Tokyo 2020 aims to be the greenest-ever Olympic Games; The Australian Open features tennis nets made from recycled plastic; Adidas makes a turf field entirely from recycled plastic bottles; Chipotle converts plastic gloves to trash liners; People in China get creative with protection from the Coronavirus, including using plastic bottles; and more.
People in China are using innovative means to protect themselves from the Coronavirus. Photo and story from the New York Post.
INITIATIVES
Tokyo 2020 is aiming to be the greenest-ever Olympic Games. Athletes will sleep on recyclable cardboard beds, the event’s medals will be made from recycled precious metals, and organizers hope the event will emit no more than 2.93 million tonnes of CO2. Read more on The European Sting.
Tennis nets made from recycled plastic are being featured at the Australian Open. Garnier, a partner of the Australian Open for 2020, is hoping to bring attention to Australia’s plastic waste problem and reduce the 8 million tons of discarded plastic that ends up in the world’s oceans each year. Read more on Global Citizen.
Jack Johnson’s environmental intiative, BYOBottle, has partnered with Oniracom, the marketing and technology partner of Sony, Disney, Universal, Warner, and others. BYOBottle designed to significantly reduce plastic pollution in the music industry and has signed on over 200 artists, 30 venues and festivals, 50 non-profit and business partners, and 800 fans thus far. Read more on Citizens Journal.
South Africa has become the latest member of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Plastics Pact global network, alongside the UK, France, the Netherlands and Chile. The country is pushing forward with a new initiative that is modeled on the UK’s Plastics Pact. Read more on Packaging News.
Recycled-plastic bracelet company 4ocean has removed 7.7 million pounds of trash to date. Next, they’re turning their attention to Central America and target Guatemala’s Amatique Bay and the so-called “Trash Islands,” floating about 30 miles from the Caribbean island of Roatan. Read more on Forbes.
In Kenya, a plastic bottle manufacturer has begun a waste management initiative that trains women and youth to collect and sort plastic bottles as a form of employment. Read more on CGTN Africa.
An Uruguayan pilot project offers virtual money in exchange for plastic recycling. The reward amount varies with the type of waste collected and can be used toward discounts on purchases at restaurants or partnered shops. Read more on Phys.org.
PRODUCTS
Adidas will launch new fabrics made from recycled polyester and marine plastic waste and expand the product lines that use them after the success of shoes made with the Parley for the Oceans initiative. Read more on Reuters.
Chipotle is working to convert plastic gloves into trash liners in a pilot program that could potentially be used in Chipotle restaurants across the nation. This move is part of the restaurant chain’s broader sustainability initiatives, which also include purchasing recycled trash-can liners that fit with the chain's commitment to sustainability. Read more on Northwest Arkansas’s Democrat Gazette.
Entrepreneur Amanda Weeks has begun taking water out of waste systems and turning it into household cleaning supplies. In February, her company, Ambrosia, will debut its first product: Veles, an all-purpose spray cleaner. Read more on Forbes.
“Boomers baffled as startup disrupts the disposable tissue market… by inventing hankies.” In short, it’s a silicon packet that holds six cotton ‘reusable tissues’, and also features a pouch for stuffing the used, snotty ones. Read more on SmartCompany.
India-based company Sparkle is making sanitary pads out of discarded banana plant stems. So far, they have reduced around 500 tons of banana stem agro-waste and used them to create bio-based menstrual products. Read more on Forbes.
The EU has launched a research and development project aimed at creating a set of biodegradable ropes for use in mussel and seaweed aquaculture as part of its efforts to cut down on marine litter produced by the industry. Read more on Undercurrent News.
PACKAGING
Some UK supermarkets are labeling products with plastic packaging expiration dates, in an effort to increase consumer recycling efforts. Over a thousand stickers have appeared this month in supermarkets around London, but stickers have been spotted around the UK as eco-friendly shoppers try to help spread the message. Read more on Manchester Evening News.
A couple weeks ago, a Coca Cola exec claimed that they would not move away from plastic because their customers still wanted it. But a recent study shows that 51% of Americans would buy Coke even if the bottles were heavier or came in non-sealable packaging, and 42% of Americans thought Coca-Cola should use eco-friendly packaging such as glass or aluminum for its bottles. Read more on Forbes.
Unilever has announced plans to incorporate 100% post-consumer recycled plastic into its biggest brands, Dove, Dove Men+Care and Baby Dove by 2025. Read more on Glossy.
France-based public services company Veolia has launched a Sustainable Packaging Academy aimed at increasing the circular economy and tackling the problem of packaging waste. Read more on Circular.
Household product manufacturer SC Johnson and US professional baseball team Milwaukee Brewers are set to partner for plastic cup recycling. As part of the partnership, the partners will create a new market and recycling model for more than one million plastic cups used each season at the Milwaukee Brewers’ ballpark. Read more on Packaging Gateway.
UK supermarket chain Tesco has announced plans to scrap all tin multipacks housed in plastic shrinkwrap, in a move that will mitigate the use of 67 million pieces of plastic annually. Read more on edie.
TECHNOLOGY
Adidas has taken approximately 1.8 million plastic bottles and turned them into a turf football field. The field was made from plastic bottles sourced from remote islands, beaches, coastal communities and shorelines. Read more on CNN.
A young entrepreneur in Nepal, Aayushi KC, has created a digital platform to link garbage sellers and buyers for waste transactions. She quit a secure job at an international aid agency to start her own company, Khaalisisi Management. Now, the company is partnering with the thousands of collectors in Nepal to standardize and streamline the processes. Read more on Nepali Times.
In the UK, scientists from the University of Bath and the University of Birmingham have developed a new way to break down plant-based plastics into their original building blocks, potentially allowing products to be recycled repeatedly without a loss in the quality of the plastic. Read more on New Food.
Scientists at Rice University have found a way to turn any carbon-based trash — from food scraps to plastics — into graphene with just a zap of electricity. Graphene is a single layer of very strong carbon that can be applied to electronics, solar panels, concrete, and touch screens to increase their durability. Read more on European Scientist.
OTHER NEWS
In China, people having been using innovative means to protect themselves from the Coronavirus, including plastic bottles, which are usually single-use. Read more on the New York Post.
The second international conference of the African Marine Waste Network will be held in April in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. It is a five-day international meeting to develop strategies to combat plastic pollution of the sea. Read more on Afrik21.
Textile Exchange has published its latest Material Change Index that tracks the fashion industry’s progress toward more sustainable materials sourcing and alignment with global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Read more on GreenBiz.