tag:theconversation.com,2011:/es/topics/recycling-1581/articlesRecycling – The Conversation2024-03-20T13:59:09Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2256962024-03-20T13:59:09Z2024-03-20T13:59:09ZA brief guide to clothes recycling – sustainability expert unpicks how your discarded garments get processsed<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582500/original/file-20240318-18-8tjjds.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">According to a textile sorter and processor based in the East Midlands, approximately 40% of sorted garments were not fit for reuse and needed a recycling solution</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/fabric-scraps-old-clothing-textiles-cut-1118321324">NicoleTaklaPhotography/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Have you ever paused to ponder the fate of those bags of old clothes you carefully deposit into the charity bin at the end of the street or within the bustle of a supermarket parking lot? It’s easy to imagine that those garments get magically transformed into fresh, wearable fashion, but in the UK, the reality is much more complicated. </p>
<p>The truth behind clothing donation and recycling is a journey fraught with <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7248/2/1/10">complexities</a> often not visible to the public eye. Textile waste – the clothing that we all buy, use and dispose of – is a significant <a href="https://changingmarkets.org/campaigns/fossil-fashion/">environmental problem</a> that often goes unnoticed. </p>
<p>Globally 88% of our clothing still ends up <a href="https://earth.org/statistics-about-fast-fashion-waste/">in landfills</a>. The mountains of textile waste will be getting higher as garment production rises at an alarming rate. In 2000, global manufacturers churned out 50 million tonnes of textiles, according to <a href="https://www.europarl.europa.eu/topics/en/article/20201208STO93327/the-impact-of-textile-production-and-waste-on-the-environment-infographics#:%7E:text=The%2520fashion%2520industry%2520is%2520estimated,flights%2520and%2520maritime%2520shipping%2520combined">the European parliament</a>. By 2020, this figure had more than doubled to 109 million tonnes and global textile production is predicted to grow to 145 million tonnes by 2030.</p>
<p>While writing <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=6-znEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT86&lpg=PT86&dq=policy+paired+with+technology+sajida+gordon&source=bl&ots=IkDEODrd-1&sig=ACfU3U1Zi0vMoeA3Nkj6jWa3po71E8Jamw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiBsa2QqfaEAxWnUUEAHTWwDPUQ6AF6BAgdEAM#v=onepage&q=policy%2520paired%2520with%2520technology%2520sajida%2520gordon&f=false">my chapter</a> for the book <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Recycling-and-Lifetime-Management-in-the-Textile-and-Fashion-Sector/Niinimaki/p/book/9780367490836">Recycling and Lifetime Management in the Textile and Fashion Sector</a>, I researched the policies and technological advancements that facilitate the process of textile recycling. </p>
<p>Used or unwanted clothing gets collected from various sources, including donation centres, textile recycling bins, charity stores or direct from consumers. Once collected, the textiles undergo sorting at UK facilities based on what type of material it is, colour and condition. Garments that are deemed reusable – those that aren’t stained, soiled or torn – are <a href="https://theconversation.com/five-ways-to-reduce-your-household-waste-and-stop-it-being-shipped-to-poorer-countries-154123">shipped</a> to countries in <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/static/planet4-international-stateless/2022/04/9f50d3de-greenpeace-germany-poisoned-fast-fashion-briefing-factsheet-april-2022.pdf">Africa</a> and <a href="https://www.globalissues.org/news/2023/05/18/33821">Asia</a>. </p>
<p>However, market sellers in these countries that receive these used garments often complain that the clothing is not fit for resale and ends up <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2023/may/31/stop-dumping-your-cast-offs-on-us-ghanaian-clothes-traders-tell-eu">in a landfill</a>. </p>
<p>A textile sorter and processor based in the east Midlands told me that approximately 40% of sorted garments were not fit for reuse and needed a recycling solution. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582501/original/file-20240318-20-al5lex.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="colourful heap of clothes in a big pile, blue sky in background" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582501/original/file-20240318-20-al5lex.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582501/original/file-20240318-20-al5lex.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=572&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582501/original/file-20240318-20-al5lex.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=572&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582501/original/file-20240318-20-al5lex.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=572&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582501/original/file-20240318-20-al5lex.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=719&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582501/original/file-20240318-20-al5lex.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=719&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582501/original/file-20240318-20-al5lex.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=719&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Growth in fast fashion feeds into the mountain of textile waste that is hard to recycle.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/big-heap-colorful-clothes-184331444">Nomad_Soul/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Fibre-to-fibre recycling is different to reuse. <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-secondhand-markets-and-apps-are-not-a-solution-to-clothing-waste-222321">Reuse means that</a> a garment is fit to have a second life and can be donated to charity or resold on websites such as Vinted. Fibre-to-fibre recycling is the process of breaking down the material of the garments so that it returns to its original state of a fibre, which may resemble pieces of fluff. That’s either done mechanically or chemically.</p>
<p><a href="https://reports.fashionforgood.com/report/coming-full-circle-innovating-towards-sustainable-man-made-cellulosic-fibres/chapterdetail?reportid=239&chapter=4#:%7E:text=The%2520mechanical%2520recycling%2520process%2520involves,using%2520a%2520carding%2520process31">Mechanical recycling</a> involves chopping up old clothes into tiny pieces – a bit like shredding paper. Materials are sometimes moistened with water to enhance the tearing process. The fibres are then separated using a process called “carding”, which involves using a machine to comb out and straighten the fibres, ready to be used to make new products. </p>
<p>To <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/3-methods-textile-recycling-dr-tanveer-hussain-gzkdf">transform</a> the fibres into textile yarn, mechanically recycled fibres are mixed with virgin fibres – because these new fibres are <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/fibre-size#:%7E:text=Fiber%2520length%2520After%2520size%252C%2520fiber,either%2520staple%2520or%2520filament%2520length">longer</a>, they add strength to the yarn when spun.</p>
<p><a href="https://reports.fashionforgood.com/report/coming-full-circle-innovating-towards-sustainable-man-made-cellulosic-fibres/chapterdetail?reportid=239&chapter=4#:%7E:text=The%2520mechanical%2520recycling%2520process%2520involves,using%2520a%2520carding%2520process31">Chemical recycling</a> involves breaking down fragments of old clothes into smaller parts. These are then cleaned and purified using filters and separators. Chemical <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214993722001270">solvents are used</a> to break down polymers, remove dyes and dissolve other additives. Once clean, <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0734242X18819277">broken down fibres</a> can be spun to make new yarn, just like making cotton from scratch. This recycled yarn can be woven into fabric using industrial weaving machines.</p>
<h2>Transforming textiles</h2>
<p>Mechanical recycling produces short lengths of fibre and results in <a href="https://blog.agchemigroup.eu/the-chemical-recycling-of-clothes-part-1-the-challenges/">poor quality</a> yarn. Relying on raw virgin fibre to add length and strength can be costly. </p>
<p><a href="https://resource.co/article/what-chemical-recycling-good-and-bad">Chemical recycling</a> of polyesters, which are made from plastic, can create harmful tiny particles of microplastics in the air and waterways. Volatile organic compounds – chemicals that exist in gaseous form – can be inhaled and cause <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0160412015000082">health problems</a>, such as damaged liver, kidneys and central nervous system, and cancers affecting the lungs and blood. The process also emits carbon dioxide and methane, both greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. </p>
<p>Expanding these recycling methods is expensive and potentially damaging to the environment. Systematic change begins when influential fashion brands reduce overproduction and waste by streamlining their production processes and <a href="https://circulareconomy.europa.eu/platform/sites/default/files/ecodesign_criteria_for_consumer_textiles.pdf">designing products</a> that are easy to recycle as part of a more <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-49479-6_1">circular economy</a>. </p>
<p>While green chemistry and circular design <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2452223622000979">solutions</a> could make recycling textile waste more efficient, more effective and safer for humans and the planet, the issue of excess waste still needs to be addressed. As shoppers, we can all make a difference by being mindful of our purchasing habits, appreciating the clothing we already own and repairing items instead of discarding them.</p>
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<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sajida Gordon works for Nottingham Trent University. She receives funding from UKRI. She is affiliated with WRAP Textile 2030. </span></em></p>Growing mountains of textile waste are hard to recycle. There is scope to improve chemical and mechanical recycling methods but consumers and fashion brands play a role in reducing overproduction.Sajida Gordon, Researcher for the Clothing Sustainability Research Group and Lecturer Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham Trent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2226702024-02-28T16:18:15Z2024-02-28T16:18:15Z‘Urban mines’: how to unlock our electronic junk’s potential<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573118/original/file-20230927-21-ul4bm0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=6%2C18%2C2038%2C1410&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Could this heap of junk prevent us from having to open a new mine?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hellebardius</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Instead of developing new mining infrastructures, what if we recovered the metal deposits contained in the electronic objects we no longer use, such as smartphones or computers? There are very good reasons for focusing on the potential of these <a href="https://theconversation.com/recycler-100-des-metaux-un-objectif-atteignable-192573">“urban mines”</a>, also known as secondary mines to distinguish them from the “primary” mines where resources in the ground are exploited directly.</p>
<h2>A strategic challenge for the European Union</h2>
<p>Not only would these alternative resources address a shortage of mining infrastructure, they could also help to slash <a href="https://theconversation.com/le-volume-de-dechets-electroniques-explose-et-leur-taux-de-recyclage-reste-ridicule-143701">electronic waste</a>, otherwise known as “e-waste”. The fastest-growing waste stream in the world, electronic junk wreaks havoc on ecosystems around the globe and poses a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969720332654">major threat to health</a> by leaching toxic substances into the land and water, especially in Asia.</p>
<p>Better recycling electronic items could also reduce mining’s high environmental impact. In fact, for some metals, recycling is more energy efficient than mining. Extracting aluminium through recycling, for example, requires <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11837-021-04802-y">10 to 15 times less energy</a> than primary production.</p>
<p>The issue is especially important as several of the recyclable metals are critical resources for the European Union’s twin transitions to a digital and net-zero economy. Deposits such as lithium, cobalt, nickel and rare earths are essential for the production of electronics, electric vehicles and renewable energy components such as solar panels. Yet they are barely exploited in the bloc and exposed to a high risk of supply tensions. To this end, since 2011, the European Union has assessed and released every three years a list of critical raw minerals that should constitute a priority for urban mining.</p>
<p>The fifth list, <a href="https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/sectors/raw-materials/areas-specific-interest/critical-raw-materials_en">published in 2023</a>, identified 34 critical metals, including rare earth elements, lithium, copper, and nickel. Unfortunately, the gap between the European Union’s recommendations and urban mining practices is glaringly obvious.</p>
<h2>A life cycle riddled with obstacles to recycling</h2>
<p>An object’s recovery potential is limited at every stage of its life cycle by technical, organisational, regulatory, and economic obstacles. From its very design, certain practices limit its metals’ recyclability, such as the use of metals in particular alloys, since not <a href="https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/39534359/Design_for_Recycling_Evaluation_and_Effi20151029-964-yq8ltw-libre.pdf">all alloys can be recycled</a>, or hybridisation, since <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0255270111002029">composite materials are harder – not impossible – to recycle</a>. For instance, for liquid food packaging, most cartons are made from cardboard and PolyAl, a blend of aluminium and polyethylene (a type of plastic).</p>
<p>For many years, the cardboard from food cartons was recovered and recycled, but not the PolyAl, leading to incomplete recycling. In this specific case, the companies Tetra Pak and Recon Polymers ultimately developed a separation process, opening a <a href="https://www.usinenouvelle.com/article/un-nouveau-debouche-pour-le-polyal.N1217752">recycling plant specifically for PolyAl in 2021</a>. But many other products continue to be difficult to recycle, precisely because this aspect was not taken into account at the design stage.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.cairn-sciences.info/quel-futur-pour-les-metaux--9782759809011-page-287.htm"><em>Dispersive uses</em></a>, which involve using small quantities of metals in products to modify their properties, are another practice that evades recycling. Take silver nanoparticles: their industrial application ranges from the disinfection of medical equipment, water treatment, to odour prevention in textiles. Likewise, a few grams of dysprosium, a rare earth metal, may also be used to boost magnets’ pull. In sum, some metals boast so many applications that it is impossible to ensure their circularity.</p>
<h2>Electronic hibernation – abandoning our devices in the attic</h2>
<p>Once objects have been designed and used, there is a second obstacle, which stems from consumers, who tend to hold on to their electronic objects, whether they work or not, rather than dropping them at a specific recycling facility. This phenomenon is known as <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0956053X16307607"><em>electronic hibernation</em></a>. As far back as 2009, a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0301479709001637">pioneering study</a> estimated that American households stored an average of 6.5 hibernating electronic items in their attics and basements. This figure has increased exponentially over the years.</p>
<p>In 2021, a <a href="https://www.gstatic.com/gumdrop/sustainability/electronics-hibernation.pdf">study conducted by Google</a> identified seven key barriers preventing consumers from recycling their electronic devices:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Low awareness of existing handoff options (recycling)</p></li>
<li><p>Expectations regarding financial or social compensation</p></li>
<li><p>Device nostalgia</p></li>
<li><p>Desire to keep spare products</p></li>
<li><p>Data retrieval factors</p></li>
<li><p>Desire to ensure data removal</p></li>
<li><p>Inconvenience of handoff options.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>A more recent study <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800922003962">conducted in Switzerland</a> tempers these results slightly: 40% of respondents said they would be willing to part with their old cell phone for less than five dollars. However, it would be interesting to conduct the same survey in countries less wealthy than Switzerland.</p>
<p>Finally, the third stumbling block concerns collection systems and recycling infrastructures. In France, from where I write, most targeted waste channels (electronic waste, packaging, tires, etc.) are run by eco-organisations, private bodies that have either organisational or financial responsibility. These are regularly embroiled in controversy: analyses indicate that the <a href="https://www.cairn.info/revue-mouvements-2016-3-page-82.htm">material recovery of waste flows managed by eco-organisations is often suboptimal</a>, in particular because of their profitability objectives.</p>
<h2>Engaging engineers, designers, politicians, and consumers</h2>
<p>Despite these obstacles, a number of initiatives aim to support companies in their eco-design efforts, including the <a href="https://upcyclea.com/en/cradle-to-cradle/">cradle to cradle</a>, which encourages companies to maintain “the quality of raw materials throughout the multiple life cycles of the product and its components.”</p>
<p>Beyond such schemes, however, <a href="https://www.cairn.info/revue-flux-2017-2-page-51.htm">every participant</a> in the value chain needs to examine their responsibility in waste:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>For engineers and product designers, this means adopting a more sustainable approach to design, taking into account the entire product life cycle right from the beginning of the design stage: it is the purpose of eco-design and eco-conception.</p></li>
<li><p>Companies, meanwhile, need to take a longer-term approach rather than focusing exclusively on short-term profitability, particularly in a context of volatile metal prices.</p></li>
<li><p>For consumers, this means greater awareness of the need to sort waste for disposal in specific channels, particularly electronic waste.</p></li>
<li><p>And finally, governments and local authorities would do well to put in place regulations tailored to the sector’s complexity, potentially including ambitious targets for specific recycling rates by type of metal, as well as some form of territorial planning to better coordinate flows. Ensuring that <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0921344916300283">recycling facilities more accessible</a> is also a key factor in promoting good recycling behaviours.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>The difficulty of moving toward a circular economy</h2>
<p>We have not yet ventured to report metal recycling rates. One of them, the end-of-life recycling rate (EOL-RR), refers to the percentage of discarded metal that is recycled. Another indicator, the recycled content (RC), considers the proportion of recycled metal in total metal production.</p>
<p>Not surprisingly, these two indicators give very different recycling rates. For instance, chromium (Cr), copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) have a life recycling rate of <a href="https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/8702/Recycling_Metals.pdf">over 50%</a>, which means that more than half of the quantities put into circulation are recycled. However, their recycled content is <a href="https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/8702/Recycling_Metals.pdf">between 10 and 25%</a>, as primary extraction of these metals is constantly increasing: the share of recycled metal in the total flows therefore remains low.</p>
<p>Consequently, even if we were able to achieve an optimal exploitation of urban mining deposits and high recycling rates for all metals (measured in EOL-RR), we would still be a long way from a circular economy, as demand for metals continues to rise exponentially. For instance, global production of copper (Cu) has almost doubled since 2000, rising from <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/254917/total-global-copper-production-since-2006/">14 to 25 million metric tons/year</a>.</p>
<p>The effective recycling of metals contained in urban mines is therefore a necessary, but not sufficient condition for a truly circular economy. We will need to see a significant decrease in the volume of mineral resources used in industry before urban mining can partially replace, rather than add to, the exploitation of primary deposits.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222670/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Fanny Verrax ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>Mining precious metals is expensive and environmentally destructive. As an alternative, researchers are increasingly eyeing recycling old smartphones, computers and other electronics.Fanny Verrax, Associate professor in Ecological Transition and Social Entrepreneurship, EM Lyon Business SchoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2241752024-02-27T16:13:30Z2024-02-27T16:13:30ZWould you drink recycled water?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577263/original/file-20240206-18-9p3kqk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6720%2C4466&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"></span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/es/image-photo/man-pouring-water-into-glass-kitchen-1928623259">New Africa / Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The wastewater from your home – much like paper and plastic – can be recycled. This is done by sending it, including sewage, either to centralised municipal recycling plants, to local neighbourhood facilities, or even to facilities incorporated in large apartment buildings. </p>
<p>There, with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2022.118198">the right technology</a>, it is purified, and the resulting water can be used as normal for cleaning streets or watering plants. If the treatment process is thorough, it can even be used for drinking.</p>
<h2>Fighting water scarcity</h2>
<p>Recycled water is an important tool in the <a href="https://www.unep.org/resources/publication/2017-un-world-water-development-report-wastewater-untapped-resource">fight against water scarcity</a>. It can help to reduce strain on our limited freshwater reserves, which make up only <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1128845">2.5% of all the water on the planet</a>.</p>
<p>In several parts of Spain, such as <a href="https://www.aguasdealicante.es/en/reutilizacion">Alicante</a>, it is already being used in farming, and in parks, gardens and leisure facilities. Elsewhere, including <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/11/singapore-wastewater-recycling-water-stressed/">Singapore</a> and Namibia, it is being used for human consumption.</p>
<p>However, in other parts of the world citizens have rejected the idea of recycling water, despite its safety and potential benefits. In some cases, this resistance has emerged after heavy government investment in infrastructure.</p>
<p>Imagine if your town or city proposed recycling wastewater. What would your reaction be? Whether you think it is a good idea or not, there are psychological factors that affect your decision.</p>
<h2>Acceptance depends on use</h2>
<p>You might be OK with reusing water, but not in all situations, and there is actually a pattern with regard to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2022.118380">which uses are seen as most acceptable</a>. In essence, the more physical contact a person has with recycled water, the less likely they are to accept it.</p>
<p>Most people have no problem using recycled water to clean streets, but when it begins to touch our skin – for example in the shower – acceptance plummets. This is even more pronounced when it comes to ingesting it. </p>
<p>You might think that this pattern would not apply in a situation of objective scarcity: desperate times call for desperate measures, and people would, surely, be more open to recycled water in areas threatened by drought. You would, however, be mistaken.</p>
<h2>Perceptions of scarcity</h2>
<p>Curiously, acceptance levels are similar in areas that have totally different levels of water availability. This is evident within Spain, home to one of Europe’s wettest regions (Galicia) and one of its driest (Murcia). This uniformity raises the question of why acceptance drops as skin contact increases.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577641/original/file-20240223-24-q12r27.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A graph showing acceptance levels for different uses of recycled waste water in the Spanish regions of Murcia and Galicia." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577641/original/file-20240223-24-q12r27.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577641/original/file-20240223-24-q12r27.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577641/original/file-20240223-24-q12r27.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577641/original/file-20240223-24-q12r27.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577641/original/file-20240223-24-q12r27.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577641/original/file-20240223-24-q12r27.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577641/original/file-20240223-24-q12r27.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Acceptance levels for different uses of recycled waste water show little variation between the Spanish regions of Murcia (one of the driest areas in Europe) and Galicia (one of the wettest).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author's elaboration</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Situations of scarcity have a definite impact, but more than hard statistics, it is our perception of scarcity that matters most: a negative event or situation has no impact if people do not interpret it as negative. Even when the danger is recognised, its effects may be perceived as distant in time or location, a phenomenon known as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2015.10.003">psychological distance</a>. </p>
<p>Although the objective drought situation may differ between regions, what matters is how threatened people feel by it. </p>
<h2>Recycled water is safe, but not everyone is convinced</h2>
<p>You might be one of those people who would be repulsed if you found a hair in your soup. You might think the meal is ruined, and you may as well throw it away. When an item has been in contact with a contaminant, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/0470013494.ch21">there is a tendency to believe that it has acquired its harmful properties forever</a>, despite evidence to the contrary.</p>
<p>This logic of contamination applies to recycled water. Though treatment processes can guarantee that water has been completely purified – to the point where it is just as safe as regular tap water – people still feel it could cause them harm. For this reason, increased contact with water increases the perception of risk, drastically reducing acceptance.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577642/original/file-20240223-18-eqvxkz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A graph showing levels of perceived risk and acceptance with regard to different uses of waste water" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577642/original/file-20240223-18-eqvxkz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577642/original/file-20240223-18-eqvxkz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=550&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577642/original/file-20240223-18-eqvxkz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=550&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577642/original/file-20240223-18-eqvxkz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=550&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577642/original/file-20240223-18-eqvxkz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=691&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577642/original/file-20240223-18-eqvxkz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=691&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577642/original/file-20240223-18-eqvxkz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=691&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Levels of perceived risk and acceptance with regard to different uses of waste water.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author's elaboration</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We have to remember, however, that people’s beliefs can change. We might like to think we can change our own perceptions, but many of them are moulded by our social exchanges. We might, for example, feel more open to using recycled water if the proposal came from a trusted source.</p>
<p>We also tend to observe and follow the majority, and low contact uses of recycled water (such as watering plants and cleaning streets) are already widely accepted. As these uses become more widespread, people will become more familiar with the processes involved, and will begin to recognise its benefits in confronting water scarcity.</p>
<p>This positive perception will then extend to other uses, marking a profound shift in our perceptions of responsible water use. One day, you might even find yourself going to a restaurant and ordering a bottle of recycled water, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224175/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sergio Vila Tojo receives funding from the H2020 Run4Life project, financed by the European Commission. The research in this article has been carried out as part of the project.</span></em></p>Recycled waste water is perfectly safe to drink, but many people aren’t keen to use it for anything other than watering plants.Sergio Vila Tojo, Investigador posdoctoral en psicología social aplicada al medioambiente, Universidade de Santiago de CompostelaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2199002024-01-18T18:58:37Z2024-01-18T18:58:37ZTrash TV: streaming giants are failing to educate the young about waste recycling. Here’s why it matters<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569957/original/file-20240117-25-bb72gg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=231%2C0%2C2585%2C1719&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://glenkeaneproductions.com/press">Trash Truck/Glen Keane Productions</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As a new parent, I’ve had the joy of watching animated cartoons with my two-year-old son. His favourite show is <a href="https://www.netflix.com/au/title/80234731">Trash Truck</a>, on Netflix, featuring a tight-knit ensemble of five characters: a trash truck, a young boy, a raccoon, a bear and a mouse. The show offers valuable life lessons, emphasising the importance of friendship, sharing, love for animals and respect for parents. </p>
<p>But there’s a problem. The way it portrays the collection of waste grabbed my attention. It’s simply a matter of gathering mixed waste from bins and depositing it in a landfill. There’s no sign of any process for sorting or recycling waste. </p>
<p>This left me pondering why a charming cartoon series with a global audience, capable of educating the future generation about waste recovery, lacks such relevant educational content. </p>
<p>I’m a researcher who has studied waste management for the past six years. I decided to analyse similar series such as <a href="https://www.primevideo.com/detail/0U44E08N4F3GMFVIDRHREE3UU7/ref=atv_sr_fle_c_Tn74RA_1_1_1">The Stinky and Dirty Show</a> (Amazon Prime), <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@babybus">BabyBus</a> (YouTube) and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lQw4F6g3A4">Frank the Garbage Truck</a> (YouTube). A clear pattern emerged – all show waste simply being dumped. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/building-activity-produces-18-of-emissions-and-a-shocking-40-of-our-landfill-waste-we-must-move-to-a-circular-economy-heres-how-206188">Building activity produces 18% of emissions and a shocking 40% of our landfill waste. We must move to a circular economy – here’s how</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>To make it clear, in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uoe1UwdjCQk">one episode of BabyBus</a>, a song goes: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>[Garbage truck sings] Garbage truck yeah yeah, looking for garbage here and there […] I have a long arm yeah yeah, look what I can do. […] [Two paper coke cups sing] Big tummy, no no no, it is going to eat me, the trash can is shaking shaking, I don’t want to go […] [Garbage truck sings] Now off to the dump […] [Discarded apple sings] No I don’t want to go to the dump […] [Garbage truck sings] Dirty trash bye bye, smelly trash bye bye.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This episode dropped four years ago on YouTube. It has hit a whopping 109 million views. That shows how powerful these platforms are for reaching people.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Uoe1UwdjCQk?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">In BabyBus it’s all about “dumping trash” with no mention of sorting or recycling.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/households-find-low-waste-living-challenging-heres-what-needs-to-change-197022">Households find low-waste living challenging. Here's what needs to change</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Why does waste education matter?</h2>
<p>Many nations have hastily adopted various strategies and developed policies to tackle the <a href="https://www.theworldcounts.com/challenges/planet-earth/state-of-the-planet/world-waste-facts">ever-growing issue of waste</a>. In particular, scientific literature informing these strategies and policies highlights education as an effective and sustainable solution. </p>
<p>The findings from our multiple research projects reinforce this fact. For instance, we found “<a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/ECAM-05-2021-0439/full/html">poor culture and education</a>” is one of the top three barriers to sustainably managing construction and demolition waste and treating it as a resource. In a later study, we <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352550922002445">identified education</a> as a priority to enable development of markets for recycled construction waste materials. Most recently, we found “<a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/SASBE-08-2023-0213/full/html?skipTracking=true">education, investigation and demonstration activities</a>” are the main strategy for optimising use of recycled materials in the building and construction sector. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1020888719992283137"}"></div></p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/buildings-used-iron-from-sunken-ships-centuries-ago-the-use-of-recycled-materials-should-be-business-as-usual-by-now-200351">Buildings used iron from sunken ships centuries ago. The use of recycled materials should be business as usual by now</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Screen time can be learning time</h2>
<p>The United Nations <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals">Sustainable Development Goals</a> emphasise the crucial role of children in achieving these global objectives. Its 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/2030agenda#:%7E:text=Children%20and%20young%20women%20and,words%20of%20the%20UN%20Charter.">describes</a> children as:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>critical agents of change […] [who] will find in the new goals a platform to channel their infinite capacities for activism into the creation of a better world.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>We have seen a big increase in waste education for children such as recycling programs at schools in recent years. But according to <a href="https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-0-387-79061-9_940">Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory of human development</a>, the primary environmental influence on children occurs within their homes. A large part of a child’s time is <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7018039/">spent at home</a> where they often have uninterrupted access to multimedia content.</p>
<p><a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/article-abstract/2789091">Recent research</a> indicates screen time for children has surged particularly during and after COVID-19. While this trend may not be ideal, we can harness it for shaping the mindset of the next generation. In particular, it’s an opportunity to promote environmental sustainability. </p>
<p>The United States’ National Association for the Education of Young Children <a href="https://www.naeyc.org/sites/default/files/globally-shared/downloads/PDFs/resources/position-statements/ps_technology.pdf">suggests multimedia learning</a>, when used appropriately, helps children understand complicated topics while also providing positive engagement and enjoyment. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568959/original/file-20240111-29-duc80h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568959/original/file-20240111-29-duc80h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568959/original/file-20240111-29-duc80h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568959/original/file-20240111-29-duc80h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568959/original/file-20240111-29-duc80h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568959/original/file-20240111-29-duc80h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568959/original/file-20240111-29-duc80h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Streaming content is an important influence on children’s understanding of issues and their attitudes to them.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source"> Salman Shooshtarian</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/forget-old-screen-time-rules-during-coronavirus-heres-what-you-should-focus-on-instead-135053">Forget old screen 'time' rules during coronavirus. Here's what you should focus on instead</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The power and responsibilities of streaming media</h2>
<p>Online video streaming has transformed the media landscape and viewing habits worldwide. The swift expansion of internet usage, the ubiquity of mobile devices and the surging demand for online video content have driven this change. </p>
<p>The global video streaming market has grown remarkably over the past ten years. By 2022, estimated annual revenue from streaming TV and video hit <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/260179/over-the-top-revenue-worldwide/">US$154 billion</a>.</p>
<p>Waste is everyone’s responsibility, as outlined in many waste management initiatives and activities around the world. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-cant-keep-putting-apartment-residents-waste-in-the-too-hard-basket-200545">We can't keep putting apartment residents' waste in the too hard basket</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>With a global total of 1.2 billion viewers, giant streaming media companies such as Netflix (<a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/250934/quarterly-number-of-netflix-streaming-subscribers-worldwide/">247.2 million paid subscribers</a>, Amazon Prime Video (<a href="https://www.searchlogistics.com/learn/statistics/amazon-prime-statistics/">200 million paid subscribers</a>) and Disney+ (<a href="https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/disney-plus-subscribers-150-million-earnings-1235784850/">150 million paid subscribers</a> have a key role to play in educating the next generation. In particular, their animated cartoon series can influence the next generation’s attitude and behaviour. </p>
<p>Given its impact on the young, the global entertainment industry needs to be held accountable to ensure it portrays current knowledge about how we manage pressing issues such as waste.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219900/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Salman Shooshtarian receives funding from the Australia Sustainable Built Environment National Research Centre.</span></em></p>An essential part of managing a growing global waste problem is sorting, recovering and recycling it. But you won’t see this on children’s shows that feature waste collection.Salman Shooshtarian, Senior Lecturer, School of Property, Construction and Project Management, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2204982024-01-16T14:14:16Z2024-01-16T14:14:16ZDangerous chemicals found in recycled plastics, making them unsafe for use – experts explain the hazards<p>Plastic pollution is a menace worldwide. Plastics are now <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abg5433">found</a> in every <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.1c04158">environment</a> on the planet, from the deepest seas to the atmosphere and human bodies. </p>
<p>Scientific evidence <a href="https://doi.org/10.5334/aogh.4056">describing harm</a> to the environment and humans is growing. Hence, the United Nations has <a href="https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/39812/OEWG_PP_1_INF_1_UNEA%20resolution.pdf">resolved</a> to <a href="https://enb.iisd.org/negotiations/international-legally-binding-instrument-plastics-pollution-including-marine#:%7E:text=The%20United%20Nations%20Environment%20Assembly,pollution%2C%20including%20in%20the%20marine">negotiate</a> a legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution. </p>
<p>Strategies to achieve this goal include provisions throughout the plastics lifespan: production, use, waste management and remediation. </p>
<p>In designing rules for managing plastic, it’s important to understand that plastic materials and waste streams are complex. Not all plastics are the same. And recycled plastics are not necessarily “better” – less harmful – than virgin plastics. If they contained harmful chemicals to begin with, recycling doesn’t make them less harmful. And sometimes they are contaminated by other substances.</p>
<p>We conducted a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352340923008090?via%3Dihub">study</a> identifying and measuring the concentration of contaminants in recycled pellets from 28 small-scale recycling facilities in the global south. Plastic waste is often exported from high income countries to less developed countries, with few to no requirements for reporting their makeup.</p>
<p>Our investigation covered facilities in Cameroon, Mauritius, Nigeria, Tanzania and Togo in Africa as well others in Asia, Europe and South America. </p>
<p>We found 191 pesticides, 107 pharmaceuticals and 81 industrial compounds among many others in the recycled plastic pellets. Many of these chemicals could be hazardous and make the plastics unsuitable for reuse.</p>
<p>This finding can inform regulations for recycled plastics. The chemical composition of the plastic should be checked before it is recycled. </p>
<h2>Chemicals used in production of plastics</h2>
<p>More than <a href="https://www.unep.org/resources/report/chemicals-plastics-technical-report">13,000 chemicals</a> are currently used in the production of plastic materials and products. They can include thousands of plastics additives – but also substances that are added unintentionally. Some unwanted chemicals form during the production or life of plastics. Thousands of these chemicals have dangerous properties. The health risks of some others are unknown. </p>
<p>Throughout the plastics value chain, during production, use, waste and recycling, other chemicals can contaminate the material too. The result may be recycled materials whose chemical composition is unknown. </p>
<p>Previous studies have reported the presence of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2017.10.014">plastics additives</a> in recycled materials. Among them were chemicals that are <a href="https://www.unep.org/explore-topics/chemicals-waste/what-we-do/emerging-issues/endocrine-disrupting-chemicals">known</a> to have <a href="https://www.epa.gov/endocrine-disruption/overview-endocrine-disruption">negative effects on health</a>. Examples include <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0055387">phthalates</a> (plastic softeners), bisphenols like <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0303720706002292">BPA</a>, and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969721044478?via%3Dihub">UV-stabilisers</a> used to protect plastics from sun damage and yellowing.</p>
<p>In our work, we established the presence of chemicals in recycled plastic that can cause harm to humans or other organisms. They include pesticides, pharmaceuticals and fragrances. Others are chemicals that result from burning natural materials, man-made organic chemicals used for industrial applications like paint, and ultraviolet filters.</p>
<p>We quantified a total of 491 different chemical substances. Some had specific uses and others formed from the breakdown of products.</p>
<p>Some national and regional policies <a href="https://www.basel.int/Implementation/Plasticwaste/Globalgovernance/tabid/8335/Default.aspx">regulate</a> the allowable concentration of hazardous chemicals in specific plastic products. But only 1% of plastics chemicals are subject to international regulation in existing multilateral environmental agreements. Policies don’t adequately address the issue of transparent reporting of chemicals in plastics across their value chain. Also, there are no laws to govern monitoring of chemicals in recycled materials. This is a <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adk9846">serious gap</a> in oversight. Stronger and more globally coordinated measures are necessary. </p>
<p>Our findings emphasise the importance of regulating mechanical recycling, as many of the substances measured were contaminants and not plastic additives. Many of the chemicals we identified may have contaminated the materials during use. For example, a jug used for storing pesticides will absorb some of the pesticides and will contaminate the recycling waste stream. Plastics in the environment are also known to absorb <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X11005960">organic pollutants</a>. </p>
<p>To assess the quality of recycled plastics, it’s crucial to know which chemicals are present and in what concentrations. This information can guide regulations about how recycled plastics may be used. It will also be valuable for plastics producers, waste management workers (including recyclers), consumers, and the scientific community.</p>
<h2>A path towards safer reuse of plastics</h2>
<p>To recycle more materials safely, several changes are necessary. These include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>increased transparency regarding the use of chemicals and their risks </p></li>
<li><p>chemical simplification of the plastics market, so that fewer and less toxic chemicals are permitted for use</p></li>
<li><p>improved waste management infrastructure with separated waste streams </p></li>
<li><p>improved recycling methods, including monitoring of hazardous chemicals.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Chemical simplification of plastic additives will promote sustainability, safety and regulatory compliance. It will help manufacturers to minimise the environmental impact and adverse health effects of complex chemical formulations. Simpler chemical structures also improve the recycling potential of plastics and make recycling more efficient and cost-effective.</p>
<p><a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.est.1c04903">Chemical simplification</a> can also reduce potential health risks in the disposal of plastic materials. </p>
<p>From a regulatory perspective, chemical simplification supports clearer and more enforceable safety guidelines.</p>
<p>It’s is a crucial step towards the sustainable production and use of plastics, as countries work towards a legal instrument to end pollution.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220498/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bethanie Carney Almroth receives funding from the Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development
FORMAS (grant number 2021-00913) and The Carl Tryggers Foundation (grant number 21:1234).
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Eric Carmona Martinez received funding from Carl Trygger Foundation. </span></em></p>Recycled plastics are not safe if the chemicals used in creating them in the first place are harmful.Bethanie Carney Almroth, Associate Professor, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of GothenburgEric Carmona Martinez, Scientist, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research-UFZLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2089672024-01-11T17:16:17Z2024-01-11T17:16:17ZOne-and-a-half billion tyres wasted annually – there’s a better way to recycle them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535367/original/file-20230703-274753-70lubj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6016%2C4016&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/landfill-old-tires-tyres-recycling-reuse-2020571027">Maksim Safaniuk/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Production of natural rubber has claimed over 4 million hectares of forest in south-east Asia since 1993 according to <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06642-z">a recent study</a>. This destruction of tropical forest for rubber plantations is thought to be <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/rubber-drives-at-least-twice-as-much-deforestation-as-previously-thought/">two to three times greater</a> than previous estimates.</p>
<p>Natural rubber is vital to tyre production since it is stronger, more wear-resistant and more flexible than synthetic rubber. Multiple blends of natural and synthetic rubber are used for making different parts of a tyre. </p>
<p>If more of these tyres were recycled, it would reduce how much oil, energy and forest is consumed to make rubber-based products. Recycling tyres also means less waste accumulating in landfill or being burned.</p>
<p>Yet, most rubber products contain little or no recycled material. A 2021 paper claimed that, globally, less than 2% of rubber products are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2021.109761">recycled or reused</a>. So what’s stopping us?</p>
<p>Many materials can be melted and reset in new forms once they have been separated and cleaned. Not rubber. To make tyres and other products, rubber must be chemically treated in a process known as curing or vulcanisation. This produces a material that is resistant to chemicals and heat – and difficult to recycle.</p>
<p>But that could change thanks to a new recycling process my colleagues and I have developed.</p>
<h2>A tough problem</h2>
<p>Heated rubber will burn rather than melt, releasing lots of energy. In fact, rubber contains <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2542504822000392">more energy per gram than coal</a>. That’s why most waste tyres from Europe are <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0956053X1200219X">burned for energy</a>. </p>
<p>Burning <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301420799000252">only recovers 37%</a> of the energy embedded in rubber, and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jan/30/worse-than-plastic-burning-tyres-india-george-monbiot">generates toxic fumes</a>. That’s why it’s better to recycle rubber, recovering more of its material value and limiting its pollution.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Fire and black smoke engulfing rubber tyres." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568420/original/file-20240109-23-rrphzr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568420/original/file-20240109-23-rrphzr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568420/original/file-20240109-23-rrphzr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568420/original/file-20240109-23-rrphzr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568420/original/file-20240109-23-rrphzr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568420/original/file-20240109-23-rrphzr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568420/original/file-20240109-23-rrphzr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Not sustainable: burning rubber causes air pollution.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/burning-rubber-tires-creating-big-black-499685203">Alexander Ishchenko/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Several companies have recycling technologies which can break down waste rubber. <a href="https://www.tyreandrubberrecycling.com/articles/news/tyre-to-tyre-recycling-partnership-between-tyromer-and-continental-tires/">Continental</a> signed an agreement with one company to supply recycled rubber which claims to reduce CO₂ emissions by 90% compared with using the original material (known as virgin rubber). </p>
<p>However, raw recycled rubber can typically only be used in concentrations of up to 25% before the new product has inferior properties. Fortunately, my colleagues and I recently made a material composed of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/app.54435">70% recycled rubber</a> that matched the stiffness of natural rubber. </p>
<h2>How do we recycle rubber?</h2>
<p>Recycling rubber requires breaking chemical bonds introduced by “curing” without damaging the bulk material. </p>
<p>I like to think of rubber like the mess of cables behind my TV, but on a microscopic scale. If I pull on one of the cables, there is some flexibility: it might snag on other cables, but I can probably free it. </p>
<p>Curing rubber clips those cables together. You can’t free them without either removing the clips or applying more force. In recycling, you have to be careful to break the clips without breaking the cables. The good news is that the clips are weaker than the cables, you just need a way to target them. </p>
<p>Early attempts at recycling rubber in the 1980s weren’t very good at doing this and broke clips and cables somewhat indiscriminately. Recycling rubber in this way means it cannot compete with virgin rubber. </p>
<p>As a result, recycled rubber (in the form of ground tyre rubber or “crumb rubber”) became a low-value material used as filler for artificial turf (those horrible bits that get in your boots if you play on older pitches). </p>
<p>There is already enough low-quality rubber <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10098-010-0289-1">to meet demand</a>. Higher quality recycled rubber is needed to make tyres and seals which have a much greater value in the global market and so could incentivise more rubber recycling worldwide.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A close-up view of a crumb rubber surface in a playground." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568419/original/file-20240109-23-flo0lf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568419/original/file-20240109-23-flo0lf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568419/original/file-20240109-23-flo0lf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568419/original/file-20240109-23-flo0lf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568419/original/file-20240109-23-flo0lf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568419/original/file-20240109-23-flo0lf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568419/original/file-20240109-23-flo0lf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Useful for artificial turf, playgrounds and… not much else.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/mason-hand-trowel-spreading-leveling-soft-2296421405">Anastasija Vujic/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>At the University of Bradford, we selectively broke down rubber using a technology developed by collaborators at Sichuan University in China over the past 30 years that shears away the “clips” and leaves the “cables”, producing a kind of powder that could be used to make new rubber products. By keeping the cables intact, the powder more closely matches the properties of virgin rubber.</p>
<h2>A circular solution</h2>
<p>Ultimately, the amount of virgin rubber that can be replaced by these new recycling methods will depend upon manufacturers, and turning the powder into products will require further work. Tyres contain a complex mix of synthetic and natural rubber, fillers, processing oils and other chemical additives. </p>
<p>Similar to plastic recycling, it’s hard to tell apart and separate different types of rubber before recycling. We found a huge range of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214993722000380">rubber and metal impurities</a> in rubber waste sent to recycling facilities in China.</p>
<p>Tyre manufacturers have set <a href="https://blackcycle-project.eu/">targets</a> for increasing the recycled rubber content of their products. Figuring out the best way to blend recycled rubber with virgin rubber to match the quality of existing products will require their input.</p>
<p>In future, with sufficient funding, my colleagues and I hope to study what happens to the chemistry of rubber as it is recycled. This could encourage more manufacturers to trust and accept recycled rubber in their products.</p>
<p>Today, defunct tyres are still treated as waste and cost money to dispose of. But if recycled tyres can be used in the making of high-value products, they will finally be seen as a valuable resource. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568423/original/file-20240109-17-bzmvli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A hand cupping a black powder." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568423/original/file-20240109-17-bzmvli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568423/original/file-20240109-17-bzmvli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568423/original/file-20240109-17-bzmvli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568423/original/file-20240109-17-bzmvli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568423/original/file-20240109-17-bzmvli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568423/original/file-20240109-17-bzmvli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568423/original/file-20240109-17-bzmvli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Recycled rubber powder.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/borispol-ukraine-august-14-2015-workers-1723640854">Vitaliy Holovin/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>An increase in the material value of waste tyres would prevent their <a href="https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/23655485.company-fined-10-000-judge-slams-illegal-tyre-storage/">illegal storage</a>, which can lead to <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-55042282">toxic fires</a>. More uses for recycled tyres could also help prevent the <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-asia-waste-tyres-insight-idUSKBN1WX0LD">export of waste tyres to developing countries</a> where they are burned. </p>
<p>Further investment could help make the circular economy for tyres a reality, giving new life to the 1.5 billion wasted every year.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>James Robert Innes received funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).</span></em></p>New technique could drastically improve the recyclability of rubber tyres.James Robert Innes, Postdoctoral Research Associate in Sustainable Polymer Materials, University of BradfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2199272023-12-19T16:54:10Z2023-12-19T16:54:10ZVape deals are everywhere this Christmas – here’s how to deal with the horrific waste problem<p>Vape deals are all over the place in the run-up to Christmas. Vape kits, e-liquids and accessories are being widely promoted as stocking fillers, frequently with upwards of 50% off. </p>
<p>There’s certainly a big market, with <a href="https://ash.org.uk/uploads/Use-of-e-cigarettes-among-adults-in-Great-Britain-2023.pdf?v=1691058248#:%7E:text=The%20number%20of%20e%2Dcigarette,see%20Appendix%201%20for%20methodology).&text=There%20are%20differences%20in%20vaping,of%20those%20classified%20as%20ABC1.">nearly 5 million</a> vapers in the UK alone, growing at nearly 10% a year. Many are no doubt attracted by all the bright colours and funky shapes, not to mention a <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/smokers-urged-to-swap-cigarettes-for-vapes-in-world-first-scheme#:%7E:text=As%20part%20of%20the%20world,smoking%20rates%20to%205%25%20or">UK government plan</a> to offer starter kits to one in five smokers to help make the nation “smoke-free” by 2030. </p>
<p>Quite aside from <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk-plan-to-encourage-smokers-to-take-up-vaping-means-swapping-one-health-risk-with-another-204152">the potential health issues</a>, this is causing an enormous waste problem – above all with disposable vapes. These now make up <a href="https://ash.org.uk/uploads/Use-of-e-cigarettes-among-adults-in-Great-Britain-2023.pdf?v=1691058248#:%7E:text=The%20number%20of%20e%2Dcigarette,see%20Appendix%201%20for%20methodology).&text=There%20are%20differences%20in%20vaping,of%20those%20classified%20as%20ABC1.">almost a third</a> of the whole market, a near-doubling in share in the past year alone. According to research by recycling campaigners Material Focus, some <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66740556">5 million vapes</a> are now being disposed of weekly in the UK – that’s nearly 500 a minute. </p>
<p>So how bad are the consequences and what might a solution look like?</p>
<h2>Why it’s a problem</h2>
<p>Vapes traditionally consist of an e-liquid cartridge, heating element, wick, built-in battery and a mouthpiece. Disposable vapes are very similar, except that instead of a cartridge, there’s typically a small quantity of e-liquid absorbed into the wick; when the wick dries out, the device is spent. For both disposables and reusables, there’s usually also an electronic system to control power and functionality and ensure safe operation. </p>
<p>These devices consist of plastic, glass, rubber, various metals and cotton. The electronic parts use elements that are both valuable and potentially hazardous. These include lithium in the batteries, various heavy metals and rare earths in the battery, circuitry and wiring, and aluminium in the cartridge and battery casings. </p>
<p>To give just one example of what we’re throwing away, research <a href="https://www.materialfocus.org.uk/press-releases/one-million-single-use-vapes-thrown-away-every-week-contributing-to-the-growing-e-waste-challenge-in-the-uk/">published in 2022</a> indicated that annual UK vape waste included 10 tonnes of lithium, enough to power 1,200 electric vehicles. And with vape disposals having <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66740556">already trebled</a> since then, the figure is now likely to be considerably higher. </p>
<p>When it comes to recycling, vapes are comparable to other small devices such as electric toothbrushes, smoke detectors and battery-operated toys. These are all complex to recycle, even if few product lines have been growing so quickly as vapes. Most concerning, however, is the environmental footprint of the disposables. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.materialfocus.org.uk/press-releases/one-million-single-use-vapes-thrown-away-every-week-contributing-to-the-growing-e-waste-challenge-in-the-uk/">Most are not</a> disposed of properly and end up in household trash or even littering pavements, public amenities and beaches. <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/electrical-and-electronic-equipment-eee-covered-by-the-weee-regulations/electrical-and-electronic-equipment-eee-covered-by-the-weee-regulations#:%7E:text=Category%207%3A%20toys%2C%20leisure%20and%20sports%20equipment&text=e%2Dcigarettes,details%20see%20European%20Commission%20guidance">By law</a> they are supposed to be disposed of in the same way as electrical toys and sports equipment, either via household waste-recycling centres or retailer take-back channels, where they are subsequently sent for dismantling and recycling or safe disposal. </p>
<p>If you look closely at the product or packaging, this requirement should be confirmed with a symbol of a crossed-out wheelie bin with a thick line underneath, which refers to WEEE (waste electrical and electronic equipment) recycling, though in my experience this is not always evident. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565974/original/file-20231215-15-jc6k6c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="The WEEE symbol." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565974/original/file-20231215-15-jc6k6c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565974/original/file-20231215-15-jc6k6c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=861&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565974/original/file-20231215-15-jc6k6c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=861&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565974/original/file-20231215-15-jc6k6c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=861&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565974/original/file-20231215-15-jc6k6c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1082&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565974/original/file-20231215-15-jc6k6c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1082&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565974/original/file-20231215-15-jc6k6c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1082&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The WEEE symbol.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7e/WEEE_symbol_vectors.svg/350px-WEEE_symbol_vectors.svg.png">Wikimedia</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Improper disposal of vapes <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/may/13/single-use-vapes-sparking-surge-in-fires-at-uk-waste-plants">can result</a> in harmful chemicals leaching into the environment. There’s a fire and explosion hazard when batteries become detached, damaged or submerged in water. Disposable vapes are also linked with <a href="https://lungfoundation.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/First_Nations_Vape-Animation_Fact-Sheet.pdf">generating microplastics</a>. </p>
<p>Unfortunately producers, importers and retailers are not fully acknowledging or even understanding the problem. This is exemplified by most UK producers failing to register with a UK environmental agency under WEEE regulations, which they are supposed to do. Instead most mistakenly <a href="https://www.mrw.co.uk/news/vape-firms-failing-to-comply-with-weee-regulations-07-03-2023/">register with</a> the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, leading disposable-vapes manufacturer Elf Bar was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/nov/29/elf-bar-vape-ads-uk-over-recycling-asa">recently censured</a> by the Advertising Standards Authority for playing up the recycling service it offers customers, when in reality all manufacturers are supposed to offer this service, and also because it implied vapes could be disposed of at home. </p>
<h2>What can be done</h2>
<p>Clearly, users need a greater understanding of the environmental harm and potential dangers that improper disposal of single-use vapes can cause, as well as better awareness of and access to suitable recycling facilities. Local drop-off points and take-back schemes for small electrical items could be better promoted for single-use vapes by councils, while everyone from universities to festivals could incentivise vape-recycling or offer collection points. </p>
<p>Even then, the fire hazard during storage and transport is a concern. To this end, Veolia, the largest waste management company in the UK, <a href="https://www.letsrecycle.com/news/veolia-launches-nationwide-vape-recycling-scheme/">recently launched</a> a nationwide fire-safe vape-recycling scheme where retailers are supplied with containers of vermiculite, a mineral that minimises the risk of combustion. The vapes are then transported in these containers to specialist facilities for recycling.</p>
<p>Veolia and the UK Environment Agency are also calling for vapes to be put in their own unique WEEE category because of the quantities and hazards associated with them. Alternatively, it’s sometimes suggested that councils should be made to start including all WEEE electrical waste in their rubbish collection. </p>
<p>Other potential solutions include getting the manufacturers to bear more costs towards vape collection and recycling, making them put clearer instructions about safe disposal on the packaging, or even banning disposable vapes altogether. This latter option is currently being considered by the <a href="https://www.gov.scot/news/single-use-vapes-ban-considered/#:%7E:text=The%20Scottish%20Parliament%20has%20successfully,from%20the%20Internal%20Market%20Act.">Scottish government</a> and would be my preferred choice. </p>
<p>In the meantime, for individuals getting knockdown deals on vapes this Christmas, it is best to keep spent ones in good condition and with the battery intact until you can get to a suitable recycling facility. Your retailer should be able to point you towards the nearest one, or else the information is <a href="https://www.recycleyourelectricals.org.uk/how-to-recycle-electronics/what-electronics-can-be-recycled/recycle-vapes/">available online</a>. Whatever you do, please don’t make this waste problem any worse than it is already.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219927/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Turner does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>With 5 million vapers in the UK and rising fast, nearly 500 of these devices are being thrown away every minute.Andrew Turner, Associate Professor in Environmental Sciences, University of PlymouthLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2190822023-12-05T13:19:35Z2023-12-05T13:19:35ZReal or artificial? A forestry scientist explains how to choose the most sustainable Christmas tree, no matter what it’s made of<p>Every year, Americans buy somewhere between <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/209249/purchase-figures-for-real-and-fake-christmas-trees-in-the-us/">35 million and 50 million Christmas trees</a>, and many more pull an artificial tree out of storage for the season. In all, about three-quarters of U.S. households typically have some kind of Christmas tree, <a href="https://today.yougov.com/society/articles/26802-christmas-tree-poll-survey-artificial-real-survey">surveys show</a>.</p>
<p>People often ask which is more sustainable – a real tree or an artificial one? It’s a big debate, and the answer depends on who you ask and which factors you consider.</p>
<p>A more useful question is: How do I find the most sustainable tree of the kind I want to get?</p>
<p>I’m a <a href="https://extension.msstate.edu/central-ms-research-ext-center/dr-curtis-l-vanderschaaf">forestry professor</a> who works on issues of sustainability. There are advantages and disadvantages to both cut trees and artificial trees. Here are some tips to consider for each.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563376/original/file-20231204-18-eepsj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man carries a live Christmas tree on his shoulder through a doorway. A little girl runs ahead of him." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563376/original/file-20231204-18-eepsj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563376/original/file-20231204-18-eepsj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563376/original/file-20231204-18-eepsj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563376/original/file-20231204-18-eepsj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563376/original/file-20231204-18-eepsj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563376/original/file-20231204-18-eepsj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563376/original/file-20231204-18-eepsj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cut Christmas trees require water and maintenance – and careful thought about disposal.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/mid-adult-man-in-santa-hat-carefully-carrying-royalty-free-image/1390111010">10'000 Hours/DigitalVision via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>If you’re buying a live Christmas tree</h2>
<p>When Christmas trees are alive and growing, they pull carbon dioxide from the air and use it as the building blocks of their wood. That keeps the greenhouse gas out of the atmosphere, where too much carbon dioxide contributes to global warming.</p>
<p>This process stops once the tree is harvested. And at some point, the cut tree begins to decompose and releases that carbon again.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563020/original/file-20231201-27-mx55zk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563020/original/file-20231201-27-mx55zk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563020/original/file-20231201-27-mx55zk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563020/original/file-20231201-27-mx55zk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563020/original/file-20231201-27-mx55zk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563020/original/file-20231201-27-mx55zk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563020/original/file-20231201-27-mx55zk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563020/original/file-20231201-27-mx55zk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Christmas tree farms like this one in Greencastle, Ind., can be found in almost every state.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/conservation-basics/conservation-by-state/indiana/news/retirees-pursue-passion-on-christmas-tree">USDA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>On the positive side, the tree’s root systems will continue to store carbon for some time, and <a href="https://realchristmastrees.org/education/quick-tree-facts/">new trees are typically planted to continue the cycle</a>.</p>
<p>So, how do you find the most sustainable live tree?</p>
<h2>Think about the tree’s origin</h2>
<p>If you live in Mississippi, like I do, buying a noble fir (<em>Abies procera</em>) means your tree probably came from the Pacific Northwest. That’s a long drive, and transportation is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. However, in a truck with several hundred trees, each individual tree’s transportation emissions are pretty minor.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563062/original/file-20231202-27-g50g0b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A map of Douglas-fir locations, primarily in the Pacific Northwest and intermountain West" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563062/original/file-20231202-27-g50g0b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563062/original/file-20231202-27-g50g0b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563062/original/file-20231202-27-g50g0b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563062/original/file-20231202-27-g50g0b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563062/original/file-20231202-27-g50g0b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563062/original/file-20231202-27-g50g0b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563062/original/file-20231202-27-g50g0b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Douglas-firs grow primarily in the Western U.S.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/sites/default/files/fs_media/fs_document/Forest-Atlas-of-the-United-States.pdf">USDA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The most common Christmas tree varies by region: Douglas-fir is also common throughout the Mountain West. Scotch pine and balsam fir are regularly grown in the Great Lakes states. Fraser fir is also popular there but dominant in North Carolina. Leyland cypress and Virginia pine are common in the Southeast.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563065/original/file-20231202-17-9o886x.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Maps showing balsam fir growing areas." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563065/original/file-20231202-17-9o886x.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563065/original/file-20231202-17-9o886x.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=358&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563065/original/file-20231202-17-9o886x.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=358&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563065/original/file-20231202-17-9o886x.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=358&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563065/original/file-20231202-17-9o886x.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563065/original/file-20231202-17-9o886x.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563065/original/file-20231202-17-9o886x.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Balsam firs, also popular for Christmas trees, grow in the Great Lakes region, New England and Canada.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/sites/default/files/fs_media/fs_document/Forest-Atlas-of-the-United-States.pdf">USDA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There are many other wonderful species grown locally. Of course, the lowest-impact cut tree is the one you cut from your own yard.</p>
<p>Also, look for local nurseries that <a href="https://christmastrees.ces.ncsu.edu/christmastrees-christmas-tree-fertility/">protect their soils from erosion</a> and minimize harm to surface and groundwater from runoff that can include fertilizers or pesticides.</p>
<h2>Disposing of your live tree</h2>
<p>What you do with your tree <a href="https://www.angi.com/articles/how-dispose-christmas-tree.htm">after the holidays</a> also <a href="https://www.texasdisposal.com/blog/real-vs-fake-christmas-trees/">matters</a>.</p>
<p>Recycling is far better than leaving the wood to decompose in a landfill. Because of the nature of most landfills, anaerobic conditions will ultimately exist, and decomposition will result in the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/lmop/basic-information-about-landfill-gas">release of methane gas</a>, which is many times more potent than carbon dioxide at warming the atmosphere.</p>
<p>Look for a <a href="https://pickyourownchristmastree.org/MississippiTreeRecyclingDisposal.php">community</a> or <a href="https://www.homedepot.com/c/ai/christmas-tree-recycling/9ba683603be9fa5395fab90c0b422bc">retailer</a> that offers to chip the tree or shred it to create mulch or for use in animal stalls. This keeps it out of landfills and serves a purpose.</p>
<p><a href="https://blog.davey.com/is-a-christmas-tree-good-for-mulch-or-the-compost-pile/">Composting is another option</a>. Trees can be used as an <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/2020-01-09/states-recycle-christmas-trees-for-fish-habitats">erosion barrier for sand or soil</a> or as <a href="https://www.trackerboats.com/learning-center/christmas-tree-recycling.html">fish habitat in lakes</a>. They can even be donated whole <a href="https://tigerworld.us/recycle-your-christmas-tree/">to zoos</a>, where the trees provide entertainment for animals while eventually <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJvWWOutseI">decaying outside of a landfill</a>, or they can be tossed into a bio-burner to <a href="https://www.vox.com/2015/1/14/7547015/old-christmas-trees-zoo">provide heating for buildings</a>. Some people even <a href="https://www.timbercreekfarmer.com/can-goats-eat-christmas-trees">feed trees to goats</a>.</p>
<p>Alternatively, consider cutting the tree into smaller pieces and letting it rot in the open, placing it in an out-of-the-way place in your yard. It will provide a <a href="https://theconversation.com/to-help-insects-make-them-welcome-in-your-garden-heres-how-153609">temporary home for many insects, birds and wildlife</a>.</p>
<h2>Artificial trees have different pros and cons</h2>
<p>Artificial trees also have advantages – they can last for years and require almost no maintenance. However, they are mostly a petroleum-based product, and when you throw one out, it can take hundreds of years to decompose.</p>
<p>If you plan to buy an artificial Christmas tree – maybe you have allergies like I do, or you’re concerned about cost – here are some suggestions to reduce your carbon footprint.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563377/original/file-20231204-21-va6vl7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A girl puts together an artificial tree that's missing its top." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563377/original/file-20231204-21-va6vl7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563377/original/file-20231204-21-va6vl7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563377/original/file-20231204-21-va6vl7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563377/original/file-20231204-21-va6vl7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563377/original/file-20231204-21-va6vl7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563377/original/file-20231204-21-va6vl7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563377/original/file-20231204-21-va6vl7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Artificial trees can last decades.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/little-girl-makes-an-artificial-christmas-tree-royalty-free-image/1427522691">Sinenkiy/iStock/Getty Images Plus</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Reuse, reuse, reuse</h2>
<p>The No. 1 way to reduce emissions with an artificial tree is to reuse it for years. Reuse <a href="https://treescapes.com/real-vs-artificial-christmas-trees/">avoids the carbon impact</a> of producing, packaging and shipping a new one. The break-even point – when your artificial tree’s emissions match the emissions of buying a live tree each year – varies from <a href="https://www.christmastreeassociation.org/2018-acta-life-cycle-assessment">as little as four years</a> to <a href="https://www.osti.gov/etdeweb/biblio/21221949">as many as 20 years</a>, depending on the factors considered.</p>
<p>Many artificial trees are <a href="https://oncortrees.com/?fbclid=IwAR3mY_fdBpUSDxfQi2piZru2QlzJgI-i6KiUYUQQU9V3t7vvZXnQX4VWbXA">built to last 30 years or more</a>. My family has had one for 25 years. To lengthen its life span, take care when putting it up and storing it. If the tree gets damaged, see if you can find replacement parts rather than replacing the entire tree.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563056/original/file-20231202-30-58e77z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563056/original/file-20231202-30-58e77z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563056/original/file-20231202-30-58e77z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563056/original/file-20231202-30-58e77z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563056/original/file-20231202-30-58e77z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563056/original/file-20231202-30-58e77z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563056/original/file-20231202-30-58e77z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Old artificial trees can be repurposed into garlands and other holiday crafts.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Curtis VanderSchaaf</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Pay attention to the source</h2>
<p><a href="https://news.vt.edu/articles/2022/12/Christmas_tree.html">About 80%</a> of artificial Christmas trees are manufactured in China. <a href="https://www.cbo.gov/publication/58861">Shipping is pretty efficient</a>, but the tree still needs to get to and from the ports. You can also look for one manufactured nearby instead.</p>
<p>Some manufacturers are making trees out of recycled materials, <a href="https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/vinterfint-artificial-christmas-tree-indoor-outdoor-green-30556093/">at least in part</a>, which helps reduce the tree’s carbon footprint. Shorter artificial trees, or designs with less foliage, also use less plastic.</p>
<p>The type of plastic used also affects the amount of petroleum used. Some <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egyr.2020.11.173">research has suggested</a> that plastic foliage made from polyethylene plastic molds may have a lower impact than traditional <a href="https://premiumpatio.com/needles-and-realism-artificial-christmas-trees/">foliage made out of polyvinyl chloride, or PVC</a>.</p>
<h2>Give the fake tree a second life</h2>
<p>If you no longer like your artificial tree – maybe it’s too big for a new home – try reselling the tree or donating it to a <a href="https://www.dumpsters.com/blog/christmas-tree-disposal">charity, thrift store or nursing home</a> so that others can continue to use it.</p>
<p>You can also get creative and repurpose the old tree limbs into decorative wreaths, garlands or toy trees for a hobby train set.</p>
<h2>Lighting also matters</h2>
<p>With any holiday tree, be judicious <a href="https://christmastrees.ces.ncsu.edu/2016/11/care-for-your-north-carolina-fraser-fir/">about turning off lights</a> when no one is around and at night. Consider using fewer lights. LED lights are <a href="https://www.chesterenergyandpolicy.com/blog/powering-holiday-symbols-emissions">more energy efficient</a> than incandescent lights.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An elf ornament and Christmas light." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563021/original/file-20231201-15-sq3tm3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563021/original/file-20231201-15-sq3tm3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563021/original/file-20231201-15-sq3tm3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563021/original/file-20231201-15-sq3tm3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563021/original/file-20231201-15-sq3tm3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563021/original/file-20231201-15-sq3tm3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563021/original/file-20231201-15-sq3tm3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">LED lights reduce energy demand.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/98640399@N08/9375455047">Barta IV via Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>In the grand scheme of the holidays, with people traveling and buying and returning gifts through the mail, the carbon footprint of your Christmas tree is a lesser concern. A <a href="https://www.icao.int/environmental-protection/Carbonoffset/Pages/default.aspx">round-trip flight</a> from Los Angeles to Boston can produce more than 30 times the lifetime emissions of a typical artificial Christmas tree. Still, it’s fairly easy to make more sustainable choices and reduce your carbon footprint when you can.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219082/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Curtis VanderSchaaf is a forestry extension specialist at Mississippi State University..
</span></em></p>How many years you reuse a fake holiday tree matters. So does what happens to a live tree when you’ve packed up the ornaments.Curtis VanderSchaaf, Assistant Professor of Forestry, Mississippi State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2147562023-12-01T17:52:49Z2023-12-01T17:52:49ZElectric arc furnaces: the technology poised to make British steelmaking more sustainable<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556676/original/file-20231030-19-zblfpc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=50%2C0%2C5615%2C3741&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Steel production in an electric arc furnace.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/steel-production-electric-furnace-780620236">Norenko Andrey/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In a move to embrace sustainable steelmaking, British Steel has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/nov/06/british-steel-scunthorpe-furnaces-jobs">unveiled</a> a £1.25 billion plan to replace two blast furnaces at its Scunthorpe plant with <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/electric-arc-furnace-process">electric arc furnaces</a>. This follows the UK government’s <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/welsh-steels-future-secured-as-uk-government-and-tata-steel-announce-port-talbot-green-transition-proposal">commitment</a> in September to <a href="https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/live-updates-thousands-job-losses-27716778">invest</a> up to £500 million towards an electric arc furnace at Tata Steel’s Port Talbot plant in south Wales.</p>
<p>This method of steelmaking can use up to 100% scrap steel as its raw material, resulting in a significant reduction in carbon emissions. It is the future of steelmaking. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1721521512086196450"}"></div></p>
<p>Steel is an incredible material and for good reason. It’s the world’s most commonly used metal because it’s strong, durable and recyclable, making it the perfect material for everything from skyscrapers to electric vehicles and solar panels. More than <a href="https://worldsteel.org/steel-topics/statistics/annual-production-steel-data/?ind=P1_crude_steel_total_pub/WORLD_ALL/GBR">1.8 billion tonnes</a> of crude steel were produced globally last year. That number is only expected to grow as the world transitions to a more sustainable future.</p>
<p>The UK uses around 12 million tonnes of steel each year. And in 2022, it produced just under 6 million tonnes, contributing to around <a href="https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CDP-2023-0016/CDP-2023-0016.pdf">2.4%</a> of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.</p>
<h2>Electric arc furnaces</h2>
<p>There are <a href="https://www.eurofer.eu/about-steel/learn-about-steel/what-is-steel-and-how-is-steel-made">two main</a> steel production methods. Currently, Port Talbot and Scunthorpe use the blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace method. The purpose of the blast furnace is to separate iron ore extracted from the ground into its component parts: iron and oxygen. </p>
<p>A form of carbon, normally coal, combines with the oxygen in the iron ore. The outputs of this process are iron and carbon dioxide. The basic oxygen furnace is then used to convert the iron into steel. </p>
<p>As a global average, this method of steelmaking emits around <a href="https://worldsteel.org/wp-content/uploads/Sustainability-Indicators-2022-report.pdf">2.32 tonnes</a> of CO₂ per tonne of steel produced. </p>
<p>An electric arc furnace works by generating a high-temperature arc between graphite electrodes, using electricity as the energy source. This arc is then used to melt metal inside a chamber. </p>
<p>Using this method, up to 100% scrap steel can be used as the raw material, while the blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace method can only use a maximum of <a href="https://worldsteel.org/steel-topics/raw-materials/">30% scrap</a>. A switch to the electric arc furnace method could reduce emissions to 0.67 tonnes of CO₂ per tonne of steel produced when using 100% scrap steel.</p>
<p>In the future, it is also possible the electricity needed for electric arc furnace processes could come from 100% renewable sources, whereas a form of carbon will always be needed to reduce iron ore when using the blast furnace method.</p>
<h2>Recycled steel</h2>
<p>Steel is the most recycled material in the <a href="https://worldsteel.org/about-steel/steel-industry-facts/steel-core-green-economy/">world</a>, and so scrap steel is quickly becoming a crucial raw material. In 2021, the global steel industry recycled around 680 million tonnes of scrap steel. This equates to <a href="https://worldsteel.org/about-steel/steel-facts?fact=53">savings</a> of almost 1 billion tonnes of CO₂ emissions, compared to using virgin steel production. </p>
<p>In 2021, more than <a href="https://www.bir.org/images/BIR-pdf/Ferrous_report_2017-2021_lr.pdf">8.2 million tonnes</a> of steel scrap was exported from the UK. If collected and sorted more carefully, using this material domestically could provide both environmental and economic value, by helping to meet growing national demand for steel.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A large steelworks lit up at night." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556639/original/file-20231030-27-aeouwv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6015%2C3357&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556639/original/file-20231030-27-aeouwv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=335&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556639/original/file-20231030-27-aeouwv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=335&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556639/original/file-20231030-27-aeouwv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=335&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556639/original/file-20231030-27-aeouwv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556639/original/file-20231030-27-aeouwv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556639/original/file-20231030-27-aeouwv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The Tata Steel plant in Port Talbot, south Wales.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/port-talbot-wales-uk-industrial-landscape-1264187401">Christopher Willans/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>We know that steel produced with an electric arc furnace can have different properties to blast furnace produced material. A large factor in this is the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/03019233.2020.1805276">quality of scrap steel</a> used in the electric arc furnace – if the scrap steel quality is low, then so will the quality of the output.</p>
<p>With that in mind, there is a need for research, innovation and skills development to ensure this transition to lower-carbon steelmaking methods is successful. </p>
<p>Finding and sorting the right types of scrap material, confirming material properties and increasing supply chain understanding of electric arc furnace steelmaking are all necessary for a wide range of steel products to continue to be made in the UK.</p>
<h2>Sustainable steelmaking</h2>
<p>There is a race across Europe to secure investment for sustainable steelmaking technologies. <a href="https://www.hybritdevelopment.se/en/">Hybrit</a> is a fossil-free steel project in Sweden between several major steel producers and is already underway. </p>
<p>This follows plans to invest almost <a href="https://energypost.eu/hybrit-project-sweden-goes-for-zero-carbon-steel/">€40 billion</a> (almost £35 billion) in low-emission steelmaking technologies over the next 20 years. Also in Sweden, the company H2 Green Steel has secured <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/swedens-h2-green-steel-gains-support-345-bln-debt-funding-fossil-fuel-free-plant-2022-10-24/">€3.5 billion</a> (£3 billion) to build a hydrogen-powered steel plant.</p>
<p>In July 2023, the German government announced €2 billion (£1.7 billion) of <a href="https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/eu-commission-oks-e2-billion-state-aid-for-ailing-german-steel-sector/">support</a> for Thyssenkrupp, the steel multinational. And that was on top of the €3 billion (£2.6 billion) it had previously announced to support the country’s industrial green transition. A</p>
<p>ArcelorMittal, the second largest steel producer in the world, has also announced green investment in their plants in <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_3404">Belgium</a> and <a href="https://corporate.arcelormittal.com/climate-action/decarbonisation-investment-plans/spain-a-1-billion-investment-to-halve-our-carbon-emissions-and-create-the-world-s-first-full-scale-zero-carbon-emissions-steel-plant">Spain</a>, totalling more than €1.2 billion (£1.5 billion).</p>
<p>While the UK government has <a href="https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/the-uk-should-lead-on-a-green-industrial-strategy-not-roll-back/">no published</a> industrial strategy, other organisations have produced roadmaps for decarbonised steelmaking in the UK. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.energy-transitions.org/new-report-breakthrough-steel-investment/">report</a> by the Energy Transitions Commission, a global coalition of energy leaders committed to net-zero emissions, outlined plans for investing in low-emission steelmaking in early 2023. With the right level of government and private sector investment, the UK could become a world leader in green steelmaking – but only it acts now.</p>
<p>As global temperatures continue to rise and the climate emergency deepens, the need for a decarbonised steel industry is greater than ever. Lower carbon methods of steel production are the future of the industry both in the UK and around the world.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214756/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Becky Waldram receives funding from EPSRC, as part of the SUSTAIN Hub (Strategic University Steel Technology and Innovation Network). She is member of the Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining. </span></em></p>Electric arc furnaces can use up to 100% scrap steel as its raw material, resulting in a significant reduction in emissions.Becky Waldram, Materials Scientist and SUSTAIN Impact & Engagement Manager, Swansea UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2189222023-12-01T03:04:52Z2023-12-01T03:04:52ZSocial media ads are littered with ‘green’ claims. How are we supposed to know they’re true?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562864/original/file-20231130-27-pt75o2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C361%2C6884%2C3932&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/handmade-soap-toothpaste-bamboo-toothbrushes-loofah-1992456326">Yuriy Golub/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Online platforms are awash with ads for so-called “green” products. Power companies are “carbon neutral”. Electronics are “for the planet”. Clothing is “circular” and travel is “sustainable”. Or are they?</p>
<p>Our study of more than 8,000 ads served more than 20,000 times in people’s Facebook feeds found many green claims are vague, meaningless or unsubstantiated and consumers are potentially being deceived.</p>
<p>This costs consumers, as products claiming to be greener are often more expensive. And it costs the planet, as false and exaggerated green claims – or “greenwashing” – make it seem more is being done to tackle climate change and other environmental crises than is really happening. </p>
<p>The widespread use of these claims could delay important action on tackling climate change, as it dilutes the sense of urgency around the issue.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/greenwashing-how-ads-get-you-to-think-brands-are-greener-than-they-are-and-how-to-avoid-falling-for-it-183169">Greenwashing: how ads get you to think brands are greener than they are – and how to avoid falling for it</a>
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<h2>The colours of environmental friendliness</h2>
<p>Our research is part of a <a href="https://cprc.org.au/seeing-green">newly published report</a> produced by the not-for-profit <a href="https://cprc.org.au/">Consumer Policy Research Centre</a>, researchers at Melbourne Law School and the <a href="https://www.admscentre.org.au/adobservatory/">Australian Ad Observatory</a>, a project of ADM+S (ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society).</p>
<p>The Ad Observatory captures ads from the personal Facebook feeds of around 2,000 people who “donate” their ads to the project via a browser plugin. This lets us analyse <a href="https://fare.org.au/wp-content/uploads/Transparency-Report.pdf">otherwise unobservable</a> and ephemeral ads. </p>
<p><iframe id="1Kt1P" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/1Kt1P/1/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>We found the most common claims were “clean”, “green” and “sustainable”. Other popular terms were “bio”, “recycled” or “recyclable”, “pure” and “eco-friendly”, often with no explanation of what lay behind them. All are very general, undefined terms, yet they imply a more environmentally responsible choice.</p>
<p>Our report didn’t verify each claim nor analysed their accuracy. We intended to highlight the volume and breadth of the green claims consumers see in social media ads.</p>
<p>Many ads used colours and symbols to put a green “halo” around their products and business. These included green, blue and earthy beige tones, background nature imagery and emojis featuring leaves, planet Earth, the recycling symbol and the green tick, often with no context or specific information.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562815/original/file-20231130-17-cju8jk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562815/original/file-20231130-17-cju8jk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562815/original/file-20231130-17-cju8jk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562815/original/file-20231130-17-cju8jk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562815/original/file-20231130-17-cju8jk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562815/original/file-20231130-17-cju8jk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=538&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562815/original/file-20231130-17-cju8jk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=538&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562815/original/file-20231130-17-cju8jk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=538&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A sample of green-coloured ads collected by our Ad Observer project. The claims in these ads may well be true, but consumers often need to ‘deep dive’ to verify this information.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">CPRC, Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The top five sectors making green claims were energy, household products, fashion, health and personal care, and travel. </p>
<p>This was consistent with a <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/accc-greenwashing-internet-sweep-unearths-widespread-concerning-claims">recent internet sweep</a> by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), which found 57% of the business websites checked were making concerning claims. The proportion was highest among the cosmetic, clothing and footwear, and food and drink packaging sectors.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562858/original/file-20231130-17-j0iuxf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562858/original/file-20231130-17-j0iuxf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562858/original/file-20231130-17-j0iuxf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562858/original/file-20231130-17-j0iuxf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562858/original/file-20231130-17-j0iuxf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562858/original/file-20231130-17-j0iuxf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562858/original/file-20231130-17-j0iuxf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562858/original/file-20231130-17-j0iuxf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Examples of blue-coloured ads. The claims in these ads may well be true, but in many cases consumers need to ‘deep dive’ to verify this information.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">CPRC, Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Strong incentives for greenwashing</h2>
<p>Recent Consumer Policy Research Centre <a href="https://cprc.org.au/green-claims/">research shows 45% percent</a> of Australians always or often consider sustainability as part of their purchasing decision-making. At least 50% of Australians say they are worried about green claim truthfulness across every sector.</p>
<p>Given consumer concern, businesses have a strong incentive to “green” their businesses. But that comes with a strong incentive to claim more than is justified.</p>
<p>Major Australian business regulators – the ACCC and Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) – are both prioritising enforcement action against greenwashing.</p>
<p>ASIC has issued <a href="https://asic.gov.au/about-asic/news-centre/find-a-media-release/2023-releases/23-121mr-update-on-asic-s-recent-greenwashing-actions/">dozens of interventions</a> against misleading and deceptive environmental disclosures by companies and super funds. The ACCC has issued <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/advertising-and-promotions/environmental-and-sustainability-claims">draft guidance</a> for businesses on how to avoid greenwashing when making environmental and sustainability claims.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Environment_and_Communications/Greenwashing">Senate inquiry into greenwashing</a> is expected to report in mid-2024 as to whether stricter regulation is necessary to protect consumers from misleading greenwashing. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/airlines-are-being-hit-by-anti-greenwashing-litigation-heres-what-makes-them-perfect-targets-214501">Airlines are being hit by anti-greenwashing litigation – here's what makes them perfect targets</a>
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<h2>What is ‘sustainable’, anyway?</h2>
<p>Our research highlights the plethora of green claims businesses make in social media advertising. Consumers are forced to choose between accepting claims at face value or committing to a deep dive to research each product they buy and the claims they make.</p>
<p>Many green claims come from the energy sector, with some energy companies claiming to be “greener” without any detail. Some claim carbon offsets or carbon neutrality – <a href="https://theconversation.com/worthless-forest-carbon-offsets-risk-exacerbating-climate-change-211862">highly contested terms</a>. </p>
<p>Ads for “sustainable” travel often showed destinations emphasising a connection with nature, but did not explain what aspect of the travel was sustainable. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562860/original/file-20231130-27-uh0b8n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562860/original/file-20231130-27-uh0b8n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562860/original/file-20231130-27-uh0b8n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=141&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562860/original/file-20231130-27-uh0b8n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=141&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562860/original/file-20231130-27-uh0b8n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=141&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562860/original/file-20231130-27-uh0b8n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=177&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562860/original/file-20231130-27-uh0b8n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=177&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562860/original/file-20231130-27-uh0b8n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=177&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Examples of travel ads containing ‘green’ claims. The claims in these ads may well be true, but often consumers need to ‘deep dive’ to verify this information.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">CPRC, Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>One personal care brand heavily advertised its “sustainable” packaging, but the fine print showed it related only to the boxes their products are shipped in, not the actual product packaging. A claim like this can create an undeserved green halo across a whole product range. </p>
<p>Claims that products are biodegradable, compostable or recyclable can be particularly problematic, since this is often technically true yet practically difficult. Some products labelled <a href="https://theconversation.com/do-you-toss-biodegradable-plastic-in-the-compost-bin-heres-why-it-might-not-break-down-178542">biodegradable</a> may need to be taken to a specific facility, but a consumer might assume they will biodegrade in their home compost bin.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/do-you-toss-biodegradable-plastic-in-the-compost-bin-heres-why-it-might-not-break-down-178542">Do you toss biodegradable plastic in the compost bin? Here’s why it might not break down</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What can we do?</h2>
<p>Australians cannot wait years for enforcement action against potentially misleading green claims. The economy and the digital world is moving too fast and the need for sustainability is too urgent. Governments must enact laws now to ensure green terms are clearly defined and based on the truth.</p>
<p>The European Union is currently working on a “<a href="https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2023/753958/EPRS_BRI(2023)753958_EN.pdf">Green claims” directive</a> that seeks to ban generic claims such as “eco-friendly”, “green”, “carbon positive” and “energy efficient”. Claims would have to be specific, meaningful and based on independently verified excellent environmental performance.</p>
<p>The United Kingdom has already issued similar <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/green-claims-code-making-environmental-claims">guidance via an environmental claims code</a> and is also considering <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/feb/19/greenwashing-firms-face-steep-new-uk-fines-for-misleading-claims">stricter legislation</a>. </p>
<p>Australian regulators should have the power to blacklist green terms that cannot be substantiated and are inherently meaningless or misleading.</p>
<p>Some high-polluting sectors should be banned from making any kind of green claim in advertising, due to the overwhelming negative environmental impact of their business models and practices, as the EU is considering. Fossil-fuel companies, for example, should not be permitted to use green claims in marketing.</p>
<p>Australian consumers deserve green choices that are clear, comparable, meaningful and true.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218922/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christine Parker receives funding from the Australian Research Council as a Chief Investigator with the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society.</span></em></p>Many ‘green’ claims on social media ads are claims only. We need legislation to ensure green terms are clearly defined and based on the truth.Christine Parker, Professor of Law, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2164262023-11-30T13:36:28Z2023-11-30T13:36:28ZAs plastic production grows, treaty negotiations to reduce plastic waste are stuck in low gear<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562205/original/file-20231128-19-csbpls.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C17%2C5982%2C3952&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Plastic litters a beach in Manila, Philippines.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/motorcycle-helmet-and-other-plastic-waste-are-seen-washed-news-photo/1681770746"> Ezra Acayan/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Plastic pollution has spread to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06113-5">Earth’s farthest reaches</a>, with widespread effects <a href="https://theconversation.com/seabirds-that-swallow-ocean-plastic-waste-have-scarring-in-their-stomachs-scientists-have-named-this-disease-plasticosis-201506">on wildlife</a>, <a href="https://www.oecd.org/environment/plastics/Policy-Highlights-Climate-change-and-plastics-pollution-Synergies-between-two-crucial-environmental-challenges.pdf">the environment</a> and <a href="https://www.afro.who.int/news/tackling-health-impacts-plastic-pollution-africa">human health</a>. To curb this problem, U.N. member countries are <a href="https://www.unep.org/inc-plastic-pollution">negotiating a global treaty</a> to reduce plastic pollution, which they aim to complete by the end of 2024. </p>
<p>That effort is well underway. In September 2023, the U.N. Environment Programme released the so-called <a href="https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/43239/ZERODRAFT.pdf">zero draft</a> – a first iteration of ideas and goals that emerged from the first two rounds of negotiations. And in November 2023, the <a href="https://www.unep.org/inc-plastic-pollution">Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution</a> met in Nairobi, Kenya, for the third negotiating round of a planned five sessions. </p>
<p>Studies show that plastic causes harm <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2023.05.015">in all stages of its life cycle</a>, from production through use and disposal. Because the draft treaty includes provisions that address all of these phases, environmental advocates greeted it as a <a href="https://www.breakfreefromplastic.org/2023/09/05/breakfreefromplastic-members-encouraged-by-the-zero-draft-for-a-global-plastics-treaty-call-for-ambitious-negotiations/">step in the right direction</a>. </p>
<p>The draft includes 13 provisions that address issues such as reducing plastics production, the use of recycled materials, phasing out single-use plastics, promoting alternative materials and limiting the use of <a href="https://www.unep.org/resources/report/chemicals-plastics-technical-report">chemicals of concern</a> – materials that have high toxicities and the potential to be released from plastic products. But with three rounds of negotiations now complete, major questions remain unresolved. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cz59f8esLe7/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>Some countries continue to focus on end-of-life measures, like disposal and recycling, while others prioritize reducing plastic production. Notably, the U.S. – the world’s <a href="http://nap.nationalacademies.org/26132">top generator of plastic waste</a> – has been slow to endorse ambitious goals.</p>
<p>On the plus side, the Biden administration recently agreed that national plans should be based on a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/un-talks-global-plastic-treaty-delegates-face-off-over-production-limits-2023-11-12/">globally agreed target</a> for reducing plastic, rather than simply calling on countries to act individually. However, the U.S. position on other questions remains vague. </p>
<h2>Recycling isn’t keeping up</h2>
<p>Plastic has many uses, and it’s cheap. These attributes drive what some observers call a <a href="https://about.bnef.com/blog/the-worlds-addiction-to-plastic-in-five-charts/">plastic addiction</a>. </p>
<p>In particular, thanks to consumers’ desire for convenience, about <a href="https://www.unep.org/resources/report/single-use-plastics-roadmap-sustainability">36% of global plastic production is for single-use items</a>, such as food packaging, straws, grocery bags and utensils. Global plastic production <a href="https://www.oecd.org/environment/plastic-pollution-is-growing-relentlessly-as-waste-management-and-recycling-fall-short.htm">doubled from 2000 through 2019</a>, but recycling rates in the U.S. and elsewhere have <a href="https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/plastics-material-specific-data">remained essentially flat</a>.</p>
<p>Treaties have successfully curbed other global harms, including <a href="https://leap.unep.org/en/content/treaty/convention-long-range-transboundary-air-pollution">acid rain</a>, <a href="https://www.unep.org/ozonaction/who-we-are/about-montreal-protocol">stratospheric ozone loss</a> and <a href="https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/minamata-convention-mercury-marks-three-years-protecting-human-health-and">mercury contamination</a>. Many environmental advocates see the decision to design a global plastic treaty as a <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/press-releases/un-plastic-pollution-treaty-one-step-closer-to-being-realized-as-negotiators-in-paris-agree-to-start-developing-a-draft-treaty-with-global-rules-to-curb-plastic-pollution">unique opportunity</a>, on a par with the <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/03/climate-crisis-un-agrees-to-develop-treaty-to-end-plastic-pollution.html">2015 Paris accord</a> to address global climate change. </p>
<p>But based on my <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/our-plastic-problem-and-how-to-solve-it/CAD4AF039D41B2CD6B66BF3B8DF57BF0">research into curbing plastic pollution</a>, I believe such an agreement won’t succeed unless major governments embrace a life-cycle approach that addresses all stages of the plastic value chain, from production to disposal. And since plastics are made from petrochemicals, the fossil fuel industry has a strong interest in the outcome and will need incentives to support proposals for limiting production.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562210/original/file-20231128-27-79x45t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="People march with signs calling for limits on plastic production." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562210/original/file-20231128-27-79x45t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562210/original/file-20231128-27-79x45t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562210/original/file-20231128-27-79x45t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562210/original/file-20231128-27-79x45t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562210/original/file-20231128-27-79x45t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562210/original/file-20231128-27-79x45t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562210/original/file-20231128-27-79x45t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Environment activists demonstrate in Nairobi, Kenya, on Nov. 11, 2023, just before the third round of negotiations on a global plastic pollution treaty.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/environment-activists-stage-a-demonstration-demanding-news-photo/1775869205">Edwin Ndeke/Anadolu via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The ozone precedent</h2>
<p>Historically, the U.S. has taken the position that plastic pollution is a waste disposal problem. Industry, too, prefers to treat plastic pollution primarily as an issue of <a href="https://www.afpm.org/newsroom/blog/reintroduced-break-free-plastic-pollution-act-falls-short-would-penalize-american">people mismanaging waste</a>. Relevant U.S. policies, such as the <a href="https://www.congress.gov/116/plaws/publ224/PLAW-116publ224.pdf">Save Our Seas 2.0 Act</a> enacted in 2020, have focused on managing waste rather than reducing plastic production.</p>
<p>In May 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released a <a href="https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2023-04/Draft_National_Strategy_to_Prevent_Plastic_Pollution.pdf">Draft National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution</a>. While green groups view it as an <a href="https://earthjustice.org/action/plastics-are-harming-our-health-and-destroying-our-planet">improvement over past policies</a>, the proposal does not ban nonessential plastics, as some advocates urge. </p>
<p>In my view, recycling and <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/comment/EPA-HQ-OLEM-2023-0228-0704">end-of-life management of plastic</a> play oversized roles in the draft. What’s more, critics argue that the plan’s focus on <a href="https://www.packaginginsights.com/news/beyond-plastics-calls-on-us-epa-to-standardize-and-restrict-plastic-industry-legislation.html">voluntary waste reduction goals</a> will be ineffective.</p>
<p>I see the 1987 <a href="https://www.unep.org/resources/report/single-use-plastics-roadmap-sustainability">Montreal Protocol</a>, which phased out production and use of chemicals that deplete Earth’s stratospheric ozone layer, as a better model. This treaty, which is <a href="https://theconversation.com/saving-the-ozone-layer-why-the-montreal-protocol-worked-9249">widely viewed as successful</a>, clearly identified the chemicals at issue and included scientists in the negotiating process. </p>
<p>It set an ambitious schedule for monitoring and controlling ozone-depleting substances, gave industry a central role in developing substitutes and <a href="https://council.science/current/blog/happy-birthday-montreal-protocol-ozone/">left room for businesses and regulators to innovate</a>. Thanks to the treaty’s design, plus <a href="https://theconversation.com/cooling-conundrum-hfcs-were-the-safer-replacement-for-another-damaging-chemical-in-refrigerators-and-air-conditioners-with-a-treaty-now-phasing-them-out-whats-next-191172">updates to address newly recognized threats</a>, scientists agree that Earth’s ozone layer <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/01/1132277">is on track to recover</a>. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/05HS141u4yA?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Under the Montreal Protocol, Earth’s ozone layer is on track to recover over the next several decades from 20th-century depletion – a precedent for tackling other environmental problems.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Lagging negotiations on plastic</h2>
<p>Countries did not show this kind of unity in the Nairobi negotiations on the plastics treaty. Environmental advocates accused a handful of oil-producing countries, including Iran, Saudi Arabia, China and Russia, of engaging in what the green groups viewed as <a href="https://phys.org/news/2023-11-frustration-latest-global-plastic-treaty.html">stalling tactics</a> by introducing new proposals. These so-called “low-ambition countries” have pushed for language that allows individual countries to determine how to reduce plastic and focuses on waste management.</p>
<p>In contrast, a separate <a href="https://hactoendplasticpollution.org/">High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution</a>, chaired by Rwanda and Norway, together with the <a href="https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/opinion/african-nations-have-power-tools-re-design-plastic-pollution-free-future">African Group of Negotiators</a> and the <a href="https://www.iucn.org/story/202306/small-island-developing-states-call-ambitious-global-plastics-treaty-inc-2-paris">Small Island Developing States</a>, pressed for setting binding targets and eliminating <a href="https://usplasticspact.org/problematic-materials/">problematic plastics</a>, such as single-use items. As an example, the U.S., Canada, several other nations and the European Union have already <a href="https://www.unep.org/resources/report/legal-limits-single-use-plastics-and-microplastics">banned or limited the use of microbeads</a> in personal care products. These tiny beads, which are added for purposes such as helping to remove dry, dead cells from users’ skin, have become <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-are-guinea-pigs-in-a-worldwide-experiment-on-microplastics-97514">widely distributed in the environment</a>.</p>
<p>Another concern is treatment of <a href="https://grist.org/international/global-plastics-treaty-waste-pickers/">waste pickers</a> – people whose livelihood depends on collecting and sorting plastic waste. Negotiators have called for a <a href="https://enb.iisd.org/plastic-pollution-marine-environment-negotiating-committee-inc3-daily-report-13nov2023">just transition</a> for people working in the informal waste economy, through steps such as making plastics less toxic and providing compensation as countries reduce use of plastics.</p>
<p>The fossil fuel industry had a significant presence at the Nairobi meeting. According to the <a href="https://www.ciel.org/news/fossil-fuel-and-chemical-industries-at-inc-3/">Center for International Environmental Law</a>, a legal and policy advocacy group, 143 fossil fuel and chemical industry lobbyists registered for this round of negotiations, a 36% increase from the previous round. The industry’s main goals focus on <a href="https://www.afpm.org/issues/petrochemicals/plastic-waste-principles">end-of-life measures like increasing recycling</a>, rather than limiting production.</p>
<p>Ultimately, nations failed to agree on how to narrow down the proposals in the draft treaty ahead of the fourth round of negotiations, which is scheduled for April 2024 in Ottawa, Canada. Instead, the text still lists multiple proposals for addressing each major issue. </p>
<p>Although the negotiations <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03579-1">are behind schedule</a>, many nations agree that a binding treaty on plastic pollution is critical to solving the plastic pollution problem. As I see it, key conditions for success include minimizing oil and gas industry influence and increasing U.S. support for a life-cycle approach, including agreements to phase out single-use plastics and harmful chemicals. </p>
<p>In addition, I believe scientists should have a formal way to provide policymakers and negotiators with <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03579-1">regular updates on the scientific evidence</a> related to plastic pollution. Insights about the <a href="https://theconversation.com/seabirds-that-swallow-ocean-plastic-waste-have-scarring-in-their-stomachs-scientists-have-named-this-disease-plasticosis-201506">effects of plastic waste</a> continue to emerge, and a treaty that reflects those findings will be better positioned to achieve its goals.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216426/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah J. Morath is a member of the Scientists Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty. </span></em></p>A central question remains unresolved in the draft treaty: Is plastic pollution basically a waste management problem, or can it be solved only with a cap on production?Sarah J. Morath, Professor of Law and Associate Dean for International Affairs, Wake Forest UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2177042023-11-28T16:52:43Z2023-11-28T16:52:43ZWind turbine blades: inside the battle to overcome their waste problem<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561361/original/file-20231123-23-daf9ep.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">What to do with them?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/wind-turbine-sunset-background-ecosystem-design-119697847">thaiview/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Wind-farm owners in Europe are holding off on scrapping their old turbines to maximise the power they can generate from them. That’s the latest news from <a href="https://iea-wind.org/task45/">a meeting</a> we recently attended on the industry’s future. Wind turbines are designed to last 25 years, but the calculus for owners appears to have shifted because of the <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/589765/average-electricity-prices-uk/">surge in electricity prices</a> due to the Ukraine war.</p>
<p><a href="https://windeurope.org/intelligence-platform/product/wind-energy-in-europe-2021-statistics-and-the-outlook-for-2022-2026/">According to</a> industry representative Wind Europe, only 454 megawatts (MW) of old turbines were decommissioned in 2022 compared to an expected 1.5 gigawatts (GW). That equates to more than 1,000 turbines whose lives have been extended in Europe. </p>
<p>Indeed, it is apparently the third year in a row in which decommissioning has undershot their expectations. Meanwhile North American turbine decommissioning fell year on year from 668MW to 276MW, we are told by the Global Wind Energy Council. </p>
<p>This creates a little more breathing room to solve a problem that has troubled recycling specialists for some time. Whereas most of a wind turbine can be recycled, <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/16/12557">blades</a> cannot. They are mostly made from glass fibre or carbon-fibre reinforced plastic. Designed to be highly durable and hard, this material is very difficult to cut or grind. </p>
<p>At present, most old blades are either dumped in <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1757-899X/942/1/012016/pdf">landfill</a> or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.12.043">incinerated</a>. There had been capacity at a German plant to process them into cement, but this was <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S1755-0084(09)70045-6">limited</a> and placed a very low value on the blades. </p>
<p>Around <a href="https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/news-insights/wind-turbine-blades-options-at-end-of-life/">8,000 blades</a> were expected to be retired in the US this year and <a href="https://ore.catapult.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Catapult_Summary_Blade_Report_web.pdf">another 4,000</a> in Europe, amounting to some 40,000 tonnes of material. The final figure may now be lower, depending on how many wind farms are able to extend their planning permission. </p>
<p>Looking ahead, the global forecast for annual blade waste a decade from now is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2021.105601">about 200,000 tonnes</a>. </p>
<p>Despite the current lull, that’s a huge number of blades. And the figures will only increase in subsequent years as the current generation are much longer and heavier than the last, which only adds to the waste problem. </p>
<h2>Aspiration and reality</h2>
<p>Wind-turbine blades take a lot of punishment. Like aircraft wings, they work most efficiently when they are smooth, but can be damaged from sand in the air, as well as lightning and rain. This explains their limited lifetimes.</p>
<p><a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32008L0098&qid=1698784651517">Europe</a> and <a href="https://www.epa.gov/homeland-security-waste/waste-management-hierarchy-and-homeland-security-incidents">the US</a> have agreed a hierarchy of priorities for dealing with them, among other materials. High priorities include keeping them in use, designing them to last longer and repurposing. Then comes recycling, followed by incineration and finally landfill at the bottom of the list. </p>
<p>At present, however, the alternatives to the worst two options are very limited.
Europe is <a href="https://www.energyvoice.com/renewables-energy-transition/330595/windeurope-landfill-ban/">rapidly moving</a> to stop putting blades in landfill, so mostly incinerates them, since this at least produces some energy. </p>
<h2>Repurposing</h2>
<p>Repurposing is a growth area. This means cutting up blades and using the pieces to make new products. Blades have been used to replace the steel girders in bridges, for instance. <a href="https://www.re-wind.info/">Researchers from</a> numerous universities recently teamed up with Cork County Council to do this for a <a href="https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2022/0804/1287943-what-can-you-do-with-used-wind-turbine-blades/">small pedestrian bridge</a> for cyclists and walkers to the east of Cork city. </p>
<p>They used three 14-metre blades from an old turbine (much smaller than the <a href="https://www.ewea.org/wind-energy-basics/faq/#:%7E:text=How%20big%20is%20a%20wind,of%20about%2050%20metres%20length.">50m blades</a> on today’s onshore turbines). One blade was tested to destruction to estimate the strength of the other two, which then replaced the old girders. </p>
<p>The 5.5m bridge, which can support a 12-tonne emergency vehicle, is the second of its kind, following <a href="https://www.compositesworld.com/news/anmet-installs-first-recycled-wind-turbine-blade-based-pedestrian-bridge">another in Poland</a>. There is also one in <a href="https://www.qub.ac.uk/News/Allnews/featured-research/wind-turbines-turned-into-footbridges.html#:%7E:text=The%20bridges%2C%20which%20are%20made,street%20furniture%20and%20telecommunications%20towers.">Draperstown, Northern Ireland</a> and another being built in Atlanta, Georgia. </p>
<p>There is also research into how to <a href="https://ascelibrary.org/doi/10.1061/%28ASCE%29CC.1943-5614.0001136">make used blades</a> into <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7108/1/2/7">electricity poles</a>. This takes advantage of the fact that the material doesn’t impede phone or wifi signals. These structures don’t need guy wires, meaning they take up less space and you don’t need to rent so much land. </p>
<p>Among <a href="https://www.re-wind.info/">many other possibilities</a> are animal-feeding troughs, bus and bicycle shelters, cattle partitions, glamping pods, housing materials, noise barriers, public furniture, railway ties/sleepers, thermal insulation and wave attenuators. Blades can also be re-purposed for <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5b324c409772ae52fecb6698/t/636bd07125aeb5312a8e320e/1668010099748/Re-Wind+Design+Catalog+Fall+2022+Nov+9+2022+%28low+res%29.pdf">building materials</a> such as roofing and deep foundations, which happens to be our focus. We’re always open to other possibilities, so do get in touch with suggestions. </p>
<h2>New types of blades</h2>
<p>There is a great deal of research into blade recycling. The big issue is separating the polymers from the binding resin. The two main methods involve heating them in an oxygen-free environment (pyrolysis) or separating out the resin using a solvent (solvolysis). Unfortunately, both produce fibres that are weaker than new ones and more expensive. </p>
<p>Manufacturers are developing resins that can be more easily recovered. There have recently been claims of success by <a href="https://www.siemensgamesa.com/en-int/-/media/siemensgamesa/downloads/en/newsroom/2021/09/siemens-gamesa-produces-first-recycable-blade-en.pdf">Siemens Gamesa</a>, <a href="https://www.ge.com/news/reports/break-it-down-this-big-wind-industry-player-is-seeking-to-make-future-turbine-blades-100">General Electric</a> and <a href="https://www.vestas.com/en/media/company-news/2023/vestas-unveils-circularity-solution-to-end-landfill-for-c3710818">Vestas</a>, yet none have given much detail about their methods, so the outlook is unclear just now. </p>
<p>Another possibility is to make blades from thermoplastic polymers – that is, plastics which can be made soft with heat. Unlike today’s thermoset polymers, these would be easier to repair and to make into new blades. Potentially they could be manufactured on site to avoid transportation. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561359/original/file-20231123-27-i0g2cv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Lorry transporting a wind turbine blade" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561359/original/file-20231123-27-i0g2cv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561359/original/file-20231123-27-i0g2cv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=326&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561359/original/file-20231123-27-i0g2cv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=326&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561359/original/file-20231123-27-i0g2cv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=326&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561359/original/file-20231123-27-i0g2cv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561359/original/file-20231123-27-i0g2cv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561359/original/file-20231123-27-i0g2cv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A whole lotta lorries required.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/transportation-wing-wind-turbine-by-truck-30156292">sspopov</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.nrel.gov/wind/assets/pdfs/engineering-wkshp2022-8-3-murray.pdf">A 14-metre blade</a> is being tested in the US, which is very promising, but this is <a href="https://todayshomeowner.com/eco-friendly/guides/wind-turbine-blades-size/#:%7E:text=Blade%20Size&text=Offshore%20turbines%20have%20massive%20blades,80%25%20of%20the%20tower%20height.">less than one fifth</a> the blade length of today’s biggest onshore turbines (let alone offshore turbines). If the tests are successful and can be scaled up, this could be a gamechanger. </p>
<p>It’s also important to emphasise that wind-turbine blades are only part of the problem. There is also a great deal of fibre-reinforced plastic material used in boats and planes. These are only <a href="https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/vision/recyclable-aircraft-materials-could-prove-key-to-jet-zero-success">being recycled</a> to a <a href="https://www.textiletechnology.net/technical-textiles/news/composite-recycling-closing-the-loop-on-boats-made-of-gfrp-33303">very limited extent</a>, so again there’s a major waste problem. </p>
<p>For today’s waste, the answer is push hard on repurposing. With any luck, the research into recycling will eventually make these problems a thing of the past.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217704/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Deeney receives funding from the EU, Irish Research Council, INVEST Norther Ireland/Department for the Economy (DFE),
Science Foundation Ireland, the U.S. National Science Foundation and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kieran Ruane is a co-director in BladeBridge.ie, a spin-off company which offers bridge manufacturing and outdoor furniture made from used wind turbine blades. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Leahy receives funding from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, INVEST Norther Ireland/Department for the Economy (DFE), the Science Foundation Ireland, and the U.S. National Science Foundation. He is also a co-director in BladeBridge.ie, a spin-off company which offers bridge manufacturing and outdoor furniture made from used wind turbine blades. </span></em></p>Wind farm owners are keeping old turbines in service to capitalise on high electricity prices.Peter Deeney, Principal Investigator and Senior Post Doctoral Researcher in Energy Finance, Environmental Research Institute, University College CorkKieran Ruane, Lecturer in Civil and Structural Engineering, Munster Technological UniversityPaul Leahy, Lecturer in Wind Energy, University College CorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2107182023-11-14T19:06:26Z2023-11-14T19:06:26ZHere’s how a TV series inspired the KeepCup revolution. What’s next in the war on waste?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555221/original/file-20231023-15-78v8r3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=36%2C0%2C3465%2C2331&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Lune Media</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Changing habits can be hard. So when a single episode of an Australian television show prompted a national shift in behaviour, as behavioural researchers, we took notice. </p>
<p>The first (2017) and second (2018) seasons of the ABC TV program <a href="https://iview.abc.net.au/collection/1389">War on Waste</a> reached audiences of <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/tv/pdf/WoW%20Impact%20Report%2013June19.pdf">3.8 million and 3.3 million viewers, respectively</a>. That’s one in seven Australians. It inspired action, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/tv/pdf/WoW%20Impact%20Report%2013June19.pdf">slashing the waste footprint of hundreds of Australian organisations</a>. So it remains a valuable example of TV driving social change, and one we can still learn from today. </p>
<p>Through focus groups conducted in 2018, we explored how the first season encouraged Melbourne millennials’ to adopt reusable coffee cups. Then, when the COVID pandemic prompted greater <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9248071/">use of disposable consumer products</a>, we revisited the data and delved deeper into behavioural science.</p>
<p>Our analysis revealed people were drawn to the engaging storytelling, confronting visuals and prankster ex-Chaser host <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/radio/people/craig-reucassel/11088556">Craig Reucassel</a>. He demonstrated, step-by-step, how to minimise waste in a relatable and guilt-free way. Our research, recently published <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/22041451.2023.2250541">in the journal Communication Research and Practice</a>, can guide others to achieve similar success in behavioural change. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zF9Rd8Cw-Xc?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The #BYOCoffeeCup tram in Melbourne from the ABC’s War on Waste series, May 2017.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-makes-people-switch-to-reusable-cups-its-not-discounts-its-what-others-do-142254">What makes people switch to reusable cups? It's not discounts, it's what others do</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Educational entertainment</h2>
<p>In War on Waste, Reucassel confronts Australia’s many waste-management problems and potential solutions.</p>
<p>The series is an example of what behavioural psychologists call “<a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-63614-2_14">entertainment-education interventions</a>”.</p>
<p>In one episode, Reucassel staged a stunt on a Melbourne tram during peak hour, proclaiming it was filled with 50,000 disposable coffee cups – the amount sent to landfill every 30 minutes in Australia.</p>
<p>Almost overnight, <a href="https://www.smartcompany.com.au/startupsmart/advice/startupsmart-growth/keepcups-founder-crazy-400-increase-sales-fuelled-abcs-war-waste-program/">KeepCup sales quadrupled</a>, crashing the company’s website. Membership of a <a href="https://responsiblecafes.org/">Responsible Cafes</a> initiative promoting reusable coffee cups <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-16/ditching-disposable-coffee-cups-war-on-waste/8625018">spiked from 400 cafes to 1,800</a>. </p>
<p>An <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/ourfocus/waronwaste/WarOnWasteTheSurveyUnderstandingAustralia'sWasteAttitudesand%20Behaviours.pdf">ABC study</a> found more people of all ages bought coffee in reusable cups after War on Waste aired (up from 37% to 42%).</p>
<p>The survey also revealed millennials (aged 18-34 in 2017) were generally less likely to adopt waste-reduction behaviours compared with other age groups. But they excelled in using reusable coffee cups.</p>
<p>Why was the show so successful in encouraging people, and specifically millennials, to use reusable coffee cups?</p>
<p>If we can explain why this behaviour was so readily adopted, perhaps we can promote other sustainable behaviours at scale, in other entertainment-education interventions.</p>
<p>Our research uncovered five tactics used by the show to get these results. </p>
<h2>1. Use a relatable host</h2>
<p>Humans relate to people on TV. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1207/S15327825MCS0502_5?needAccess=true&role=button">Research shows celebrities</a> and people we consider engaging and credible <a href="https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Who-says-what-to-whom%3A-Why-messengers-and-citizen-Callaghan-Schnell/157c32b0049a00df29226105bd729ee7832c5027">are more likely to influence us</a>.</p>
<p>Reucassel is a popular host with celebrity status. One focus group participant said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>A lot of films […] feel very preachy. It’s often either an expert, or just a narrator, who clearly didn’t know anything about the topic beforehand, who has now researched things, who is telling you things. Whereas in the case of the War on Waste, it felt more like he [Reucassel] was learning it with you, at the same time.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In the first season, we watched as Reucassel sorted the contents of a recycling bin, sharing the learning experience with the viewer. Research shows we are more likely to adopt a new behaviour <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1057/9781137348326">if we’re shown how to do it</a> rather than told what to do. </p>
<h2>2. Mix statistics with confronting visuals</h2>
<p>High-impact visuals have lasting effect. Reucassel’s many stunts served not only as an <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230964194_Media_communication_strategies_for_climate-friendly_lifestyles_-_Addressing_middle_and_lower_class_consumers_for_social-cultural_change_via_Entertainment-Education">engaging way to present statistics</a>, but also a way to connect with viewers by stirring up emotions. This approach <a href="https://www.econbiz.de/Record/ecotainment-der-neue-weg-im-umweltmarketing-emotionale-werbebotschaften-sustainability-cross-marketing-lichtl-martin/10004597359">builds audience knowledge and willpower</a>, making a change in behaviour more likely. </p>
<p>As one focus group participant put it: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>My favourite thing about the show was all the stunts that Craig pulled – it’s classic Chaser stuff. Like the big rolling ball of plastic bags and the tram full of coffee cups. I thought that aspect of it was the most hard-hitting and interesting.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557626/original/file-20231106-27-s67h8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Craig Reucassel stands alongside a 50m long table covered in food, which is the amount one family wastes in a year" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557626/original/file-20231106-27-s67h8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557626/original/file-20231106-27-s67h8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557626/original/file-20231106-27-s67h8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557626/original/file-20231106-27-s67h8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557626/original/file-20231106-27-s67h8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557626/original/file-20231106-27-s67h8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557626/original/file-20231106-27-s67h8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Craig Reucassel stands alongside a 50m long table covered in food, which is the amount one family wastes in a year.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Lune Media</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-found-3-types-of-food-wasters-which-one-are-you-214482">We found 3 types of food wasters, which one are you?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>3. Promote widespread community action</h2>
<p>A common problem with behaviour change initiatives is a person will only change their behaviour if they feel like others are going to change their behaviour too. This often leads to “<a href="https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.162.3859.1243">the tragedy of the commons</a>”, where no one ends up taking action. </p>
<p>The opposite was true for War on Waste. Focus group participants felt the show created a groundswell for environmental change, so they were more inspired to take action because they felt others were taking action too. In the words of one:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I really enjoyed how it was a mix of personal actions [and] more systemic changes […] like getting Coles and Woolworths to change cosmetic standards [for fresh produce] but also the episode with the fast fashion, about getting the teenage girls to consider their own personal choices.</p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/households-find-low-waste-living-challenging-heres-what-needs-to-change-197022">Households find low-waste living challenging. Here's what needs to change</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>4. Choose behaviours with an easy learning curve</h2>
<p>Reducing waste may never be “easy”, but by <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1043463103154002">choosing behaviours perceived to be low-cost with little inconvenience</a>, we have a better chance of success. </p>
<p>Swapping the disposable coffee cup for a reusable cup was considered relatively easy with a “quick learning curve” – compared to composting or having a worm farm – and so became more readily adopted than other behaviours demonstrated in War on Waste.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557929/original/file-20231107-27-zw3mam.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Craig Reucassel with a Melbourne tram filled with 50,000 disposable coffee cups" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557929/original/file-20231107-27-zw3mam.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557929/original/file-20231107-27-zw3mam.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557929/original/file-20231107-27-zw3mam.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557929/original/file-20231107-27-zw3mam.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557929/original/file-20231107-27-zw3mam.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557929/original/file-20231107-27-zw3mam.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557929/original/file-20231107-27-zw3mam.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The shocking sight of a Melbourne tram filled with 50,000 disposable coffee cups stopped city commuters in their tracks.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Lune Media</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>5. Show how behaviour can reveal social identity</h2>
<p>People from all generations prefer to act in accordance with what society deems acceptable. So pro-environmental behaviours are more likely to be <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/229785954_Strategies_for_Sustainability_Citizens_and_Responsible_Environmental_Behaviour">adopted when social pressure is placed on them</a>. </p>
<p>War on Waste placed social pressure on us all to reduce our waste. Adopting a reusable coffee cup became a visible symbol for millennials to demonstrate to others that they were doing their bit, while expressing their environmental values. </p>
<p>As one participant said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I think it’s just a trendy, convenient way to maybe look and feel like you are doing something that’s […] the right step.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>What can we learn from this, and what’s next?</h2>
<p>Many of the strategies we identified as successful in season one reappeared this year in <a href="https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/the-screen-guide/t/war-on-waste-series-3-2023/40977/">season three</a>, such as confronting visual stunts, shared learning experiences and targeting easy behaviours. </p>
<p>Based on the findings from our research, we expect to see further positive change generated from this season.</p>
<p>Our research also presents an opportunity to practitioners wanting to create behaviour change at scale by providing them with behavioural science strategies to embed in entertainment-education interventions. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-to-wear-for-a-climate-crisis-214478">What to wear for a climate crisis</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210718/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Understanding the success of the ABC’s War on Waste is a lesson in behavioural psychology. Research reveals five ways to guide other entertainment-education interventions to similar success.Danie Nilsson, Behavioural Scientist, CSIRORachael Vorwerk, Science Communicator, ARC Centre of Excellence in Optical Microcombs for Breakthrough Science (COMBS), RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2145972023-11-14T14:11:48Z2023-11-14T14:11:48ZWest Africa’s plastic waste could be fuelling the economy instead of polluting the ocean: experts<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557777/original/file-20231106-23-bfkep5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4031%2C3024&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A beach littered with plastic and other waste in the fishing village of Kayar, north of Dakar, Senegal.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Bara Deme</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Plastic pollution is an urgent environmental issue, globally. Every year, about eight million tonnes of plastic <a href="https://www.unoceandeplastique.fr/ocean-les-faits/">end up</a> in the oceans.</p>
<p>Most of the 17 west African countries have a problem managing plastic waste. Eight of them are <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1260352">among</a> the top 20 with the least effective plastic waste management practices – up from <a href="https://slacc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/10.-Jambeck2015.pdf#page=2">five</a> in 2015. This has worsened marine pollution and adversely affected activities in the region. </p>
<p>Coastal provinces account for about <a href="https://www.wacaprogram.org/">56% of west Africa’s GDP</a> and one-third of the population lives there. </p>
<p>In 2018, west African nations launched the West Africa Coastal Area Management Programme <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2022/12/15/world-bank-approves-246-million-to-strengthen-coastal-resilience-in-west-africa#:%7E:text=The%20WACA%20Program%20was%20launched,erosion%2C%20flooding%2C%20and%20pollution.">to protect and restore</a> the ecological, social and economic assets of coastal areas. It’s supposed to do this by addressing coastal erosion, flooding and pollution. Last year it received an additional <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2022/12/15/world-bank-approves-246-million-to-strengthen-coastal-resilience-in-west-africa#:%7E:text=The%20WACA%20Program%20was%20launched,erosion%2C%20flooding%2C%20and%20pollution.">US$246 million in funding</a> from the World Bank. This has brought the World Bank’s total financing of the project to US$492 million. </p>
<p>For many years, we have <a href="https://researchportal.port.ac.uk/en/persons/pierre-failler/publications/">researched</a> development economics, particularly the interface between the use of <a href="https://researchportal.port.ac.uk/en/persons/elhadj-deme/publications/">natural resources</a> and the development of countries. We’ve also been involved in research on plastic pollution through the interdisciplinary <a href="https://www.port.ac.uk/research/themes/sustainability-and-the-environment/revolution-plastics">“Revolution Plastics”</a> initiative of the University of Portsmouth’s Centre for Blue Governance.</p>
<p>Our findings on plastic pollution could help west African countries to spend World Bank funds effectively.</p>
<p>We recommend that nations first quantify the volume, type and origin of plastics discarded in coastal zones. Then they must focus on reducing plastics from source, as well as promoting reuse and recycling. They can draw on successful case studies globally, which can be adapted to local contexts.</p>
<h2>Healthy oceans and a circular economy</h2>
<p>The West Africa Coastal Area Management Programme has initiated studies to <a href="https://www.banquemondiale.org/fr/news/feature/2023/07/12/we-are-losing-our-treasure-the-west-african-coastal-areas-tackle-plastic-waste#:%7E:text=En%20Afrique%20de%20l%27Ouest,secteurs%20touch%C3%A9s%20de%20plein%20fouet">assess</a> the environmental and economic impact of plastic pollution in the region. These studies also aim to explore the benefits of moving to a circular economy: an economic system that reuses or regenerates materials or products in a sustainable way.</p>
<p>The programme expects that a circular economy will create new economic opportunities through markets for reusing products and materials. Rather than discarding products, they can be put back into the economy. This can create demand for services and technologies related to collecting and processing them. </p>
<p>The programme can benefit from research on sustainable plastic management from other regions to achieve its objectives.</p>
<h2>Research partnership</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.port.ac.uk/research/research-groups-and-centres/centre-for-blue-governance">Centre for Blue Governance</a> has expertise in blue economy, marine ecosystem management, climate change and circular economy. It has extensively researched plastic pollution in Portsmouth, a port city in the United Kingdom, and beyond. We have found that sustainable plastic management can be achieved in various ways. These strategies could be relevant for initiatives in west Africa. They include:</p>
<p>Inclusive partnerships: Collaborating with businesses, campaigners and citizens on the <a href="https://www.port.ac.uk/research/themes/sustainability-and-the-environment/revolution-plastics">Revolution Plastics</a> initiative, we apply research to develop eco-friendly fabrics and combat microplastic pollution. </p>
<p>Awareness campaigns through art: Community awareness of the harmful effects of plastic pollution is necessary. Through the <a href="https://www.port.ac.uk/research/research-projects/masibambisane">Masibambisane project</a> in South Africa, we explored street art, theatre and song to create awareness about plastic pollution. </p>
<p>The project achieved significant results in KwaMhlanga, in South Africa’s Mpumalanga province. It demonstrated that raising awareness through art could inspire people to change their behaviour. These communities now have a deeper understanding of the urgent need to act against plastic pollution. </p>
<p>In addition, the introduction of sorting facilities close to homes increased recycling rates and encouraged sustainable habits. The west African programme can incorporate these lessons into the e-book it is planning. This is a way to share information about best practices and encourage action in communities. </p>
<p>Reuse and recycling projects: Through our <a href="https://www.port.ac.uk/research/research-projects/indigo-project">inDIGO-EU</a> and <a href="https://www.port.ac.uk/research/research-projects/microseap">Microseap</a> projects we reduced plastic waste by promoting recycling and reuse. For example, the INdIGO project has developed biodegradable fishing gear that reduces the environmental impact of ocean fishing in the UK and France. Based on this project, the West Africa Coastal Area Management Programme can develop a sustainable alternative to the gear used for small-scale fishing in the region. </p>
<h2>From diagnosis to action</h2>
<p>Our research findings suggest that for optimal use of the World Bank fund, the West Africa Coastal Area Management Programme could consider the following action plans:</p>
<p>Collect data on plastic pollution: Start with a regional study to quantify the volume, typology and origin of plastics discarded in coastal zones. This could involve the use of technologies such as drones, sensors and remote sensing to map pollution hotpots. Perception surveys could also help to understand behaviours and attitudes related to plastic pollution. The aim is to establish precise indicators and predictive models that can measure how well future interventions work.</p>
<p>Plan for a switch to a circular economy: The plan should focus on source reduction, reuse, recycling and material recovery. A committee made up of government actors, private enterprises and local communities could oversee implementation.</p>
<p>Design community awareness and education programmes: These campaigns should instil a sense of environmental responsibility and give people tools to actively participate in reducing plastic pollution. Involving opinion leaders could increase their impact.</p>
<p>Develop ways to use plastic waste: Value chains for sorting, recycling and valorising require infrastructure, like modern sorting centres. Advanced recycling technologies and market mechanisms for recycled materials are also necessary. Partnerships could be established with local businesses to create products from recycled plastics, such as construction materials or textiles.</p>
<p>By investing in these targeted areas, it is possible to create a sustainable system that offers economic and social opportunities to local communities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214597/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Initiating a circular economy can help coastal west African countries to address plastic pollution with a World Bank fund.Elhadj Bara Dème, Research Associate, University of PortsmouthPierre Failler, Professor in Economics and Director of the Centre for Blue Governance, UNESCO Chair in Ocean Governance, University of PortsmouthLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2076222023-11-12T19:15:36Z2023-11-12T19:15:36ZWe need a global treaty to solve plastic pollution – acid rain and ozone depletion show us why<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/558533/original/file-20231109-21-kojsc4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=71%2C149%2C3652%2C2508&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sustainable-waste-management-sorting-plastic-recycling-2281082945">MAD.vertise/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>After years of discussion, international negotiations on a global plastics treaty resume <a href="https://www.unep.org/inc-plastic-pollution/session-3">this week in Nairobi, Kenya</a>, at the UN Environment Programme headquarters.</p>
<p>The third session of the UN Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution will take place from today until Sunday November 19.</p>
<p>The committee’s goal is to develop a legally binding agreement, finalised in 2024, to address the full life cycle of plastics – including their production, design and disposal. </p>
<p>Involving 175 nations, the treaty aims to transform plastic waste management, paving the way for new technologies and industries. </p>
<p>The problem of plastic pollution is too big for any one nation to handle. That’s why we need a global approach. It’s worked before with the ozone layer and acid rain and it can work again with plastic. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/plastic-waste-treaty-expert-qanda-on-the-promise-of-a-global-agreement-to-reduce-pollution-178446">Plastic waste treaty: expert Q&A on the promise of a global agreement to reduce pollution</a>
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<h2>How we repaired the ozone layer</h2>
<p>At CSIRO I lead the <a href="https://www.csiro.au/en/about/challenges-missions/ending-plastic-waste">Ending Plastic Waste Mission</a>, which aims to change the way we make, use, recycle and dispose of plastic. Our work aligns with the aims of the proposed UN plastic treaty, so I have been following the negotiations closely. </p>
<p>Multilateral agreements have helped create significant change in the past. The <a href="https://ozone.unep.org/treaties/montreal-protocol">Montreal Protocol</a> shaped environmental and industrial landscapes globally. Enacted in 1987, the protocol’s objective was to phase out substances causing ozone depletion. </p>
<p>The protocol is widely recognised for its global ratification – everyone got on board. And countries continued to adhere to the changes. This ongoing work has not only contributed to the tangible recovery of the ozone layer, but also prevented millions of <a href="https://ozone.unep.org/sdg3">potential cases of skin cancers and cataracts</a>. </p>
<p>The protocol also sparked chemical industry innovation. Industries had to transition away from ozone-depleting substances such as chlorofluorocarbons or CFCs to more environmentally friendly alternatives. </p>
<p>The earliest replacements – hydrofluorocarbons or HFCs – were quickly recognised <a href="https://www.ccacoalition.org/short-lived-climate-pollutants/hydrofluorocarbons-hfcs">as a potent greenhouse gas</a>, resulting in the <a href="https://ozone.unep.org/treaties/montreal-protocol/amendments/kigali-amendment-2016-amendment-montreal-protocol-agreed">2016 Kigali Amendment</a> to the protocol to phase them out too and use climate-friendly alternatives. As a result of this global process, we now have safer chemicals for <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10962247.2013.791349">refrigeration and air conditioning</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/saving-the-ozone-layer-why-the-montreal-protocol-worked-9249">Saving the ozone layer: why the Montreal Protocol worked</a>
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<h2>Global legislation can deliver real change</h2>
<p>Clean air legislation is another example. <a href="https://www.epa.gov/acidrain/what-acid-rain">Acid rain</a> became a prominent environmental concern in the latter half of the 20th century. It happens when sulphur dioxide (SO₂) and nitrogen oxides are released into the atmosphere, typically from industrial processes and the burning of fossil fuels. </p>
<p>Once in the atmosphere, these pollutants react with water vapour to form sulphuric acid and nitric acid. As they fall to the ground mixed with rain or snow, the high acidity harms aquatic ecosystems, forests and even human-made structures. </p>
<p>In response, various countries enacted clean air legislation. For instance, the United States Clean Air Act of 1963, amended several times in the following decades, motivated <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2015-06/documents/contsetc.pdf">change in industrial and automotive sectors</a>. </p>
<p>The laws forced industries to transition to cleaner technologies and invest in advanced pollution-control equipment. This paved the way for a widespread adoption of catalytic converters and more fuel-efficient engines. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/air-pollution-your-exposure-and-health-risk-could-depend-on-your-class-ethnicity-or-gender-128272">Air pollution: your exposure and health risk could depend on your class, ethnicity or gender</a>
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<h2>How multilateral agreements can force change</h2>
<p>Regulatory tools such as multilateral agreements introduce restrictions. Instead of doing business as usual, these restrictions then foster cleaner, more sustainable practices. They blend environmental responsibility with business imperatives. As a result, the regulatory changes open up new market opportunities. </p>
<p>Additionally, global collaborations driven by these agreements often encourage the transfer of technologies across borders. This speeds up the adoption of cleaner technologies. </p>
<p>Multilateral environmental agreements can drive <a href="https://wedocs.unep.org/rest/bitstreams/35153/retrieve">technological progress and industrial innovation</a>. By establishing high standards and fostering global collaboration, these agreements blend environmental stewardship with industrial evolution. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/container-deposit-schemes-reduce-rubbish-on-our-beaches-heres-how-we-proved-it-213562">Container deposit schemes reduce rubbish on our beaches. Here’s how we proved it</a>
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<h2>Now for the UN plastic treaty</h2>
<p>The global plastic treaty will address <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1260352">the pervasive challenge of plastic pollution</a>, which affects our oceans, marine life and carbon footprint. It is expected to usher in transformative regulations on waste management, reduce the use of single-use plastics and advocate for the circular economy principles of eliminating waste and keeping materials circulating in use. </p>
<p>We are already seeing a shift in plastics manufacturing towards more sustainable, biodegradable, or recyclable plastics. Industries are developing more circular business models that emphasise the reuse and recycling of products and reducing waste. </p>
<p>To reduce single-use plastics, the packaging industry is transitioning towards reduction, reuse and recyclability. Advanced recycling technologies and better bio-derived plastics are expected to emerge as industry standards. </p>
<p>The multilateral treaty and its implementation will help to reduce problematic and unnecessary plastics. It will also speed up the removal of harmful chemicals from product supply chains. </p>
<p>The UN plastic treaty is set to be finalised in 2024. If we can get a global agreement on this, we have a real opportunity to significantly reduce plastic waste for a sustainable future.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-how-the-new-global-treaty-on-plastic-pollution-can-help-solve-this-crisis-179149">Here's how the new global treaty on plastic pollution can help solve this crisis</a>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>CSIRO’s Ending Plastic Waste Mission is funded through contributions by CSIRO, industry, government, university, and other organisations to develop cutting-edge science and innovation to tackle plastic waste.</span></em></p>United Nations efforts to advance a global treaty on plastic pollution echo past multilateral agreements that tackled ozone layer depletion and acid rain.Deborah Lau, Ending Plastic Waste Mission Director, CSIROLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2156522023-10-19T19:24:01Z2023-10-19T19:24:01ZNew class of recyclable polymer materials could one day help reduce single-use plastic waste<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554111/original/file-20231016-23-gcf4fp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=79%2C3%2C2038%2C1397&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Single-use plastics. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/various-types-of-plastic-trash-on-the-grass-plastic-royalty-free-image/1325351577?phrase=plastic&adppopup=true">Anton Petrus/Moment</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://www.unep.org/interactives/beat-plastic-pollution/">Hundreds of millions of tons</a> of single-use plastic ends up in landfills every year, and even the small percentage of plastic that gets recycled can’t last forever. But our group of materials scientists has developed a new method for creating and deconstructing polymers that could lead to more easily recycled plastics – ones that don’t require you to carefully sort out all your recycling on trash day. </p>
<p>In the century since their conception, people have come to understand the enormous impacts – beneficial as well as detrimental – plastics have on human lives and the environment. As a <a href="https://miyakelab.colostate.edu/">group of polymer scientists</a> dedicated to inventing sustainable solutions for real-world problems, we set out to tackle this issue by rethinking the way polymers are designed and making plastics with recyclability built right in. </p>
<h2>Why use plastics, anyway?</h2>
<p>Everyday items including milk jugs, grocery bags, takeout containers and even ropes are made from a class of <a href="https://www.polymersolutions.com/blog/top-types-of-polyolefins-the-most-common-kind-of-plastics/">polymers called polyolefins</a>. Polyolefins make up around <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/plastic-waste-polymer">half of the plastics</a> produced and disposed of every year. </p>
<p>These polymers are used in plastics commonly labeled as HDPE, LLDPE or PP, or by their recycling codes #2, #4 and #5, respectively. These plastics are incredibly durable because the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.9b06635">chemical bonds</a> that make them up are extremely stable. But in a world set up for single-use consumption, this is no longer a design feature but rather a design flaw. </p>
<p><iframe id="2k7dQ" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/2k7dQ/1/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>Imagine if half of the plastics used today were recyclable by twice as many processes as they are now. While that wouldn’t get the recycling rate to 100%, a jump from single digits – <a href="https://www.energy.gov/articles/department-energy-releases-plastics-innovation-challenge-draft-roadmap-and-request">currently around 9%</a> – to double digits would make a big dent in the plastics produced, the plastics accumulated in the environment and their capacity for recycling and reuse. </p>
<h2>Recycling methods we already have</h2>
<p>Even the plastics that make it to a recycling facility <a href="https://ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/plastics-and-the-circular-economy-deep-dive">can’t be reused</a> in exactly the same way they were used before – the recycling process degrades the material, so it loses utility and value. Instead of making a plastic cup that is downgraded each time it gets recycled, manufacturers could potentially make plastics once, collect them and reuse them on and on.</p>
<p>Conventional recycling requires careful sorting of all the collected materials, which can be hard with so many different plastics. Here in the U.S., collection happens mainly through <a href="https://www.container-recycling.org/index.php/issues/single-stream-recycling">single stream recycling</a> – everything from metal cans, glass bottles, cardboard boxes and plastic cups end up in the same bin. Separating paper from metal doesn’t require complex technology, but sorting a polypropylene container from a polyethylene milk jug is hard to do without the occasional mistake. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554113/original/file-20231016-20-hwyi6k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two workers, in bright yellow, stand at a conveyor belt covered in plastics in a recycling facility." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554113/original/file-20231016-20-hwyi6k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554113/original/file-20231016-20-hwyi6k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554113/original/file-20231016-20-hwyi6k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554113/original/file-20231016-20-hwyi6k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554113/original/file-20231016-20-hwyi6k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554113/original/file-20231016-20-hwyi6k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554113/original/file-20231016-20-hwyi6k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Recycling workers sort through materials.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/OhioRecycling/d1c2014b8c194d55b9f06a328b2dd4a5/photo?Query=recycling%20plant&mediaType=photo&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=181&currentItemNo=22&vs=true">AP Photo/Mark Gillispie</a></span>
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<p>When two different plastics are mixed together during recycling, their useful properties are hugely reduced – to the point of <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-its-so-hard-to-recycle-plastic/">making them useless</a>. </p>
<p>But say you can recycle one of these plastics by a different method, so it doesn’t end up contaminating the recycling stream. When we mixed samples of polypropylene with a polymer we made, we were <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adh3353">still able to depolymerize</a> – or break down the material – and regain our building blocks without chemically affecting the polypropylene. This indicated that a contaminated waste stream could still recover its value, and the material in it could go on to be recycled, either mechanically or chemically. </p>
<h2>Plastics we need − but more recyclable</h2>
<p>In <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adh3353">a study published in October 2023</a>, our team developed a series of polymers with only two simple building blocks – one soft polymer and one hard polymer – that mimicked polyolefins but could also be chemically recycled.</p>
<p>Connecting two different polymers together multiple times until they form a single, long molecule creates what’s called a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/jacsau.1c00500">multiblock polymer</a>. Just by adjusting how much of each polymer type goes into the multiblock polymer, our team created a wide range of materials with properties that spanned across polyolefin types. But creating these multiblock polymers is easier said than done. </p>
<p>To link these hard and soft polymers, we <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adh3353">adapted a technique</a> that had previously been used only on very small molecules. This method is improved relative to traditional methods of making polymers in a step-by-step fashion, developed in the 1920s, where the reactive groups on the end of the molecules need to be exactly matched. </p>
<p>In our method, the reactive groups are now the same as each other, meaning we didn’t have to worry about pairing the ends of each building block to make polymers that can compete with the polyolefins we already use. Using the same strategy, applied in reverse by adding hydrogen, we could disconnect the polymers back into their building blocks and easily separate them to use again. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554857/original/file-20231019-21-9enk8w.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A graph showing a steady increase in single-use plastic use across all plastic types shown, from X to projected in 2050." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554857/original/file-20231019-21-9enk8w.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554857/original/file-20231019-21-9enk8w.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=302&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554857/original/file-20231019-21-9enk8w.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=302&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554857/original/file-20231019-21-9enk8w.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=302&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554857/original/file-20231019-21-9enk8w.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554857/original/file-20231019-21-9enk8w.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554857/original/file-20231019-21-9enk8w.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Realized and predicted production of commodity plastics through 2050.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2021/01/f82/Plastics%20Innovation%20Challenge%20Draft%20Roadmap.pdf">International Energy Agency</a></span>
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<p>With an almost <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/plastic-consumption-course-nearly-double-by-2050-research-2023-02-27/">twofold increase in annual plastic use</a> projected through 2050, the complexity and quantity of plastic recycling will only increase. It’s an important consideration when designing new materials and products. </p>
<p>Using just two building blocks to make plastics that have a huge variety of properties can go a long way toward reducing and streamlining the number of different plastics used to make the products we need. Instead of needing one plastic to make something pliable, another for something stiff, and a third, fourth and fifth for properties in between, we could control the behavior of plastics by just changing how much of each building block is there.</p>
<p>Although we’re still in the process of answering some big questions about these polymers, we believe this work is a step in the right direction toward more sustainable plastics. </p>
<p>We were <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adh3353">able to create materials</a> that mimic the properties of plastics the world relies on, and our sights are now set on creating plastic compositions that you couldn’t with existing methods.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215652/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Katherine Harry receives funding from RePLACE (Redesigning Polymers to Leverage a Circular Economy) funded by the Office of Science of the US Department of Energy.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emma Rettner receives funding from RePLACE (Redesigning Polymers to Leverage a Circular Economy) funded by the Office of Science of the US Department of Energy.</span></em></p>A team of scientists has developed a method for creating a new class of plastic materials that are potentially more recyclable than single-use plastics.Katherine Harry, PhD Student in Chemistry, Colorado State UniversityEmma Rettner, PhD Candidate in Materials Science and Engineering, Colorado State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2144822023-10-12T19:03:00Z2023-10-12T19:03:00ZWe found 3 types of food wasters, which one are you?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553386/original/file-20231011-21-cnr1fb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C11%2C998%2C654&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/throwing-away-leftover-food-trash-garbage-2103117227">Andrey Popov, Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Each year, Australian households discard about <a href="https://workdrive.zohopublic.com.au/external/06152b9ff5971843391f39fc4d32a847e56fb907c167a4a645887b0a4bc43000">2.5 million tonnes of food</a>. Most (73%) of this food waste <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652622042081">ends up in landfill</a>.</p>
<p>This is costly and contributes to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37118273/">escalating greenhouse gas emissions</a>, because food waste rotting in landfill produces methane. So reducing household food waste and diverting it from landfill saves money, improves food security and benefits the environment.</p>
<p>To address the problem, we need to understand how people generate and dispose of food waste. In <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2023.105000">our new study</a>, we found households fell into three categories – based on the amount of food wasted, how much of that waste was avoidable and how it was sorted. These insights into consumer behaviour point to where the most worthwhile improvements can be made. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JvAFaD5f1Lo?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Tips and tricks for reducing household food waste from the Fight Food Waste Cooperative Research Centre.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-case-for-compost-why-recycling-food-waste-is-so-much-better-than-sending-it-to-landfill-205583">The case for compost: why recycling food waste is so much better than sending it to landfill</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Three types of households</h2>
<p>We conducted an online survey of 939 households in metropolitan Adelaide between April and May 2021. </p>
<p>The sample closely matched the national Australian population in terms of gender, age and income.</p>
<p>We asked about the types of food waste produced, the amount of food waste typically discarded in a week and motivations towards reducing and sorting food waste. </p>
<p>We identified three distinct types of households: </p>
<p><strong>Warriors</strong> are typically older and highly motivated to reduce and sort food waste. They generate minimal waste (9.6 litres per week), such as bones and vegetable peels, that is mostly unavoidable. This group comprised 39.6% of the sample.</p>
<p><strong>Strugglers</strong> mainly consist of families with children who produce the largest amount of food waste (33.1 litres per week). They produce the highest proportion of avoidable food waste, such as uneaten fruits and vegetables, bread and cereals. They are moderately motivated to reduce and sort food waste, but more than half of their food waste still ends up in landfill. This group made up 19.6% of the sample. </p>
<p><strong>Slackers</strong> are generally younger. They show little concern about reducing or sorting food waste. Slackers produce the smallest amount of food waste overall (9 litres a week), but the proportion of avoidable food waste (such as mixed leftovers) is significantly higher (38.9%) compared to warriors (24.5%). They are more than twice as likely to live in units, with 17.2% doing so, compared to just 7.8% of warriors. This group was 40.8% of the sample.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550951/original/file-20230928-27-f7cw8e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Graphic explainer showing the three types of households with their typical characteristics and food waste behaviours." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550951/original/file-20230928-27-f7cw8e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550951/original/file-20230928-27-f7cw8e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550951/original/file-20230928-27-f7cw8e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550951/original/file-20230928-27-f7cw8e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550951/original/file-20230928-27-f7cw8e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550951/original/file-20230928-27-f7cw8e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550951/original/file-20230928-27-f7cw8e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The three types of households with their typical characteristics and food waste behaviours.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2023.105000">Trang Nguyen using Canva.com</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-cant-keep-putting-apartment-residents-waste-in-the-too-hard-basket-200545">We can't keep putting apartment residents' waste in the too hard basket</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What can households do about their food waste?</h2>
<p>Reducing household food waste involves changing behaviours in both food management (“upstream”) and waste management (“downstream”). </p>
<p>Upstream measures aim to prevent food waste in the first place. For example, households can avoid buying or cooking too much food. Supporting households to plan and buy just the right amount of food is a great starting point.</p>
<p>Once food waste has been produced, downstream measures come into play. The focus shifts to how we handle and dispose of this waste. </p>
<p>When households engage in food waste recycling they <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/su131911099">start thinking more</a> about their behaviour including purchasing and cooking.</p>
<p>In Australia, food waste management is mainly the responsibility of local councils. </p>
<p>There are three ways to target household food waste management and drive behavioural change:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>providing kerbside collection of food organics and garden organics, also known as “FOGO”</p></li>
<li><p>changing social norms around food waste</p></li>
<li><p>offering economic incentives and disincentives. </p></li>
</ul>
<h2>1. Providing a FOGO system</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553411/original/file-20231012-24-nqret2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A screenshot of the Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) interactive map, zoomed in on South Australia and the eastern states." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553411/original/file-20231012-24-nqret2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553411/original/file-20231012-24-nqret2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=727&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553411/original/file-20231012-24-nqret2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=727&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553411/original/file-20231012-24-nqret2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=727&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553411/original/file-20231012-24-nqret2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=914&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553411/original/file-20231012-24-nqret2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=914&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553411/original/file-20231012-24-nqret2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=914&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The FOGO interactive map shows the local government areas that currently have a food waste collection service, data is current as of February 2023. Bright green is FOGO, dark green is garden organics only.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/e6b5c78e1dac47f88e7e475ffacfc49b">The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Councils should provide this option at a minimum. This ensures sufficient infrastructure is available to support motivated households to sort food waste.</p>
<p>Unfortunately <a href="https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/e6b5c78e1dac47f88e7e475ffacfc49b">fewer than half of Australian councils</a> provide a garden organics system and only a quarter of councils provide a FOGO system. </p>
<p>You can explore <a href="https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/e6b5c78e1dac47f88e7e475ffacfc49b">the FOGO interactive map</a> to see how your area stacks up. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.greenindustries.sa.gov.au/resources/adelaide-metro-kerbside-waste-performance-report-2021-22">Most councils in metropolitan Adelaide</a> provide access to food waste recycling through the FOGO bin. But <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.134636">our research</a> indicates more than half of household food waste still ends up in landfill. So we need additional programs to promote more sustainable behaviours.</p>
<h2>2. Changing social norms</h2>
<p>Social norms, the unspoken rules about what behaviours are deemed appropriate, can drive behavioural change. </p>
<p>Examples of promoting social norms around food waste reduction include a <a href="https://www.stopfoodwaste.com.au/stop-food-waste-nationwide-consumer-campaign-summit-communique/">nationwide consumer campaign</a> on stopping food waste and the <a href="https://www.cityofadelaide.com.au/resident/recycling-waste/kitchen-caddies/">kitchen caddy</a> for benches to increase convenience for collecting food waste. </p>
<p>But our research suggests some groups, like slackers, remain unmotivated without additional incentives. Economic incentives might motivate this group to engage in more sustainable behaviours.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550948/original/file-20230928-27-m03u6f.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Closeup photo of a person scraping food scraps into a benchtop kitchen caddy with a compostable liner, for recycling in the food organics collection system" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550948/original/file-20230928-27-m03u6f.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550948/original/file-20230928-27-m03u6f.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=577&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550948/original/file-20230928-27-m03u6f.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=577&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550948/original/file-20230928-27-m03u6f.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=577&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550948/original/file-20230928-27-m03u6f.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=725&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550948/original/file-20230928-27-m03u6f.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=725&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550948/original/file-20230928-27-m03u6f.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=725&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A benchtop kitchen caddy with a compostable liner for food waste scraps, provided by Adelaide City Council.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Trang Nguyen</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>3. Economic incentives</h2>
<p>Currently, Australians pay for waste management through their council rates. This is a “pay-as-you-own” system.</p>
<p>The cost is determined by the property’s value, regardless of the amount of waste generated. Renters indirectly contribute to this cost by paying rent. </p>
<p>Neither owner-occupiers nor renters have any incentive to reduce waste generation when the cost is levied on property value rather than the amount of waste.</p>
<p>An alternative approach gaining momentum in other parts of the world is the “pay-as-you-throw” approach, such as <a href="https://www.collectors2020.eu/wcs-ppw/stockholm-se/">Stockholm</a> and <a href="https://pocacito.eu/sites/default/files/WasteCharging_Taipei.pdf">Taipei</a>. This system charges households based on the weight of their waste, usually the general waste that needs to be discarded in landfill, while the collection of food waste and other recyclables remains free to encourage waste sorting.</p>
<p>Recent <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.137363">research</a> in Italy shows pay-as-you-throw schemes result in significant reductions in both the quantity of waste and costs associated with waste disposal in many Italian municipalities.</p>
<p>The reduced costs flow on to savings for councils that could potentially reduce waste management fees passed on to homeowners and renters through council rates. Giving households incentives to reduce waste and find alternatives to disposal encourages residents to place a higher value on food that may otherwise be sent to landfill.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/want-to-reduce-your-food-waste-at-home-here-are-the-6-best-evidence-based-ways-to-do-it-168561">Want to reduce your food waste at home? Here are the 6 best evidence-based ways to do it</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Reducing food waste is a win-win</h2>
<p>Tackling food waste is a win-win for people and the planet. It’s worth using various approaches to encourage people to change their behaviour.</p>
<p>Our findings can help inform the design of interventions aimed at reducing and sorting food waste in specific segments of the Australian population.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Dx7RWtfgbVw?wmode=transparent&start=11" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">No time to waste: Halving Australia’s food waste by 2030 (Fight Food Waste Cooperative Research Centre)</span></figcaption>
</figure><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214482/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Trang Nguyen has received funding and is affiliated with the Fight Food Waste Cooperative Research Centre.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Patrick O'Connor has received funding from the Australian Research Council, the South Australian, Victorian, New South Wales and Australian governments. He is a board director of the Nature Conservation Society of SA, a committee member of the Restoration Decade Alliance and a councillor of the Biodiversity Council.</span></em></p>A household survey has revealed three distinct patterns of consumer behaviour around food waste.Trang Nguyen, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of AdelaidePatrick O'Connor, Associate Professor, University of AdelaideLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2139462023-10-06T16:33:40Z2023-10-06T16:33:40ZWhat you should (and shouldn’t) do with all of your old phone chargers and other e-waste<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552349/original/file-20231005-15-w94j4k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C7%2C4938%2C3280&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Most of us have accumulated a stash of old devices, chargers and cables that sit forgotten in our homes.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/usb-chargers-wires-tangled-chaos-1559167382">MikhailSk/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The statistics surrounding mobile phones are staggering. There are <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/218984/number-of-global-mobile-users-since-2010/">more than 7 billion</a> mobile phone users worldwide, <a href="https://www.statista.com/forecasts/1143723/smartphone-users-in-the-world#:%7E:text=After%20the%20fifth%20consecutive%20increasing,any%20age%20using%20a%20smartphone.">nearly 5 billion</a> of whom use a smartphone.</p>
<p>These devices are a fundamental part of our lives. But, as electronic devices are constantly improving, older models quickly become outdated. </p>
<p>In a <a href="https://www.nevis.net/en/blog/how-often-do-users-change-their-smartphone">survey</a> conducted by Nevis Security, a Swiss software company, it was found that 62% of respondents replace their smartphones every three to four years. A significant portion of people change their phones even more frequently than this, with nearly 20% of the respondents reporting that they replace their phone every year.</p>
<p>This rapid turnover doesn’t only involve getting a new device; it often means purchasing a brand new set of cables and chargers that are compatible with the latest model of phone.</p>
<p>Fortunately, change is on the horizon. The European Commission has recently <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-58665809">implemented a regulation</a> mandating that, by 2024, all phones and small electronic devices sold within the EU must feature a universal <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB-C">USB-C charging port</a>. As a result, <a href="https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20200128IPR71205/parliament-wants-binding-rules-on-common-chargers-to-be-tabled-by-summer">30 different models</a> of charger have been reduced to just three.</p>
<p>Despite this development, most of us have already <a href="https://digital.detritusjournal.com/articles/why-do-weee-hoard-the-effect-of-consumer-behaviour-on-the-release-of-home-entertainment-products-int/357">accumulated a stash</a> of old devices, chargers and cables that sit forgotten in our sheds, drawers and cupboards. Many of these chargers ultimately end up being discarded, contributing to <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-51324847">more than 51,000 tonnes</a> of electronic and electrical equipment waste each year.</p>
<p>So, what should or shouldn’t you be doing with all of the obsolete electronic equipment that is piled up in your home? </p>
<h2>Don’t bin them</h2>
<p>Many people <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/polls/comments/15ztbkm/how_would_you_dispose_of_an_old_phone_charger/?rdt=59166">do not realise</a> that disposing of old phone chargers and cables in standard waste bins has negative environmental consequences. Chargers and cables consist of various plastics, metals and other materials that do not decompose naturally. </p>
<p>Polyvinyl chloride – commonly known as PVC – is a plastic that is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clet.2021.100246">often used</a> in chargers and cables. It breaks down very slowly, typically taking <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acssuschemeng.9b06635">30 years or more</a> to degrade. PVC also fragments into harmful microplastic particles.</p>
<p>The safe handling of e-waste is important, yet the issue of electronic waste is <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-51385344">frequently overlooked</a>. In fact, much of the electronic waste that is generated <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1066948/share-of-electronic-waste-disposed-globally/">goes undocumented</a>. </p>
<p>Developed nations, including the <a href="https://bpr.berkeley.edu/2019/12/05/out-of-sight-out-of-mind-how-the-united-states-discards-e-waste/">United States</a>, certain Europe nations and some in Asia, often <a href="https://ourworld.unu.edu/en/toxic-e-waste-dumped-in-poor-nations-says-united-nations">export their electronic waste</a> to poorer countries. In places where suitable facilities and national electronic waste legislation are lacking, electronic waste is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2020.10.016">often treated as general waste</a> and either ends up in landfill or is recycled along with other metal or plastic waste.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, any electronic waste that includes a plug, battery or cable can be managed in an environmentally responsible manner. All cables contain copper, a valuable material, making them suitable for recycling. Many standard cable plastics can be recycled too, although some may pose challenges due to the presence of additives.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Electronic waste in a landfill." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552352/original/file-20231005-23-om0hba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552352/original/file-20231005-23-om0hba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552352/original/file-20231005-23-om0hba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552352/original/file-20231005-23-om0hba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552352/original/file-20231005-23-om0hba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552352/original/file-20231005-23-om0hba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552352/original/file-20231005-23-om0hba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Used electronics or e-waste often end up in landfill.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/electronic-waste-garbage-recycling-1675112314">Morten B/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What should you do with them?</h2>
<p>There are <a href="https://www.recycleyourelectricals.org.uk/electrical-recycling/">several recommended methods</a> for managing old chargers and cables responsibly.</p>
<p>Some retailers offer convenient options for disposing of old products. These include paid pick-up services where your old item is collected when delivering a new one, or free drop-off programmes. For instance, Apple provides a <a href="https://www.apple.com/by/recycling/nationalservices/">national trade-in system</a> in the UK where people can trade in their devices or cables in return for credit towards the purchase of a new device or, if not eligible for this scheme, will recycle them at no cost</p>
<p>Most recycling centres also accept common wires and cables, including mobile phone cables, electrical and home appliance wires, Ethernet cables, power cords and chargers. Dropping your old phone cables off at a recycling centre will ensure they are properly recycled.</p>
<p>It’s worth noting that <a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/10142763">wireless mobile phone chargers</a> are emerging as a promising future charging option. This technology is helping to reduce the need for cables.</p>
<p>If your chargers are in working condition, you can opt to sell them through online auction sites such as <a href="https://www.ebay.co.uk/b/bn_450849">eBay</a>. Alternatively, you can sell your devices online or at stores such as <a href="https://www.musicmagpie.co.uk/">Music Magpie</a>, which claims to refurbish 95% of the products received from consumers, all of which are resold in the UK.</p>
<p>Rather than selling your functional but unwanted chargers, consider donating them to a <a href="https://www.charityretail.org.uk/">local charity shop</a> for others to use. Some local authorities also offer curbside collection services for small electrical items. Check with your local council to see if this service is available in your area.</p>
<p>There are lots of ways to manage your old cables and chargers sustainably. By prioritising <a href="https://www.circularonline.co.uk/features/time-to-bury-landfill-for-good/">electronic waste prevention, reuse and recycling</a>, you will not only help the environment, but also ensure that today’s products can form tomorrow’s raw materials.</p>
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<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ian Williams receives funding from EU Horizon 2020 and EPSRC. Ian Williams is a member of the International Solid Waste Association, the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management and the Royal Society of Chemistry.</span></em></p>Electronic waste is one of the fastest growing waste streams in the world – there are things you can do to minimise your role in it.Ian Williams, Professor of Applied Environmental Science, University of SouthamptonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2145732023-10-05T12:35:46Z2023-10-05T12:35:46ZLego’s ESG dilemma: Why an abandoned plan to use recycled plastic bottles is a wake-up call for supply chain sustainability<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551813/original/file-20231003-27-dy1q3j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C13%2C2995%2C1994&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Legos are designed to last for decades. That posed a challenge when the toymaker tried to switch to recycled plastics.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/JapanLegoVermeer/44d6901361e34da99801b802fd976bb2/photo">AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Lego, the world’s <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/241241/revenue-of-major-toy-companies-worldwide/">largest toy manufacturer</a>, has built a reputation not only for the <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-much-abuse-can-a-single-lego-brick-take-343398/">durability of its bricks</a>, designed to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/lego-design-sustainability-circular-economy">last for decades</a>, but also for its substantial investment in sustainability. The company has <a href="https://www.esgtoday.com/lego-to-invest-over-1-4-billion-to-reduce-emissions-commits-to-net-zero-by-2050/">pledged US$1.4 billion</a> to reduce carbon emissions by 2025, despite netting <a href="https://apnews.com/article/lego-profit-sales-higher-prices-denmark-daa98df56563de4b9fa02185862b1b3a">annual profits of just over $2 billion</a> in 2022. </p>
<p>This commitment isn’t just for show. Lego sees its core customers as children and their parents, and <a href="https://www.un.org/en/academic-impact/sustainability">sustainability</a> is fundamentally about ensuring that future generations inherit a planet as hospitable as the one we enjoy today. </p>
<p>So it was surprising when the Financial Times reported on <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/6cad1883-f87a-471d-9688-c1a3c5a0b7dc">Sept. 25, 2023</a>, that Lego had pulled out of its widely publicized “<a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/sustainable-business/bottles-bricks-lego-finds-right-fit-with-recycled-plastic-2021-06-23/">Bottles to Bricks</a>” initiative.</p>
<p>This ambitious project aimed to replace traditional Lego plastic with a new material made from recycled plastic bottles. However, when Lego assessed the project’s environmental impact throughout its supply chain, it found that producing bricks with the recycled plastic would <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/sep/24/lego-abandons-effort-to-make-bricks-from-recycled-plastic-bottles">require extra materials and energy</a> to make them durable enough. Because this conversion process would result in higher carbon emissions, the company decided to stick with its current fossil fuel-based materials while <a href="https://www.lego.com/en-us/aboutus/news/2023/september/the-lego-group-remains-committed-to-make-lego-bricks-from-sustainable-materials">continuing to search</a> for more sustainable alternatives.</p>
<p>As <a href="https://tinglongdai.com">experts</a> in <a href="https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/faculty/hau-l-lee">global supply chains</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Kk-QbksAAAAJ&hl=en">sustainability</a>, we believe Lego’s pivot is the beginning of a larger trend toward developing sustainable solutions for entire supply chains in a circular economy. New regulations <a href="https://www.isscorporatesolutions.com/library/are-european-companies-ready-for-scope-3-disclosures/">in the European Union</a> – and <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/california-climate-bill-clears-senate-governor-newsom-have-final-say-2023-09-12/">expected in California</a> – are about to speed things up.</p>
<h2>Examining all the emissions, cradle to grave</h2>
<p>Business leaders are increasingly <a href="https://doi.org/10.1287/serv.2021.0295">integrating environmental, social and governance factors</a>, commonly known as ESG, into their operational and strategic frameworks. But the pursuit of sustainability requires attention to the entire life cycle of a product, from its materials and manufacturing processes to its use and ultimate disposal.</p>
<p>The results can lead to counterintuitive outcomes, as Lego discovered.</p>
<p>Understanding a company’s entire carbon footprint requires looking at <a href="https://www.epa.gov/climateleadership/scope-1-and-scope-2-inventory-guidance">three types of emissions</a>: Scope 1 emissions are generated directly by a company’s internal operations. Scope 2 emissions are caused by generating the electricity, steam, heat or cooling a company consumes. And <a href="https://www.epa.gov/climateleadership/scope-3-inventory-guidance">scope 3</a> emissions are generated by a company’s supply chain, from upstream suppliers to downstream distributors and end customers. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Lists of examples of sope 1, 2, 3 emissions sources with an illustration of a factory in the center" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/450130/original/file-20220304-13-727hza.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/450130/original/file-20220304-13-727hza.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450130/original/file-20220304-13-727hza.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450130/original/file-20220304-13-727hza.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450130/original/file-20220304-13-727hza.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=640&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450130/original/file-20220304-13-727hza.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=640&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450130/original/file-20220304-13-727hza.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=640&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">What scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions involve.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.americanprogress.org/article/why-companies-should-be-required-to-disclose-their-scope-3-emissions/">Chester Hawkins/Center for American Progress</a></span>
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<p>Currently, <a href="https://www.isscorporatesolutions.com/library/are-european-companies-ready-for-scope-3-disclosures">fewer than 30%</a> of companies report meaningful scope 3 emissions, in part because these emissions are difficult to track. Yet, companies’ scope 3 emissions are on average <a href="https://www.cdp.net/en/research/global-reports/transparency-to-transformation">11.4 times greater</a> than their <a href="https://www.epa.gov/climateleadership/scope-1-and-scope-2-inventory-guidance">scope 1</a> emissions, data from corporate disclosures reported to the nonprofit CDP show.</p>
<p>Lego is a case study of this lopsided distribution and the importance of tracking scope 3 emissions. A staggering <a href="https://www.lego.com/en-us/sustainability/environment/our-co2-footprint">98% of Lego’s carbon emissions</a> are categorized as scope 3. </p>
<p>From 2020 to 2021, the company’s total emissions increased by 30%, amid surging demand for Lego sets during the COVID-19 lockdowns – even though the company’s scope 2 emissions related to purchased energy such as electricity decreased by 40%. The increase was almost entirely in its scope 3 emissions.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Lego’s tour of how its toy bricks are made doesn’t address the supply chain, where most of Lego’s greenhouse gas emissions originate.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As more companies follow in Lego’s footsteps and begin reporting scope 3 emissions, they will likely find themselves in the same position, realizing that efforts to reduce carbon emissions often boil down to supply chain and consumer-use emissions. And the results may force them to make some tough choices.</p>
<h2>Policy and disclosure: The next frontier</h2>
<p>New regulations in the European Union and pending in California are designed to increase corporate emissions transparency by including supply chain emissions.</p>
<p>The EU in June 2023 adopted the first set of European Sustainability Reporting Standards, which will require publicly traded companies in the EU to <a href="https://www.isscorporatesolutions.com/library/are-european-companies-ready-for-scope-3-disclosures/%22%22">disclose their scope 3 emissions</a>, starting in their reports for fiscal year 2024.</p>
<p>California’s legislature <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/california-climate-bill-clears-senate-governor-newsom-have-final-say-2023-09-12/#:%7E:text=Sept%2012%20(Reuters)%20%2D%20California's,in%20setting%20corporate%20climate%20rules.%22%22">passed similar legislation</a> requiring companies with revenues of more than $1 billion to disclose their scope 3 emissions. California’s governor has until Oct. 14, 2023, to consider the bill and <a href="https://apnews.com/article/california-governor-gavin-newsom-climate-bills-global-warming-2c5adbb29e67b753e396169195430ffb">is expected to sign it</a>.</p>
<p>At the federal level, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission released a proposal in March 2022 that, if finalized, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/secs-climate-disclosure-rule-isnt-here-but-it-may-as-well-be-many-businesses-say-854789bd/">would require</a> all public companies to report climate-related risk and emissions data, including scope 3 emissions. After <a href="https://news.bloomberglaw.com/securities-law/sec-climate-rules-pushed-back-amid-bureaucratic-legal-woes%22%22">receiving significant pushback</a>, the SEC began reconsidering the scope 3 reporting rule. But SEC Chairman Gary Gensler suggested during a congressional hearing in late September 2023 that California’s move <a href="https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/sec-chief-says-new-california-law-could-change-baseline-coming-sec-climate-rule-2023-09-27/">could influence federal regulators’ decision</a>.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">SEC Chairman Gary Gensler explains the importance of climate-related risk disclosures.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This increased focus on disclosure of scope 3 emissions will undoubtedly increase pressure on companies. </p>
<p>Because scope 3 emissions are significant, yet often not measured or reported, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-022-05151-9">consumers are rightly concerned</a> that companies that claim to have low emissions <a href="https://makersite.io/insights/whitepaper-the-cost-of-greenwashing/">may be greenwashing</a> without taking action to reduce emissions in their supply chains to combat climate change. </p>
<p>At the same time, we suspect that as more investors support sustainable investing, they may prefer to invest in companies that are transparent in disclosing all areas of emissions. Ultimately, we believe consumers, investors and governments will demand more than lip service from companies. Instead, they’ll expect companies to take actionable steps to reduce the most significant part of a company’s carbon footprint – scope 3 emissions. </p>
<h2>A journey, not a destination</h2>
<p>The Lego example serves as a cautionary tale in the complex ESG landscape for which <a href="https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/three-quarters-firms-globally-are-not-ready-new-esg-rules-kpmg-finds-2023-09-26/">most companies are not well prepared</a>. As more companies come under scrutiny for their entire carbon footprint, we may see more instances where well-intentioned sustainability efforts run into uncomfortable truths. </p>
<p>This calls for a nuanced understanding of sustainability, not as a checklist of good deeds, but as a complex, ongoing process that requires vigilance, <a href="https://theconversation.com/esg-investing-has-a-blind-spot-that-puts-the-35-trillion-industrys-sustainability-promises-in-doubt-supply-chains-170199">transparency</a> and, above all, a commitment to the benefit of future generations.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214573/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Corporate supply chains are riddled with high, uncounted emissions, as Lego discovered. New regulations mean more companies will face tough, sometimes surprising, choices.Tinglong Dai, Professor of Operations Management & Business Analytics, Carey Business School, Johns Hopkins UniversityChristopher S. Tang, Professor of Supply Chain Management, University of California, Los AngelesHau L. Lee, Professor of Operations, Information & Technology, Stanford UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2138022023-09-22T11:51:08Z2023-09-22T11:51:08ZFast fashion’s waste problem could be solved by recycled textiles but brands need to help boost production<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549148/original/file-20230919-29-c1vz8l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=22%2C0%2C5088%2C3869&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/reuse-reduce-recycle-concept-background-symbol-1537681748">Fascinadora/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Earlier this year, fast fashion retailer Zara released its first womenswear collection <a href="https://circ.earth/zara-launches-first-of-its-kind-recycled-poly-cotton-capsule-with-circ/">made of recycled poly-cotton textile waste</a>. The collection is available for sale in 11 countries, helping clothing made of blended textile waste reach the mass market. </p>
<p>The collection came about after Zara’s parent company Inditex <a href="https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/sustainability/inditex-clean-tech-investment-textile-recyling-circ-startup/">invested</a> in textile recycler Circ. This follows <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/inditex-100-mln-euro-deal-make-clothes-recycled-fabric-2022-05-12/">a €100 million (£87 million) deal</a> between Inditex and Finnish textile recycler Infinited Fiber Company for 30% of its recycled output. Zara’s fast fashion rival H&M has also entered <a href="https://www.renewcell.com/en/renewcell-and-hm-group-in-large-scale-fashion-recycling-cooperation/">a five-year contract</a> with Swedish textile recycler Renewcell to acquire <a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230227-how-to-recycle-your-clothes#:%7E:text=Swedish%20fashion%20brand%20H%26M">9,072 tonnes of recycled fibre</a> – equivalent to 50 million T-shirts.</p>
<p>There is a growing appetite among some fashion retailers to turn old clothes into high-quality fibres, and then into new clothes. But even though well-known brands are developing lines using recycled textiles, this movement has not yet reached the scale needed to have a truly global impact.</p>
<p>Before this recent growth in interest in textile recycling, fast fashion’s efforts to tackle throwaway attitudes towards affordable clothing often simply added to the global textile waste mountain – especially <a href="https://fashionunited.uk/news/business/h-m-s-response-to-allegations-of-dumping-textile-waste-in-global-south-highlights-industry-s-problems/2023062870246">in developing countries</a>, say campaigners like Greenpeace.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1514968224038731782"}"></div></p>
<p>For example, a skirt deposited at a London chain store under a take-back scheme was <a href="https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Take-back-trickery_compressed.pdf">reportedly found</a> in a landfill in Bamako, Mali. This is not an isolated incident, it’s a sector-wide problem that sees old clothes being collected but not disposed of properly. An estimated <a href="https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/ghanas-vintage-enthusiasts-give-new-life-western-clothing-waste-2022-12-28/">15 million used clothing items</a> are shipped to Ghana each week from around the world and many end up in the country’s landfills. This is often referred to as <a href="https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/sustainability/fashion-pay-waste-colonialism-secondhand-clothes-epr-kantamanto/">waste colonialism</a>.</p>
<p>The fast fashion industry needs greater access to recycled textiles to address this problem. But this means having the means to track “thrown-away” garments to collect those suitable for recycling. The industry also needs facilities that are big enough to turn this waste into new materials for clothing at the scale needed to meet mass market demand.</p>
<p>This is particularly important as these firms prepare for an <a href="https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/circular-economy/reset-trend/how-eu-making-fashion-sustainable_en">EU crackdown</a> on the region’s own waste mountain. Following the <a href="https://environment.ec.europa.eu/publications/textiles-strategy_en">EU strategy for Sustainable and Circular textiles</a> 2022, the European Commission is drafting new legislation over <a href="https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/eu-wants-all-textile-waste-rules-place-by-2028-commissioner-2023-06-27/">the next five years</a> to make the fashion industry pay for the cost of processing discarded clothing.</p>
<p>Under the new EU rules, companies will be expected to collect waste equivalent to a certain percentage of their production. While the exact amount has not yet been confirmed yet, European commissioner for the environment Virginijus Sinkevičius has said it will “definitely” be <a href="https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/eu-wants-all-textile-waste-rules-place-by-2028-commissioner-2023-06-27/#:%7E:text=%22It%20definitely%20will%20be%20higher%20than%205%25%22%20of%20production%2C%20Sinkevi%C4%8Dius%20said.">more than 5% of production</a>. Companies may have to pay a fee (reportedly equivalent to <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/6b3a4ff0-c433-4a1c-9239-c22c4c1dfec6">€0.12 per T-shirt</a>) towards local authorities’ waste collection work.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="White store background with sales display of grey coat, tree and light behind white clothing collection bin." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549147/original/file-20230919-15-s2rh3i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549147/original/file-20230919-15-s2rh3i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549147/original/file-20230919-15-s2rh3i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549147/original/file-20230919-15-s2rh3i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549147/original/file-20230919-15-s2rh3i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549147/original/file-20230919-15-s2rh3i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549147/original/file-20230919-15-s2rh3i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many stores offer collection bins for old clothes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.inditex.com/itxcomweb/en/press/media-gallery/facilities">Inditex</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But fast fashion brands must ensure that this doesn’t just dump the problem of textile waste into other countries’ landfills. Instead, developing lines out of recycled textiles could give these old clothes a new lease of life.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.thefashionpact.org/?lang=en">Fashion Pact</a> signed by more than 160 brands (a third of the sector by volume) commits companies to ensure that, by 2025, 25% of the raw materials such as textiles that they use have a low impact on the environment – recycled fibre is considered a low-impact material. Some brands have set more ambitious targets, including Adidas, which has committed to <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/73ca70d8-84e1-11e8-96dd-fa565ec55929">using 100% recycled plastics</a> by 2024, and Zara-owner Inditex, which pledged to source <a href="https://www.drapersonline.com/news/zara-owner-inditex-sets-extremely-ambitious-sustainability-targets">40% of its fibres</a> from recycling processes by 2030. </p>
<p>These impending deadlines, plus the EU legislation, should motivate brands to use more recycled fibres. While the supply of such material is <a href="https://vb.nweurope.eu/media/19019/2207-scaling-textile-recycling-in-europe-turning-waste-into-value.pdf">currently limited</a>, an influx of recycling start-ups are finding ways to turn old clothes into new fibres that replicate the look and feel of virgin materials. </p>
<p>Start-ups like <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brookerobertsislam/2022/02/25/fashion-isnt-becoming-more-sustainable-but-next-gen-materials-might-fix-that/?sh=71fc2ab468ad">Spinnova, Renewcell and Infinited Fibre</a> have developed chemical recycling technologies to create new fibres from cotton-rich clothing. And while cheap low-cost blended materials like poly-cotton are <a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200710-why-clothes-are-so-hard-to-recycle">difficult to separate and recycle</a>, firms like Worn Again, Envrnu, and Circ are tackling this problem, too. </p>
<p>Worn Again plans to build a new recycling demo plant in Switzerland, paving the way for <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/partnerships/worn-again-technologies">40 licensed plants by 2040</a>, which would be capable of processing 1.8 million tonnes of textile waste per year.</p>
<h2>Taking textile recycling from hype to reality</h2>
<p>Up to 26% of Europe’s textile waste could be recycled by 2030, according to some estimates, according to <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/scaling-textile-recycling-in-europe-turning-waste-into-value">a 2022 McKinsey report</a>. This would generate €3.5-€4.5 billion in economic output for the EU, create 15,000 new jobs, and save 3.6 million tonnes of CO². But <a href="https://textileexchange.org/app/uploads/2022/10/Textile-Exchange_PFMR_2022.pdf">only 1% of textiles</a> are currently being recycled globally into new clothes – the recycling technology needed for this shift is still in its infancy.</p>
<p>Part of the challenge in scaling up textile recycling to this degree is the lack of information available about what happens to clothes that are thrown away. Sharing data on the volume, locations and compositions of waste generated in the supply chain and collected post-consumption would help evaluate the full potential of textile recycling. Companies like <a href="https://reverseresources.net/">Reverse Resources</a> already provide online databases of information on textile waste – in this case for a global network of 70 recyclers, 44 waste handlers and 1,287 manufacturers in 24 countries.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Bales of clothes stacked in piles in a warehouse." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549150/original/file-20230919-17-z0z4m0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549150/original/file-20230919-17-z0z4m0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549150/original/file-20230919-17-z0z4m0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549150/original/file-20230919-17-z0z4m0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549150/original/file-20230919-17-z0z4m0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549150/original/file-20230919-17-z0z4m0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549150/original/file-20230919-17-z0z4m0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A textile recycling centre.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/used-clothing-wholesaler-textile-recycling-europe-743587066">Martin de Jong/Shutterstock</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>Increasing textile recycling will require a collaborative approach, as will the development of the technology needed to create high-quality recycled textiles. Brands, investors, suppliers, recyclers, technology providers and local governments must come together to find ways to grow the textile recycling industry. The recent <a href="https://newcottonproject.eu/">New Cotton Project</a> that involves 12 brands (including H&M group and Adidas), manufacturers, suppliers and research institutes is a first step towards increasing textile recycling.</p>
<p>More money is also needed from all of these groups. To reach the recycling rate of 18%-26% by 2030, it will take <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/scaling-textile-recycling-in-europe-turning-waste-into-value">billions in infrastructure investment</a> for collecting, sorting and processing textile waste.</p>
<p>Textile recycling is no longer for a few “sustainable” fashion firms – it is quickly becoming a reality that no fast fashion firm can ignore. Shoppers must demand that the brands they love show their commitment to textile recycling beyond marketing campaigns and low-volume fashion collections.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213802/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Brands like Zara and H&M are teaming up with recycled textile producers but more collaboration is needed.Quynh Do Nhu, Assistant Professor in Logistics and Supply Chain Management, Lancaster UniversityMark Stevenson, Professor of Operations Management, Lancaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2114742023-09-06T19:11:25Z2023-09-06T19:11:25ZHow recycling could solve the shortage of minerals essential to clean energy<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/544662/original/file-20230824-21082-9pxfgr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=530%2C0%2C4895%2C2651&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">An ambitious clean energy transition requires more of the metals and minerals used to build clean energy technologies.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>What do silver, silicon and gallium have in common? These expensive raw materials are essential components of our various solar energy technologies. What about neodymium, praseodymium and dysprosium? These rare earth metals are used to <a href="https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/2ea6ecb2-40e2-11eb-b27b-01aa75ed71a1/language-en">build the powerful magnets in wind turbines</a>. </p>
<p>Keeping our planet liveable requires <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/syr/">accelerated clean energy transitions</a> by governments — <a href="https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/net-zero-coalition">global carbon emissions must</a> halve by 2030 and achieve net-zero by 2050. </p>
<p>But a more ambitious clean energy transition requires more of the metals and minerals used to build clean energy technologies. As the global energy sector <a href="https://www.energyinst.org/statistical-review">shifts from fossil fuels to clean energy</a>, the demand of <a href="https://www.iea.org/topics/critical-minerals">precious metals</a> — known as critical minerals — is increasing.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/critical-minerals-are-vital-for-renewable-energy-we-must-learn-to-mine-them-responsibly-131547">Critical minerals are vital for renewable energy. We must learn to mine them responsibly</a>
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<p>A striking example is lithium, a metal used in electric vehicle batteries. Between 2018 and 2022, <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/metals-and-mining/our-insights/australias-potential-in-the-lithium-market">the demand for lithium increased by 25 per cent per year</a>. Under a net-zero scenario, lithium demand by 2040 could be <a href="https://www.iea.org/reports/the-role-of-critical-minerals-in-clean-energy-transitions/executive-summary">over 40 times what it was in 2020</a>.</p>
<h2>Supply and demand</h2>
<p>The current challenge lies in a supply and demand mismatch. The projected demand for critical minerals exceeds the available supply. Basic principles of economics dictate higher prices for these minerals. </p>
<p>In addition, critical minerals have a geographically concentrated supply. These metals are only extracted from <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/docsroom/documents/42881">a handful of countries and are overwhelmingly processed in China</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A graph showing the demand for important metals is outpacing supply" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/544654/original/file-20230824-21-w1aau4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/544654/original/file-20230824-21-w1aau4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544654/original/file-20230824-21-w1aau4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544654/original/file-20230824-21-w1aau4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544654/original/file-20230824-21-w1aau4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544654/original/file-20230824-21-w1aau4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544654/original/file-20230824-21-w1aau4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The current production rates of critical metals are likely to be inadequate to satisfy future demand.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(International Monetary Fund)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>China, for example, <a href="https://www.iea.org/reports/energy-technology-perspectives-2023/clean-energy-supply-chains-vulnerabilities">extracts 60 per cent and processes 90 per cent</a> of all rare earth elements. In comparison, the top oil-producing country — the United States — accounts for only <a href="https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/ffd2a83b-8c30-4e9d-980a-52b6d9a86fdc/TheRoleofCriticalMineralsinCleanEnergyTransitions.pdf">18 per cent of the extraction and 20 per cent of the processing of the whole industry</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A bar graph that illustrates a select few countries are responsible for the extraction of selected minerals and fossil fuels" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/544829/original/file-20230825-15-3y1uy1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/544829/original/file-20230825-15-3y1uy1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=269&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544829/original/file-20230825-15-3y1uy1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=269&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544829/original/file-20230825-15-3y1uy1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=269&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544829/original/file-20230825-15-3y1uy1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544829/original/file-20230825-15-3y1uy1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544829/original/file-20230825-15-3y1uy1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Share of top producing countries in the extraction of selected minerals and fossil fuels.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(IEA)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The geographical concentration may result in additional supply constraints. Indonesia, the world’s first nickel producer, has progressively <a href="https://www.iea.org/policies/16084-prohibition-of-the-export-of-nickel-ore">banned the export of nickel ore overseas</a> in an attempt to strengthen domestic processing.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A bar graph that illustrates a select few countries are responsible for the processing of selected minerals and fossil fuels" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/544830/original/file-20230825-28-735aa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/544830/original/file-20230825-28-735aa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=264&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544830/original/file-20230825-28-735aa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=264&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544830/original/file-20230825-28-735aa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=264&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544830/original/file-20230825-28-735aa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544830/original/file-20230825-28-735aa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544830/original/file-20230825-28-735aa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Share of top producing countries in total processing of selected minerals and fossil fuels.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(IEA)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
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<p>The lack of geographical diversity in supply can increase price volatility. Lithium prices <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/lithium-slump-puts-chinas-spot-price-under-spotlight-andy-home-2023-05-19/">rose more than 400 per cent in 2022, before dropping again by 65 per cent in 2023</a>. Copper prices soared in Peru following <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/disruptions-raise-chance-copper-supply-tightness-2023-02-03/">social unrest and mine blockades</a>.</p>
<p>China, which controls 98 per cent of the gallium supply, created a 40 per cent spike in 2023 on gallium prices by setting <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/chinas-controls-take-effect-wait-gallium-germanium-export-permits-begins-2023-08-01/">severe restriction on exports</a> due to “national security reasons.”</p>
<p>If supply constraints continue, the prices of critical minerals could become too high. Installing clean energy could become too expensive, and governments may find it hard to reach their clean energy targets. </p>
<p>The demand and supply balance must be restored by one of two ways: either by decreasing the demand for critical materials or increasing their supply.</p>
<h2>Restoring balance</h2>
<p>The most obvious way to restore the balance between supply and demand — more mining — is tricky. Mining is environmentally destructive and <a href="https://climate.mit.edu/ask-mit/will-mining-resources-needed-clean-energy-cause-problems-environment">damages ecosystems and communities</a>. Plans for opening new mines in <a href="https://www.francetvinfo.fr/economie/energie/mines-de-lithium-en-france-des-projets-mais-encore-beaucoup-d-interrogations_5546643.html">France</a>, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/serbian-pm-sees-no-chance-reviving-rio-tinto-lithium-project-2022-12-13/">Serbia</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2022.102912">Portugal</a> have seen massive social opposition, leaving their future uncertain. </p>
<p>Opening a new mine can take <a href="https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/research/discovery-to-production-averages-15-7-years-for-127-mines">more than 15 years on average</a>, so projects started today might arrive too late. While some capacity can be built quicker by reopening old mines, and <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/europe-is-embarking-on-a-mining-renaissance-winning-over-locals-is-proving-a-challenge-b7d14f5f">some projects are already underway</a>, supply imbalances are expected to be <a href="https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/afc35261-41b2-47d4-86d6-d5d77fc259be/CriticalMineralsMarketReview2023.pdf">inevitable by 2030</a>. </p>
<p>Beyond mining, two alternative practical approaches exist. The first is to reduce the demand for critical minerals by clean energy technologies. With innovation and research and development, clean energy products can be redesigned to use less material in each generation. </p>
<p>The silver content in solar cells <a href="https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/latest-news-headlines/solar-driven-silver-demand-set-to-dim-as-sector-innovates-60533352">dropped by 80 per cent in one decade</a>. Likewise, the cathodes in new electric vehicle batteries <a href="https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/latest-news-headlines/battery-makers-slash-cobalt-intensity-in-the-face-of-accelerating-demand-71813202">contain up to six times less cobalt</a> than older models.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A block of a silvery mineral is held in gloved hands" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/544661/original/file-20230824-27-8645j8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/544661/original/file-20230824-27-8645j8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544661/original/file-20230824-27-8645j8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544661/original/file-20230824-27-8645j8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544661/original/file-20230824-27-8645j8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544661/original/file-20230824-27-8645j8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544661/original/file-20230824-27-8645j8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Refined tellurium, a rare mineral used in solar panels, is shown at the Rio Tinto Kennecott refinery in May 2022 in Magna, Utah.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The second alternative is to increase the supply of critical minerals by recovering them from older and used clean technology products via advanced recycling. Decommissioned solar panels might no longer produce energy but can be a valuable source of silver or silicon. </p>
<p>Our past research has shown that <a href="https://hbr.org/2021/06/the-dark-side-of-solar-power">discarded solar panels could outweigh new installations by the next decade</a> as installers <a href="https://news.mit.edu/2019/short-lived-solar-panels-economic-0919">seek to replace older panels with newer, more efficient ones</a>.</p>
<p>By recovering critical minerals from this waste <a href="https://hillnotes.ca/2023/04/21/electrical-and-electronic-equipment-waste-an-urban-mine-with-great-potential/">in a process known as urban mining</a>, we could cover the demand for the materials needed for future energy installations.</p>
<h2>Recycling is the way forward</h2>
<p>Our <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4424516">recent research with our colleague Luk Van Wassenhove</a> compares the economic consequences of these two alternative approaches. If the scarcity of critical minerals is not extreme, reducing the critical material content of clean energy products would be the way to go. </p>
<p>However, unintended consequences can be expected akin to the <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fenrg.2018.00026">rebound effect or Jevon’s paradox</a>: by improving the efficiency of usage of critical minerals, producers can end up consuming more of it. </p>
<p>As clean energy products use less critical material, their improved profitability could increase production even more. As a result, decreasing the material usage per product won’t necessarily lead to a decrease in critical material demand overall.</p>
<p>In contrast, our research suggests that recycling decommissioned products is not subject to such a rebound effect. A steady stream of recycled materials from end-of-life products protects producers from volatile commodity prices and better facilitates the critical energy transition.</p>
<p>Setting up a recycling ecosystem requires greater effort than marginally changing a product’s design. Firms need a cost-efficient reverse logistics system, recycling plants and infrastructure to get enough end-of-use products back and to process them. Sizeable initial capital investments will take time to recover and require firms and policymakers to adopt a long-term mindset.</p>
<p>But there’s room for optimism. The start-up ROSI Solar opened its first recycling plant in 2023, making France a pioneer in <a href="https://recyclinginternational.com/business/mega-solar-recycling-plant-not-a-dream-of-the-future/53692/">recovering high-purity silicon, silver and copper from end-of-use solar panels</a>. </p>
<p>Likewise, the U.S.-based <a href="https://www.solarcycle.us/">SOLARCYCLE can recycle 95 per cent of valuable materials in solar panels</a>. Many electric vehicle makers, like <a href="https://www.autoblog.com/2023/07/04/nissan-takes-the-long-complex-approach-to-recycling-old-ev-batteries/">Tesla, Renault and Nissan</a>, have started projects to recycle batteries and ensure a riskless cobalt, nickel and lithium supply. Recycling may indeed be the path to affordable clean energy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211474/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The demand for the minerals needed to build clean energy technology currently exceeds the available supply. If this issue continues, governments may find it hard to reach their clean energy targets.Serasu Duran, Assistant Professor, Operations and Supply Chain Management at Haskayne School of Business, University of CalgaryAtalay Atasu, Professor of Technology and Operations Management, INSEADClara Carrera, PhD Candidate in Technology and Operations Management, INSEADLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2098942023-09-01T13:43:36Z2023-09-01T13:43:36ZPulverised fuel ash: how we can recycle the dirty byproduct from coal-fired power stations<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545549/original/file-20230830-15-9481l8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4031%2C2576&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The pulverised fuel ash from coal-fired power stations is typically stored in landfill.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/coal-fired-power-station-cooling-towers-110448884">Sponner/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The ash from burning coal in coal-fired power stations lies in thousands of landfills around the world. This waste material, generally considered a hazard, is now being put to good use in the construction industry.</p>
<p><a href="https://bloombergcoalcountdown.com">More than 6,000</a> coal-fired power stations produce this powdery byproduct, which is properly known as “pulverised fuel ash” (PFA) or “fly ash”. Traditionally, it was released into the atmosphere from the smoke stack after the coal was burned, but, because of its effect on air quality, it is now captured and stored in landfills. </p>
<p><a href="https://pure.southwales.ac.uk/en/publications/effects-of-lysinibacillus-sphaericus-on-physicomechanical-and-che">Our research</a> focuses on how we can recycle and make best use of these types of dirty byproducts for the sake of the environment.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A small heap of a brown/grey ash." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545562/original/file-20230830-23-wovt73.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545562/original/file-20230830-23-wovt73.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=280&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545562/original/file-20230830-23-wovt73.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=280&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545562/original/file-20230830-23-wovt73.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=280&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545562/original/file-20230830-23-wovt73.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=352&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545562/original/file-20230830-23-wovt73.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=352&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545562/original/file-20230830-23-wovt73.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=352&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Pulverised fuel ash or fly ash is a byproduct from coal-fired power stations.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/fly-ash-coal-waste-used-concrete-1934812655">alegga/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The <a href="https://www.greenbiz.com/article/how-decarbonize-concrete-and-build-better-future#:%7E:text=Concrete%20is%20the%20most%2Dconsumed,and%20demand%20for%20infrastructure%20grows.">current demand</a> for concrete worldwide is around 14 billion cubic metres annually. This is projected to increase by 43% to 20 billion cubic metres by 2050. The impact of the carbon dioxide emissions (<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02612-5">8% globally</a>) that is associated with this increase, against the backdrop of the current environmental crisis, is immense. </p>
<p>There is a dire need for a change in lifestyle and for tighter environmental regulation of industrial operations and processes. This should include a serious mitigation of the worsening environmental landscape. Increasing the use of industrial waste and byproduct materials is one such strategy. </p>
<p>Some of the most abundant global waste streams result from the many years of coal mining, so the role that can be played by re-using coal waste, including PFA, is significant. </p>
<p>And this idea is based on old technology if you consider how the Romans used ash. The dome of the Pantheon in Rome, built in AD128, as well as the Colosseum, are examples of successful structures built with <a href="https://www.science.org/content/article/why-modern-mortar-crumbles-roman-concrete-lasts-millennia">volcanic ash-based concrete</a>. </p>
<h2>Portland cement</h2>
<p>PFA can be blended with <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/portland-cement">Portland cement</a> to make concrete. That’s the most common type of cement in general use around the world and is a basic ingredient of concrete, but also mortar, stucco and some grout. Portland cement is a hydraulic cement, which means that it reacts with water to form a paste that binds sand and rock together, creating concrete. Around <a href="https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/221654/best-ways-carbon-emissions-from-cement/">3.5 billion tonnes</a> of Portland cement are produced annually.</p>
<p>The problem, though, is that producing Portland cement uses a lot of energy and also precious natural resources. You must quarry the raw materials, which not only damages the landscape but also results in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2542435121001975?dgcid=author">emissions</a> of up to 622kg of carbon dioxide per tonne of cement. </p>
<p>Lessening the impact of Portland cement on the environment is therefore vital. PFA is the most attractive byproduct for this purpose, due to its abundance and low cost. Also, if it is properly used in combination with Portland cement, it can result in stronger and <a href="http://www.xpublication.com/index.php/jcec/article/view/446">more durable concrete</a>.</p>
<p>However, as more coal-fired power stations are decommissioned and fewer come into operation worldwide, stockpiles of PFA become depleted. This means we will need to use the material more efficiently in the future. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A large industrial site featuring several buildings and chimneys" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545915/original/file-20230901-29-xrkzp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545915/original/file-20230901-29-xrkzp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545915/original/file-20230901-29-xrkzp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545915/original/file-20230901-29-xrkzp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545915/original/file-20230901-29-xrkzp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545915/original/file-20230901-29-xrkzp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545915/original/file-20230901-29-xrkzp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The now decommissioned Aberthaw power station in south Wales. On the right of the picture is the grass-topped ash mound.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ben_salter/46572448115/in/photostream/">Ben Salter/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Attention will have to shift to different types of fly ash or unburnt colliery waste. But coal mining waste, either from current or past mining activities, will continue to feature in the construction industry for a long time.</p>
<p>And besides concrete, there are also <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/296519/LIT_8272_420835.pdf">other ways</a> in which we can recycle PFA. This includes using it to improve the properties of soils, making abrasives such as sandpaper and grinding wheels, and using it in the manufacturing of a variety of products, such as plastics, paints and rubber.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
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</figure>
<p><strong><em>Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?</em></strong>
<br><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeTop">Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead.</a> Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeBottom">Join the 20,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.</a></em></p>
<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209894/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Kinuthia receives funding from industry, research councils, and government sources for the furtherance of research into sustainable construction</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonathan Oti receives receives funding from industry, research councils, and government sources for the furtherance of research into sustainable construction</span></em></p>Pulverised fuel ash can be recycled and used to manufacture concrete as well as other products.John Kinuthia, Professor and Manager of the Advanced Materials Testing Centre (AMTeC), University of South WalesJonathan Oti, Associate Professor at the Advanced Materials Testing Centre (AMTeC), University of South WalesLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2089242023-07-24T15:01:14Z2023-07-24T15:01:14ZDecades of public messages about recycling in the US have crowded out more sustainable ways to manage waste<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/538790/original/file-20230721-19-ywlafp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=16%2C0%2C3593%2C2397&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A worker sorts cardboard at a recycling center in Newark, N.J.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/newark-recycling-center-worker-sorting-cardboard-news-photo/1177460184">Jeff Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>You’ve just finished a cup of coffee at your favorite cafe. Now you’re facing a trash bin, a recycling bin and a compost bin. What’s the most planet-friendly thing to do with your cup?</p>
<p>Many of us would opt for the recycling bin – but <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-43739043">that’s often the wrong choice</a>. In order to hold liquids, most paper coffee cups are made with a thin plastic lining, which makes separating these materials and recycling them difficult. </p>
<p>In fact, the most sustainable option isn’t available at the trash bin. It happens earlier, before you’re handed a disposable cup in the first place. </p>
<p>In our research on <a href="https://scholar.google.com.co/citations?user=bW60nUYAAAAJ&hl=en">waste behavior</a>, <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=BwxRqBMAAAAJ&hl=en">sustainability</a>, <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=z5h3kkoAAAAJ&hl=en">engineering design</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Mxn0PmkAAAAJ&hl=en">decision making</a>, we examine what U.S. residents understand about the efficacy of different waste management strategies and which of those strategies they prefer. In two nationwide surveys in the U.S. that we conducted in October 2019 and March 2022, we found that people <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-023-01185-7">overlook waste reduction and reuse in favor of recycling</a>. We call this tendency recycling bias and reduction neglect.</p>
<p>Our results show that a decadeslong effort to educate the U.S. public about recycling has succeeded in some ways but failed in others. These efforts have made recycling an option that consumers see as important – but to the detriment of more sustainable options. And it has not made people more effective recyclers. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Q_Va-AIliDw?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Recycling rules vary widely across the U.S., leaving consumers to figure out what to do.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A global waste crisis</h2>
<p>Experts and advocates widely agree that humans are generating waste worldwide at levels that are <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2018/09/20/global-waste-to-grow-by-70-percent-by-2050-unless-urgent-action-is-taken-world-bank-report">unmanageable and unsustainable</a>. Microplastics are polluting the Earth’s <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-019-0335-5">most remote regions</a> and <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2020.106274">amassing in the bodies of humans</a> <a href="https://theconversation.com/hundreds-of-fish-species-including-many-that-humans-eat-are-consuming-plastic-154634">and animals</a>. </p>
<p>Producing and disposing of goods is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions and a public health threat, especially for vulnerable communities that <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-more-developing-countries-reject-plastic-waste-exports-wealthy-nations-seek-solutions-at-home-117163">receive large quantities of waste</a>. New research suggests that even when plastic does get recycled, it produces <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2023/05/22/plastic-recycling-microplastic-pollution/">staggering amounts of microplastic pollution</a>. </p>
<p>Given the scope and urgency of this problem, in June 2023 the United Nations convened talks with government representatives from around the globe to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/after-rough-start-un-plastic-treaty-talks-end-with-mandate-first-draft-2023-06-02/">begin drafting a legally binding pact</a> aimed at stemming harmful plastic waste. Meanwhile, many U.S. cities and states are <a href="https://www.seasidesustainability.org/post/the-u-s-progress-with-single-use-plastic-bans#:%7E:text=Currently%2C%20the%20U.S.%20has%20not,placed%20bans%20on%20plastic%20bags.">banning single-use plastic products</a> or <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jun/30/california-single-use-plastic-reduce-law-gavin-newsom">restricting their use</a>. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Tb7BLupWO-U?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">On March 30, 2023, the UN declared the first International Day of Zero Waste to raise awareness of the importance of zero waste and responsible consumption and production.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Upstream and downstream solutions</h2>
<p>Experts have long recommended tackling the waste problem by prioritizing source reduction strategies that prevent the creation of waste in the first place, rather than seeking to manage and mitigate its impact later. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other prominent environmental organizations like the U.N. Environment Programme use a framework called the waste management hierarchy that ranks strategies from most to least environmentally preferred. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/538788/original/file-20230721-39966-dkufjj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Graphics showing options for managing waste, moving from upstream (production) to downstream (disposal)." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/538788/original/file-20230721-39966-dkufjj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/538788/original/file-20230721-39966-dkufjj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/538788/original/file-20230721-39966-dkufjj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/538788/original/file-20230721-39966-dkufjj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/538788/original/file-20230721-39966-dkufjj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=523&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/538788/original/file-20230721-39966-dkufjj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=523&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/538788/original/file-20230721-39966-dkufjj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=523&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The U.S. EPA’s current waste management hierarchy (left, with parenthetical explanations by Michaela Barnett, et al.), and a visual depiction of the three R’s framework (right).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Michaela Barnett, et al.</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The familiar waste management hierarchy urges people to “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle,” in that order. Creating items that can be recycled is better from a sustainability perspective than burning them in an incinerator or burying them in a landfill, but it still consumes energy and resources. In contrast, reducing waste generation conserves natural resources and avoids other negative environmental impacts throughout a product’s life. </p>
<h2>R’s out of place</h2>
<p>In our surveys, participants completed a series of questions and tasks that elicited their views of different waste strategies. In response to open-ended questions about the most effective way to reduce landfill waste or solve environmental issues associated with waste, participants overwhelmingly cited recycling and other downstream strategies. </p>
<p>We also asked people to rank the four strategies of the Environmental Protection Agency’s <a href="https://www.epa.gov/smm/sustainable-materials-management-non-hazardous-materials-and-waste-management-hierarchy">waste management hierarchy</a> from most to least environmentally preferred. In that order, they include source reduction and reuse; recycling and composting; energy recovery, such as burning trash to generate energy; and treatment and disposal, typically in a landfill. More than three out of four participants (78%) ordered the strategies incorrectly. </p>
<p>When they were asked to rank the reduce/reuse/recycle options in the same way, participants fared somewhat better, but nearly half (46%) still misordered the popular phrase. </p>
<p>Finally, we asked participants to choose between just two options – waste prevention and recycling. This time, over 80% of participants understood that preventing waste was much better than recycling. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1651694063223988224"}"></div></p>
<h2>Recycling badly</h2>
<p>While our participants defaulted to recycling as a waste management strategy, they did not execute it very well. </p>
<p>This isn’t surprising, since the current U.S. recycling system puts the onus on consumers to separate recyclable materials and keep contaminants out of the bin. There is a lot of variation in what can be recycled from community to community, and this standard can change frequently as new products are introduced and markets for recycled materials shift. </p>
<p>Our second study asked participants to sort common consumer goods into virtual recycling, compost and trash bins and then say how confident they were in their choices. Many people placed common recycling contaminants, including plastic bags (58%), disposable coffee cups (46%) and light bulbs (26%), erroneously – and often confidently – in the virtual recycling bins. For a few materials, such as cardboard and aluminum foil, the correct answer can vary depending on the capacities of local waste management systems.</p>
<p><iframe id="U6pVA" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/U6pVA/5/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>This is known as <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-wishcycling-two-waste-experts-explain-173825">wishcycling</a> – placing nonrecyclable items in the recycling stream in the hope or belief that they will be recycled. Wishcycling creates additional costs and problems for recyclers, who have to sort the materials, and sometimes results in otherwise recyclable materials being landfilled or incinerated instead. </p>
<p>Although our participants were strongly biased toward recycling, they weren’t confident that it would work. Participants in our first survey were asked to estimate what fraction of plastic has been recycled since plastic production began. According to a widely cited estimate, the answer is <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1700782">just 9%</a>. Our respondents thought that 25% of plastic had been recycled – more than expert estimates but still a low amount. And they correctly reasoned that a majority of it has ended up in landfills and the environment. </p>
<h2>Empowering consumers to cut waste</h2>
<p>Post-consumer waste is the result of a long supply chain with environmental impacts at every stage. However, U.S. policy and corporate discourse focuses on consumers as the main source of waste, as implied by the term “post-consumer waste.” </p>
<p>Other approaches put more responsibility on producers by requiring them to <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/291822563_Closing_the_loop_Product_take-back_regulations_and_their_strategic_implications">take back their products for disposal</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/packaging-generates-a-lot-of-waste-now-maine-and-oregon-want-manufacturers-to-foot-the-bill-for-getting-rid-of-it-165517">cover recycling costs</a> and design and produce goods that are <a href="https://theconversation.com/designing-batteries-for-easier-recycling-could-avert-a-looming-e-waste-crisis-146065">easy to recycle effectively</a>. These approaches are used in some sectors in the U.S., including lead-acid car batteries and consumer electronics, but they are largely voluntary or mandated at the state and local level.</p>
<p><iframe id="CsH6g" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/CsH6g/2/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>When we asked participants in our second study where change could have the most impact and where they felt they could have the most impact as individuals, they correctly focused on upstream interventions. But they felt they could only affect the system through what they chose to purchase and how they subsequently disposed of it – in other words, acting as consumers, not as citizens.</p>
<p>As waste-related pollution accumulates worldwide, corporations continue to <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/09/11/897692090/how-big-oil-misled-the-public-into-believing-plastic-would-be-recycled">shame and blame consumers</a> rather than reducing the amount of disposable products they create. In our view, recycling is not a get-out-of-jail-free card for overproducing and consuming goods, and it is time that the U.S. stopped treating it as such.</p>
<p><em>This article has been updated to clarify that decisions about whether to recycle, compost or dispose of certain materials as trash can vary depending on local waste management systems.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208924/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michaela Barnett is the founder and owner of KnoxFill, a company that sells bulk and refillable household and personal care goods.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shahzeen Attari receives funding from the National Science Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Leidy Klotz and Patrick I. Hancock do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New research shows that Americans may have absorbed public messaging about the importance of recycling too well.Michaela Barnett, Founder, KnoxFill, University of VirginiaLeidy Klotz, Associate Professor of Engineering and Co-Director, Convergent Behavioral Science Initiative, University of VirginiaPatrick I. Hancock, Postdoctoral fellow, University of VirginiaShahzeen Attari, Professor of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2096012023-07-17T04:42:27Z2023-07-17T04:42:27ZIn a Barbie world … after the movie frenzy fades, how do we avoid tonnes of Barbie dolls going to landfill?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537662/original/file-20230717-152675-bv3ct.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2966%2C2365&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It made headlines around the world when the much-hyped Barbie movie contributed to a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/jun/05/barbie-film-required-so-much-pink-paint-it-contributed-to-worldwide-shortage">world shortage</a> of fluorescent pink paint. </p>
<p>But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. When movies or TV shows become cultural phenomena, toymakers jump on board. And that comes with a surprisingly large amount of plastic waste. Think of the fad for <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-51554386">Baby Yoda dolls</a> after the first season of The Mandalorian in 2020. When the Barbie movie comes out this week, it’s bound to trigger a wave of doll purchases over and above the <a href="https://environment-review.yale.edu/most-materials-are-recyclable-so-why-cant-childrens-toys-be-sustainable">60 million Barbies</a> already sold annually. </p>
<p>Toys are the most plastic-intensive consumer goods in the world, <a href="https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/25302/Valuing_Plastic_ES.pdf">according to</a> a 2014 United Nations Environment Program report. </p>
<p>Worse, very few toys are recycled. That’s often because they can’t be – they’re made of a complex mixture of plastics, metals and electronics. When children get bored, these toys often end up in landfill. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537652/original/file-20230717-226753-f52ks8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="barbie dolls market" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537652/original/file-20230717-226753-f52ks8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537652/original/file-20230717-226753-f52ks8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537652/original/file-20230717-226753-f52ks8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537652/original/file-20230717-226753-f52ks8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537652/original/file-20230717-226753-f52ks8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537652/original/file-20230717-226753-f52ks8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537652/original/file-20230717-226753-f52ks8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Plastic fantastic: Barbie dolls for sale at an open air market in Thailand.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Panya Anakotmankong/Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The toll of the dolls</h2>
<p>Consider a single Barbie doll. What did it cost to create? </p>
<p>Before the US-China trade war, <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/The-Big-Story/China-s-toy-making-capital-scrambles-to-reinvent-itself">half the world’s toys</a> were manufactured in Dongguan, a city in China. That included one in three Barbie dolls. </p>
<p>American researchers <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2352550922000550">last year quantified</a> what each doll costs the climate. Every 182 gram doll caused about 660 grams of carbon emissions, including plastic production, manufacture and transport. </p>
<p>The researchers analysed seven other types of toys, including Lego sets and Jenga. By my calculations, emissions on average across all these types of toys are about 4.5 kilograms per kilogram of toys.</p>
<p>Scaled up, this is considerable. In the US, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/21/plastics-greenhouse-gas-emissions-climate-crisis">it’s estimated</a> emissions from the plastics industry will overtake those from coal within seven years. </p>
<p>So the question is, how can we cut our emissions to zero as fast as possible to ensure we and our children have a liveable climate – without putting a blanket ban on plastic toys? After all, toys and entertainment add happiness to our lives. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-marketing-tricks-that-have-kept-barbies-brand-alive-for-over-60-years-200844">The marketing tricks that have kept Barbie's brand alive for over 60 years</a>
</strong>
</em>
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<h2>The role for toymakers and governments</h2>
<p>To date, there has been little focus on making the toy industry more sustainable. But it shouldn’t escape our notice. </p>
<p>Toy manufacturers can – and should – use low carbon materials and supply chains, and focus on making toys easily dissembled. Toys should be as light as possible, to minimise transport emissions. And battery-powered toys should be avoided wherever possible, as they <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2352550922000550">can double</a> a toy’s climate impact and turn a plastic waste problem into an electronic waste problem. To their credit, some toymakers <a href="https://time.com/6126981/my-kids-want-plastic-toys-i-want-to-go-green-heres-a-fix/">have cut back</a> on plastic in their packaging, given packaging immediately becomes waste. </p>
<p>In a welcome move, the maker of Barbie, Mattel, launched their own recycling scheme in 2021, allowing buyers to send back old toys to be turned into new ones. This scheme isn’t available in Australia, however. </p>
<p>Toymakers can help at the design stage by choosing the materials they use carefully. Governments can encourage this by penalising cheap, high-environmental-impact plastics. We can look to the <a href="https://www.clientearth.org/latest/press-office/press-list/eu-court-delivers-final-blow-to-plastics-industry-on-bpa/">European</a> and American bans on BPA-containing plastics in infant milk bottles as an example of what’s possible. Governments can set up effective recovery and recycling systems able to handle toys. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537656/original/file-20230717-226753-b71osm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="plastic toys rubbish" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537656/original/file-20230717-226753-b71osm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537656/original/file-20230717-226753-b71osm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537656/original/file-20230717-226753-b71osm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537656/original/file-20230717-226753-b71osm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537656/original/file-20230717-226753-b71osm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537656/original/file-20230717-226753-b71osm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537656/original/file-20230717-226753-b71osm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Toys can easily become waste.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Some plastic-dependent brands such as Lego are unilaterally moving away from petrochemical-based plastic in favour of sugarcane-based plastic. But it’s not a <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/lego-sustainable-bricks/">short-term project</a>. </p>
<p>While Barbie dolls had an <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-24/barbie-s-pandemic-sales-boom-followed-yearslong-revamp-at-mattel">uptick in popularity</a> during the pandemic years – and will no doubt have another surge alongside the movie – longer-term trends are dampening plastic toy impact. While movies in the 1980s were often “<a href="https://www.dictionary.com/browse/toyetic?s=t">toyetic</a>” – conceived with an eye to toy sales – the trend is on the wane. </p>
<p>Gaming, for instance, has moved to centre stage for many older children. While gaming produces e-waste streams, it is also a likely cause of the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/apr/05/lights-camera-but-no-action-figures-are-movie-toys-going-out-of-fashion">longer-term fall</a> in popularity of plastic toys. </p>
<h2>What should we do?</h2>
<p>If you’re a parent or an indulgent grandparent, it’s hard to avoid buying toys entirely – especially if your child gets obsessed with Barbie dolls after seeing the movie. So what should you do? </p>
<p>For starters, we can avoid cheap and nasty toys which are likely to break very quickly. Instead, look for toys which will last – and which will lend themselves to longer-term creative play. Think of the enduring popularity of brick-based toys or magnetic tiles. Look for secondhand toys. And look for toys made of simpler materials able to be recycled at the end of their lives – or even for the Barbie dolls made out of <a href="https://www.today.com/shop/mattel-barbie-doll-recycled-plastic-t221461">ocean plastics</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-find-the-most-sustainable-and-long-lasting-childrens-toys-125968">How to find the most sustainable and long-lasting children's toys</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209601/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alan Pears does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Toys are the most plastic-intensive consumer goods in the world. So how can we avoid movie tie-in fads adding to the surging plastic waste problem?Alan Pears, Senior Industry Fellow, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2068872023-07-02T09:16:35Z2023-07-02T09:16:35ZWaste disposal in Nigeria is a mess: how Lagos can take the lead in sorting and recycling<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533255/original/file-20230621-21-d9bv72.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2000%2C1488&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Proper waste management would address indiscriminate dumping of refuse in public places across Lagos. Photo: Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP.
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/road-manager-with-the-lagos-state-waste-management-news-photo/2381445?adppopup=true">Getty Images </a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Nigeria, like many other Sub-Saharan Africa countries, has a waste management problem. The <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=Nigerian+National+Municipal+Waste+Management+Policy+2020+filetype%3APDF&rlz=1C1GCEA_enZA999ZA999&ei=Cod4ZM_uBsTAxc8Pu5ibuAM&ved=0ahUKEwjPm6jUgaL_AhVEYPEDHTvMBjcQ4dUDCA8&uact=5&oq=Nigerian+National+Municipal+Waste+Management+Policy+2020+filetype%3APDF&gs_lcp=Cgxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAQAzoKCAAQRxDWBBCwAzoFCCEQoAE6CAghEKABEMMEOgcIIRCgARAKSgQIQRgAUMFjWN-XA2DipwNoBXABeACAAZEFiAHCIZIBBzMtNi4yLjKYAQCgAQHAAQHIAQg&sclient=gws-wiz-serp">Nigerian National Municipal Waste Management Policy (2020)</a> gives no estimate but states that “Nigeria produces a large volume of solid waste out of which less than 20% is collected through a formal system”.</p>
<p>This is lower than the <a href="https://datatopics.worldbank.org/what-a-waste/trends_in_solid_waste_management.html">World Bank’s estimate</a> of average waste collection for Sub-Saharan countries, which is 44 percent. It also contrasts with the European and North American collection rate – 90 percent of waste generated.</p>
<p>The problem is not only how much waste is collected but the lack of accurate data about how much waste is being generated in the first place. The Lagos State is a good example. Nigeria’s most populous city <a href="https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/510781468291325887/pdf/E1192.pdf#page=6">generated 10,000 tonnes of waste per day</a> in 2005. And the Lagos State said in 2018 that the amount of waste generated then far <a href="https://lagosstate.gov.ng/blog/2018/02/03/lagos-waste-management-and-the-environment/">“outweighs the official figure of 13,000 tons per day”</a>.</p>
<p>Managing this waste, from collection and transportation to disposal, is a major challenge for Lagos, which accounts for a large proportion of Nigeria’s waste. The population of Lagos state, urbanisation, consumption patterns and the scale of economic activity work together to increase waste generation. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=Nigerian+National+Municipal+Waste+Management+Policy+2020+filetype%3APDF&rlz=1C1GCEA_enZA999ZA999&ei=Cod4ZM_uBsTAxc8Pu5ibuAM&ved=0ahUKEwjPm6jUgaL_AhVEYPEDHTvMBjcQ4dUDCA8&uact=5&oq=Nigerian+National+Municipal+Waste+Management+Policy+2020+filetype%3APDF&gs_lcp=Cgxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAQAzoKCAAQRxDWBBCwAzoFCCEQoAE6CAghEKABEMMEOgcIIRCgARAKSgQIQRgAUMFjWN-XA2DipwNoBXABeACAAZEFiAHCIZIBBzMtNi4yLjKYAQCgAQHAAQHIAQg&sclient=gws-wiz-serp">Nigerian National Municipal Waste Management Policy (2020)</a> has the potential to transform waste management around the country.</p>
<p>The policy proposes a system to separate, recycle and treat waste, conserve natural resources and create opportunities to earn a living from waste. </p>
<p>But the policy hasn’t been fully implemented. </p>
<p>In a recent <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/361548692_REVIEWING_THE_CONCEPT_WASTE_HIERARCHY_GUIDELINE_AND_THE_ENVIRONMENTAL_PROBLEM_OF_WASTE_MANAGEMANET_IN_LAGOS_STATE_NIGERIA">article</a>, my colleagues and I wrote about the need for Lagos State to put in place a strong policy framework that incorporates <a href="https://www.europarl.europa.eu/EPRS/EPRS-Briefing-564398-Understanding-waste-streams-FINAL.pdf">waste hierarchy guidelines</a>. The waste hierarchy is the idea that the things we do to waste aren’t equally desirable. First should be prevention; then reuse, recycling, recovery and (least desirable) disposal. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533150/original/file-20230621-17-s1rh34.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533150/original/file-20230621-17-s1rh34.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533150/original/file-20230621-17-s1rh34.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533150/original/file-20230621-17-s1rh34.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533150/original/file-20230621-17-s1rh34.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=620&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533150/original/file-20230621-17-s1rh34.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=620&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533150/original/file-20230621-17-s1rh34.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=620&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Waste Management Hierarchy.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author </span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We found that in Lagos, this hierarchy wasn’t being followed. Residents generate mixed waste without separation or sorting. Households store their waste primarily in plastic bags, sacks and buckets. Contracted waste collectors collect mixed waste and transport it directly to dumpsites. Waste pickers at dumpsites recover valuable materials and waste is burnt at these sites. </p>
<p>In practice, the waste hierarchy has been turned upside down in Lagos State. Waste is not being collected, transported, recovered and disposed of in a <a href="https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/sustainable-practices-waste-management.php">sustainable way</a> – one that does not endanger the environment, human health and future generations.</p>
<h2>How Lagos collects waste</h2>
<p>The Lagos State Waste Management Authority was set up in 1991 to collect, transport and dispose of municipal and industrial waste.</p>
<p>In recent times, the authority has deployed street sweepers and improved open dumpsites. It introduced 102 waste collection trucks and the <a href="https://lawma.gov.ng/tag/adopt-a-bin/">Adopt-A-Bin</a> programme, under which households and businesses can buy their waste bins. It started the Lagos Recycle initiative using a smart waste collection and reporting software application, and has invested in equipment to manage dumpsites. </p>
<p>It launched the <a href="https://lagosstate.gov.ng/blog/2019/10/09/still-on-the-lawma-blue-box-initiative/">Blue Box Initiative</a>, which aims to promote the culture of sorting waste at the point of generation. However, this initiative has crumbled.</p>
<p>Ongoing initiatives to raise social awareness about environmental issues include <a href="https://www.lawmaacademy.com/summer-school">summer school for students</a> and <a href="https://lawma.gov.ng/sanwo-olus-wife-tasks-market-leaders-on-sanitation-security/">sanitation advocacy</a>.</p>
<p>However, Lagos continues to produce a large quantity of waste without adequate mechanisms for managing it. </p>
<h2>Weaknesses in waste management</h2>
<p>The majority of Lagos residents are not aware of the environmental importance of waste separation and sorting. This should be the first step in a sustainable management system. </p>
<p>The prices of the individual waste bins provided by the Lagos waste authority, which is supposed to promote waste separation and sorting, are too high. For this reason, some residents (especially from low-income families) <a href="https://lawma.gov.ng/at-media-parley-lawma-boss-points-way-forward-for-waste-management-in-lagos/">use plastic bags, sacks and buckets instead of bins</a>.</p>
<p>Also contributing to poor waste management in Lagos State are:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>irregular and sporadic collection</p></li>
<li><p>residents’ unwillingness to pay</p></li>
<li><p>the collapse of the materials recovery and recycling facility (Olusosun buy-back facility) </p></li>
<li><p>open burning at dumpsites, which endangers lives</p></li>
<li><p>dangerous conditions for street sweepers on roads and highways</p></li>
<li><p>inadequate funding</p></li>
<li><p>poor technology</p></li>
<li><p>weak policy framework</p></li>
<li><p>inadequate social development</p></li>
<li><p>inconsistencies in enforcement and monitoring.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>Improving waste management in Lagos</h2>
<p>The Lagos State Waste Management Authority needs to identify the most appropriate waste streams (multiple, single or dirty recycling) according to the income level of residents. The <a href="https://cycled.no/single-vs-multiple-stream-recycling/">multiple recycling stream</a> means that several bins are provided for the collection of different recyclable materials. A <a href="https://cycled.no/single-vs-multiple-stream-recycling/">single recycling stream</a> involves collecting all recyclable materials in a single bin. <a href="https://www.garbagebinrentals.ca/waste-collection-removal-disposal-blog/755-what-is-dirty-recycling.html">Dirty recycling streams</a> put all waste in a single bin without sorting and separation.</p>
<p>The multiple stream is most suited to high-income areas and the dirty stream more practical for low-income areas.</p>
<p>The dirty recycling system is similar to the practices of cart pushers who collect unsorted waste from households in wheelbarrows. The difference is that residents can dispose of their waste in a bin of their choice for a fixed fee (pay-as-you-throw) in waste collection vehicles assigned to their area.</p>
<p>The Lagos State Waste Management Authority, policy makers, waste collectors, community representatives, residents and other relevant stakeholders decides
which waste belongs in the 3-in-1 and 2-in-1 bins and sets the bin prices for the pay-as-you-throw system after proper consultation.</p>
<p>Street sweepers and waste pickers should become city employees. Sweepers should be replaced by sweeping trucks with appropriate training. </p>
<p>Dumpsites should be upgraded to landfills. Appropriate technologies and digital solutions should be adopted. And people should be made aware of waste separation and sorting through the school curriculum, social media, television, radio and billboards.</p>
<p>Equally important are prudent financial management, bin incentives and government financial aid for private individuals who want to get into waste management. The system also needs consistent enforcement and monitoring.
Above all, this is a template that can be replicated in other parts of the Nigerian state.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206887/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kehinde Allen-Taylor does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Lagos has a waste problem that can be tackled by adopting a sustainable waste management policy that considers income brackets.Kehinde Allen-Taylor, Researcher, Technical University BraunschweigLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.