Waste

Akureyri: From Refuse to Resource

Eva Kirstine Fabricius — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 16:27:16 +0000

In Akureyri there are about 12000 family cars in the municipality, yielding the estimated emissions of 36,000 tonnes of CO2 in the region. Also about 15,000 tonnes of organic waste accumulates every year from domestic consumption. This causes annual gas emissions of approximately 24,000 tonnes from the old Akureyri landfill.

Zürich: Züri-Sack – popular rubbish sack policy

Sidsel Overby Hartlev — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 10:51:16 +0000

During the period 1992-2005, Zürich succeeded in reducing waste production from 140,000 tonnes to 100,000 tonnes a year. This positive change is the result of a collaborative effort between local and regional lawmakers, NGOs and Zürich's waste disposal authority. The solution consisted of the ‘Züri-Sack’ and ‘Zürich recycling' and an extensive information campaign designed to motivate consumers to commit themselves to sustainable waste disposal and start composting.

Tipton: Think Before You Throw

Maria Nørlyng Leal — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 14:38:32 +0000

Many people immediately associate littering in the countryside and on the street with young people and dubious morals. The interesting thing about Tipton's effort to combat littering is that the project not only makes young people aware of taking care of their surroundings and encourages them to get involved; it is also changing the public's attitude to young people. The project shows that young people can also environment-conscious and help to tidy up in the area where they live.

Frankston: Compost makes cities greener

Maria Nørlyng Leal — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 10:42:14 +0000

A group of citizens in Frankston showed the rest of the city that composting does not just provide good fertiliser for the garden but also saves resources related to the collection and deposition of waste, helping to create long-term solutions for the cities of the future. During 2006-07, citizens took part in a 12-month pilot programme, the ‘Halve Garbage Waste Programme’, which involved enabling citizens to gain financially by halving the volume of their kitchen waste. A total of 1000 citizens took part in the programme.

Kalundborg: Industrial Symbiosis - Waste makes resource

Maria Nørlyng Leal — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 12:56:47 +0000

Kalundborg is a medium-sized town on the north-west coast of Zealand, 105km from Copenhagen, home to 16,500 residents and host to the world's most well known example of industrial ecology; Industrial Symbiosis. The motivation for exchange arose in the early 1970s from a mutual effort to reduce costs by seeking income-producing uses for "waste" products.

Cairo: Finding its own way in waste collection

Christopher Mackey — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 12:10:19 +0000

Since the 1950’s, a group of lower class garbage collectors known as the Zabbaleen have wandered the city of Cairo, Egypt, using donkey carts to pick up waste left on the streets. After bringing this waste to their homes that collectively make up Cairo’s “garbage city” the waste it is sorted and eventually turned into quilts, rugs, pots, paper, livestock food, compost, recycled plastic products such as clothes hangers, and much more.

London: Olympic Park is recycling building materials

Julie Abitz — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 02:40:03 +0000

The 2012 Olympic Park will be built in one of London’s most underdeveloped areas, Lower Lea Valley. Building the Olympic Park will hopefully trigger a positive development in the area providing new transport facilities, employment, housing, a new big green park and cultural and sport facilities of international standard.

Copenhagen: Waste-to-Energy-Plants

June-Catherina Starling — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 07:50:22 +0000

Like many other European countries, Denmark has radically changed its waste management strategies in the last 10 to 20 years. Landfills, which used to be the general solution, now only accept only 3% of Copenhagen's total rubbish. As an alternative, 39 % of all material the city collects is incinerated in "waste to energy" plants that generate power for thousands of households and make use of the valuable energy contained within the city's trash.

Kawasaki: Industries recycling together

June-Catherina Starling — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 07:32:12 +0000

Much of Japan is too mountainous for habitation and the plains and coasts where most of the 127 million Japanese live are already notoriously crowded. An average person in Japan produces 410 kilos of trash a year – about half of what Americans toss out and also 100 kilos less than the green-minded Germans. The problem is simply lack of space. To save room, the country burns most of its garbage - about 75% compared to about 20% in the United States and Germany.

Belfast: Changing citizen behaviour leads to cleaner city

June-Catherina Starling — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 05:50:06 +0000

Belfast City Council, Northern Ireland, launched an anti-litter campaign in 2004 aimed at changing and improving public behaviour towards littering. The main objectives of the campaign were to encourage individual responsibility for the disposal of litter, to highlight the consequences of littering, to heighten awareness of fixed penalty notices and the level of enforcement in Belfast, and to develop a sense of ownership and pride in Belfast’s urban environment.

Nairobi: Compost creates income for park maintenance

Julie Abitz — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 04:50:33 +0000

Kibera, a slum of Nairobi, Kenya, has found a solution to huge waste management problems by creating a new type of public space – so called productive parks. In Kibera trash is usually deposited in the nearby river and swept away during seasonal flooding. There is approximately one toilet for every 500 people. Residents use plastic bags as their primary mean of disposing faeces. Filled bags are tossed along the road or into the river and lead to significant health problems. About 700.000 to 1 million inhabitants live in Kibera.