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16 Ways To Fight 2 Billion Tons Of Trash We Make Every Year - Season 2 Marathon | World Wide Waste

Business Insider・88 minutes read

Humans produce over 2 billion tons of garbage annually, but innovative solutions such as creating vegan leather from rotten mangoes and recycling plastic into bricks offer hope for waste management and environmental sustainability. Various initiatives worldwide, from repurposing waste into building materials to composting organic waste, showcase the potential for reducing landfill usage and mitigating environmental impacts.

Insights

Humans generate over 2 billion tons of garbage annually, leading to innovative solutions like creating vegan leather from rotten mangoes and recycling plastic into bricks for paving roads, showcasing a growing focus on waste management solutions.
Efforts in Butte, Montana, to clean up mining waste pollution and restore biodiversity highlight the environmental challenges faced by mining communities, with innovative solutions like a treatment facility filtering water from toxic lakes and planting native vegetation.
Various initiatives worldwide, such as repurposing mango waste into vegan leather and producing sneakers from recycled plastic, demonstrate a shift towards sustainable practices in industries like fashion and footwear, emphasizing the importance of reducing waste and emissions while supporting marginalized workers and communities.

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Recent questions

How much garbage do humans generate annually?
Over 2 billion tons.
What are some innovative waste management solutions?
Creating vegan leather, recycling plastic into bricks, making sneakers from shopping bags.
What is the focus of the "World Wide Waste" series?
Waste management solutions.
How are plastic bricks produced in Nairobi?
By heating plastic with sand to form moldable material.
What is the goal of the company making sneakers from trash?
To make leather production easier on the environment.

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Summary

00:00

"Innovative Solutions for Global Waste Management"

Humans generate over 2 billion tons of garbage annually.
Innovative solutions include creating vegan leather from rotten mangoes, recycling plastic into bricks, and making sneakers from shopping bags.
"World Wide Waste" is a series focusing on waste management solutions.
A company in Nairobi produces plastic bricks for paving roads.
The factory processes three types of single-use plastics.
Workers sort and process about 10 metric tons of plastic monthly.
The plastic is heated with sand to form a moldable material.
The company produces around 1500 blocks daily, weighing 1.3 kilograms each.
The plastic pavers are cheaper and more affordable than concrete bricks.
The company aims to expand its product range and optimize technology for more significant impact.

18:16

Montana's Bird Haven: Mining Pollution Cleanup

Warm Springs is a biodiverse haven hosting over half of Montana's bird species, created by humans and now a wildlife preserve.
In 1908, mining waste from Butte polluted local waterways, leading to the construction of ponds to filter out hard metals before downstream contamination.
Gary Stella and Mark work on cleaning up the mining pollution, aiming to improve the future for Montana's birds.
Butte, known as the "Richest Hill on Earth," faced environmental challenges due to extensive mining waste, leading to a costly cleanup.
Larry Hoffman operates Butte's last underground mine, the Orphan Boy, reflecting the city's mining history.
The Berkeley Pit, a toxic lake filled with acid and heavy metals, resulted from mining practices and poses environmental risks.
The Superfund law passed in 1980s forced corporate polluters like ARCO to pay for environmental cleanups, aiding Butte's restoration.
Butte's cleanup efforts involve innovative solutions like a treatment facility filtering water from the Berkeley Pit and planting native vegetation.
Fruit Leather, a Dutch company, repurposes mango waste into vegan leather, aiming to reduce waste and emissions in the fashion industry.
Challenges in the vegan leather industry include competition with traditional leather, environmental concerns, and limited production capacity for companies like Fruit Leather.

36:53

Sustainable Sneakers Made from Trash in India

The company making sneakers from trash aims to make leather production easier on the environment.
Each pair of sneakers contains 10 plastic bags and 12 bottles.
The sneakers are made in India by a 23-year-old entrepreneur named Ashay Bhave.
Bhave partners with a waste removal company that employs rag pickers to collect recyclables.
The bags are cleaned in a hot tub with water, then stacked and pressed to create "dailytex" material.
The material is sent to a footwear factory where it's cut and assembled into sneakers using recycled bottles for fabric.
The soles are made from industrial rubber crumbs and glued and stitched to the upper.
The factory recycles scraps and packaging, including a tote bag made from plastic bottles and a shoe box with seeds for planting.
The company sold 300 pairs of sneakers in its first month and aims for durability lasting 2-3 years.
While global brands like Nike and Adidas also make shoes from recycled materials, Bhave's business is profitable and aims to enrich the lives of sanitation workers.

55:41

"Mexico City bans single-use plastic, promotes recycling"

Mexico City band single-use plastic starting in 2021, excluding polystyrene foam, leading to widespread plastic pollution.
Central de Basto, one of Mexico City's largest wholesale food markets, heavily reliant on low-priced plastic products.
Hector advocates for recycling single-use plastics to address the landfill plastic issue economically.
Coal mining in the US has damaged millions of acres of land and continues to pollute surrounding areas.
Lavender farming on reclaimed coal mining land in Ashford, West Virginia, offers hope for restoration.
Appalachian Botanical Company (ABCO) uses lavender to reclaim and rebuild landscapes on former coal mines.
Lavender thrives in poor soils, absorbing toxic heavy metals and aiding in soil restoration.
ABCO harvests lavender for essential oils, creams, honey, salt, and hand sanitizer, utilizing every part of the plant.
Reclamation of mined land involves reshaping landscapes, planting vegetation, and cleaning water to prevent erosion.
ABCO's efforts to restore land and provide jobs for former coal miners contribute to a post-coal future in Appalachia.

01:16:20

"Natural shampoo bars reduce plastic waste"

Castor oil is blended with shampoo to create a thick and foamy consistency.
Workers add Tasmanian leatherwood honey and lye to turn the mixture into soap for hair.
The shampoo mixture includes clay, oil, beeswax, and lye, which is then poured into a bin for drying.
Mass-produced shampoos often contain artificial foaming agents like sodium lauryl sulfate.
Customers prefer biodegradable shampoo bars to reduce plastic waste in oceans.
Lush Cosmetics produces popular shampoo bars using ingredients like sea salt, lemon, and seaweed.
Multinational brands like Procter & Gamble and L'Oreal are entering the natural shampoo market.
Unilever's Love Beauty and Planet line offers shampoo bars in over 40 countries.
Carbon Craft Design creates sustainable building materials like carbon tiles from upcycled waste.
San Francisco's composting system successfully recycles food and yard waste, reducing landfill usage.

01:34:51

San Francisco's Successful Composting Program Reduces Waste

San Francisco has composted 2.5 million tons of garbage, equivalent to filling over 13 Salesforce Towers, the city's tallest skyscraper.
Initially, San Francisco faced challenges in composting but improved over time.
The city incentivizes homes and businesses to comply with composting laws to reduce refuse rates and ecology bills.
Composting not only saves landfill space but also mitigates methane production, a potent greenhouse gas.
Compost aids in storing CO2 in soil when spread on farms, turning vineyards into carbon sinks.
California growers are keen on composting due to water retention benefits during droughts.
Over 700 composting programs exist in the US, with mandates in places like Seattle, Vermont, and San Francisco.
Washington DC requires food waste drop-off or paid collection, while New York City's composting program is set to restart in 2021.
San Francisco funds its composting program like a utility, ensuring direct customer payments to Recology.
Despite EPA ranking composting low for carbon perspective, it remains crucial for reducing food waste and aiding farmers.

01:51:27

"Repurposing Christmas Trees for Coastal Restoration"

Pierre scouts for plastic donations to create more Annie bags, even joking with his son about collecting plastic from trees on the west side.
Americans discard around 30 million Christmas trees annually, with New Orleans dropping thousands into the bayou to fortify the coastline against floods.
Natural Christmas trees from farms have a smaller environmental impact than fake ones, but their disposal method post-holidays affects greenhouse gas emissions.
New Orleans repurposes Christmas trees to rebuild the coastline at Bayou Sauvage, a wildlife refuge, aiding in natural disaster preparation and land restoration.
The city collects clean trees in January, airlifts them to the refuge by National Guard troops, and strategically drops them to trap sediment and foster plant growth.
The project has restored 200 acres of wetlands in 26 years, enhancing the city's natural buffer against storm surges, although it's a small-scale solution to a vast issue.
Lifecycle, a company recycling lithium-ion batteries from electric cars, aims to recover all metals to reduce CO2 emissions, lower costs, and support a sustainable future.

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