Express ProductsCOP27 Historic Agreement on "Loss and Damage"; the Five-Point Strategy to Improve U.S. Recycling; Scholarship Program for Electronics Recycling; and Ohio Collects more than 770,000 Pounds of Waste Rubber.
In this month’s roundup, we pull together our pick of the latest environmental news and innovations from the last month.
COP27 Historic Agreement on “Loss and Damage”
CNN. (11/21/2022)
The COP27 UN Climate summit took place in Egypt over the course of November. Negotiators concluded the two-week-long conference with a historic decision to establish and operationalize a “loss and damage fund”.
The fund marks the first-time countries and groups including the United States and the EU have agreed to establish a fund for nations most vulnerable to climate disasters, made worse by wealthy and industrialized nations.
The details on how the fund would operate remain unclear, it will focus on what can be done to support loss and damage resources, but it does not include liability or compensation provisions.
For many, the fund represents a hard-fought long victory, spurred on by global attention given to the recent devastating flood in Pakistan this summer. “This loss and damage fund will be a lifeline for poor families whose houses are destroyed, farmers whose fields are ruined, and islanders forced from their ancestral homes,” World Resources Institute CEO Ani Dasgupta said.
5-Point Strategy to Improve U.S. Recycling
Recycling Today. (11/15/2022)
In recognition of America Recycles Day, independent organization, The Recycling Partnership has released a five-point plan to improve recycling.
They believe that recycling can deliver a range of climate, economic and waste management benefits, with 80% of Americans believing in its positive impact. However, the current U.S. recycling rates say otherwise as the country isn’t performing at the scope and scale The Partnership feels it needs to achieve these benefits.
Because of this, they have introduced a strategy that will help fix the recycling system.
This includes; making packaging more recyclable, helping the public understand what’s recyclable, investing in the future, supporting policies to implement better recycling systems, and ensuring that all households can recycle effectively.
CEO of The Recycling Partnership, Keefe Harrison says, “The steps are clear. We know how to provide the public with an accessible, easy-to-use and fully modernized recycling system. All we need now is for companies, communities, government and all other recycling stakeholders to take action so we can make the plan a reality.”
Scholarship Program for Electronics Recycling
Recycling Today.(11/15/2022)
TechWaste Recycling, the electronics recycling firm from California has launched the TechWaste Recycling Scholarship Program. This program is designed for college and high school students to increase awareness of the recycling of electronics.
The theme for the 2022 scholarships is “How do you make an impact in your community with E-Waste Recycling?”
The firm believes that increasing awareness regarding electronic waste bears enormous potential to initiate environmental change, with students playing an essential role. They believe that engaging with the community through electronic waste recycling can help build a cleaner environment, and through the scholarship, TechWaste Recycling hopes it will encourage students to be conscious and take part in the work that is needed to limit climate change.
Ohio Collects more than 770,000 Pounds of Rubber Waste
Waste 360. (11/16/2022)
Whilst tires do not last forever, the rubber they are composed of lasts an exceptionally long time, and when improperly disposed of, a sizable amount of rubber waste sits in sites not decomposing.
The state of Ohio hosts hundreds of these rubber tire waste sites, disrupting the ecosystem, whilst also posing a severe fire risk.
Believed to be a useless material, used rubber actually holds value, turning a profit when correctly reused or recycled. In response to the enormous amounts of rubber tire scrap available. the Ohio EPA Scrap Tire Remediation Program has cleaned up over 770,000 pounds of rubber from sites across the state since July 21st, 2022.
