possibility of regulations — potentially in the form of a cap-and-trade program — along with financial repercussions. Many also argue the U.S. EPA's current approach to measuring greenhouse gas emissions doesn't properly capture the levels coming from landfills, which are notoriously difficult to gauge.

What Happens When You Give Up Plastic

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What Happens When You Give Up Plastic

And therein lies the rub. Currently organic, plastic-free living is a lifestyle option that’s only truly accessible to those with a significant disposable income and who live in particular areas. It is, in other words, a niche market. Time, money and access will restrict most people from being able to make ethical consumer decisions, even if they want to.

While we can make some significant changes to our own consumption habits, relying on market mechanisms or placing the burden of responsibility onto the consumer won’t solve the problem: plastic is a political issue.

That means nothing will change without collective, grassroots demands for reform at all levels – from how it is used to how it is sold to how it is disposed of. It’s a problem that requires thinking much bigger than the shopping cart – though perhaps the shopping cart is as good a place as any to start.

Department of Defense Illegally Burning Stockpiles of Toxic “Forever Chemicals” | Earthjustice

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Department of Defense Illegally Burning Stockpiles of Toxic “Forever Chemicals” | Earthjustice

New York, NY — Today, environmental and community groups sued the Department of Defense (DOD) over its contracts to burn millions of gallons of unused firefighting foam containing PFAS in incinerators across the country. The DOD is the nation’s largest user of firefighting foam containing PFAS, a class of highly persistent and toxic chemicals that are known to cause cancer, liver disease, infertility, and other serious health effects.

According to government documents Earthjustice obtained via Freedom of Information Act requests, PFAS burning already took place, or is taking place, in the towns of East Liverpool, Ohio; Arkadelphia and El Dorado, Arkansas; and Cohoes, New York. The contracts also authorize PFAS incineration in other locations, including Port Arthur, Texas, and Sauget, Illinois. Incineration may already be underway in those and other locations, too, but DOD has not fully responded to FOIA requests seeking a full list of incineration locations.

I guess it's not a problem if the fire is hot enough to fully break up the carbon chains, but it's good to ask questions and not trust the government at it's word, because it doesn't always do the right thing.

America’s ‘recycled’ plastic waste is clogging landfills, survey finds | US news | The Guardian

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America’s ‘recycled’ plastic waste is clogging landfills, survey finds | US news | The Guardian

Many plastic items that Americans put in their recycling bins aren’t being recycled at all, according to a major new survey of hundreds of recycling facilities across the US.

The research, conducted by Greenpeace and released on Tuesday, found that out of 367 recycling recovery facilities surveyed none could process coffee pods, fewer than 15% accepted plastic clamshells – such as those used to package fruit, salad or baked goods – and only a tiny percentage took plates, cups, bags and trays.

The findings confirm the results of a Guardian investigation last year, which revealed that numerous types of plastics are being sent straight to landfill in the wake of China’s crackdown on US recycling exports. Greenpeace’s findings also suggest that numerous products labeled as recyclable in fact have virtually no market as new products. Recycling isn’t working – here are 15 ways to shrink your plastic footprint Read more

While the report found there is still a strong recycling market for bottles and jugs labeled #1 or #2, such as plastic water bottles and milk containers, the pipeline has bottomed out for many plastics labelled #3-7, which fall into a category dubbed “mixed plastics”. While often marketed by brands as recyclable, these plastics are hard for recyclers to repurpose and are often landfilled, causing confusion for consumers.