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Posted by on in Sustainable Development
According to recent data from the WHO, “9 out of 10 people breathe air containing high levels of pollutants.” The data also blames the alarming death toll of 7 million people every year on outdoor and household air pollution. It further states that “around 3 billion people – more than 40% of the w...
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Posted by on in Recycling

Plastic is a nuisance after use, especially if there are no guidelines of how to dispose it off. In developed countries there are special containers and in some places you are paid to dispose of your glass and plastic. In Kampala the capital city of Uganda receives about 600 tons of disposed of plastic every day, which ends up in sewage systems and littering the city (National Environment Management Authority) adding to the uncollected garbage which ends in manholes, drainage channels, on the road side and natural water courses. Which is normally dumped during night fall in slum areas, leading to flooding in those areas and the city as most of the water channels running through the city originate from slum areas.  

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Source: Waqt News

The government once threatened banning packed water if the producers didn’t ensure proper disposal of used bottles by the Minister of Water and Environment in 2009. Coca Cola is the only company that has complied by setting seven plastic waste collection centres in the whole of Uganda. Plastic does not degrade like organic garbage and hence not supporting life in the soil where dumped. Places with plastic are not fit for agricultural production. Polyvinylchloride (PVC) plastic emits gases like carbon monoxide they are found in bottles, drain pipes, sewage pipes e.t.c. furans and dioxin are leading to cancer and respiratory diseases when burnt.

 

 

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   Source: New vision

The problem has been tackled head on by collecting the used and improperly disposed of plastic for recycling through plastic waste management for cash. In 2010 one plant was operational, now we have more than 15 plastic recycling plants in Uganda, most of them in Kampala the centre of the problem. A need for partnership is that most of the plants operate below capacity due to the limited technology like the specialized film washing line missing in most of the plants. Recycling has given employment to youths who collect the used plastic for money i.e. 250 to 1,000 UGX SHS per kg which depends on the type of plastic. Some are organized and supported into community based collectors by Living Earth Uganda a local branch of an international natural resources management nonprofit organization.                                                                                                                                                    

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Source: Waqt news

 

Bottles are used as bricks for building, a practice that is being taken up in South America, Africa and Asia. There are many other uses for plastic bottles only limited to someone imagination and inventing capability.

 

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Posted by on in General Environment
Independence Day is one of block parties, barbecues, icy cold drinks, sparklers, noisemakers, fireworks, and therefore, a ton of trash. Here are a couple things to keep in mind before, during, and after your July 4th fun: 1. If you are going out in the wilderness, to a parade, or off to the beach, ...
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Posted by on in Recycling
The U.S. federal government is the nation's largest consumer and disposer of electronics. Considering the number of federal employees—about 2.7 million at last count, not including the military or courts—U.S. government employees contribute a massive portion to the approximate 2.4 million tons of el...
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Posted by on in Recycling
Federal agencies would be prohibited from throwing out electronic waste under a March 6 proposed rule. Monitors, computers, smart phones and other electronics would need to be sold, donated offered to other agencies or recycled through a certified electronic waste recycler, the proposed rule&n...
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Posted by on in Recycling
A new plant in Glendale, Arizona promises to triple the amount of trash the city recycles each year when it begins operations in April. The facility, which is being built by Chicago-based company, Vieste, will be located on 6 acres of Glendale's landfill, just a few miles west of the University...
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Posted by on in Green Products/Services
California has become an interesting test-case for both approaches to one plastic problem.Back in 2006, California passed a law that mandated a system for recycling plastic shopping bags. Today, supermarkets and other large stores have receptacles where plastic bags can be returned for recycling. H...
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Posted by on in Energy Efficiency
Xcel Energy seeks power from forest waste in Colorado By Steve Raabe The Denver Post Xcel Energy wants to pursue a demonstration project that would deliver electricity made from forest waste, according to a filing made Monday to the Colorado Public Utilities Commission. The demonstration-scale b...
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Tagged in: bio fuel forest waste
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Posted by on in Clean Water
Thames Water has proposed this as one way of ensuring it can provide an adequate water supply for Londoners in the future. But could you stomach it? So it turns out the water I – and other Londoners – have been drinking hasn't, in fact, been through the kidneys of at least seven other people as I a...
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Posted by on in Food
Remember bubble and squeak? That crispy, almost sweet concoction of fried mash and cabbage or brussels sprouts? Or bread pudding? These and other leftovers dishes are making a comeback from their Seventies heyday as emptier pockets are forcing us to change our domestic habits.One side effect of this...
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Posted by on in Human Health
by Miles Kemp  LARGE quantities of illicit and prescription drugs are being flushed down toilets. And they are starting to risk people's health, a UniSA study has found. The authors have warned there is no policy on the safe disposal of the drugs into treated wastewater, surface water, drink...
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Posted by on in Food
By George Webster  At first glance, Austrian artist Klaus Pichler's spell-binding photographs could be mistaken for a set of stylish advertisements. It takes a moment to digest -- excuse the pun -- that you're staring at pictures of rotting food. Among them, a pineapple hangs suspended in neg...
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Posted by on in Recycling
With the approval of the National Plan on Solid Waste (PNRS) in 2010, Brazil expects municipalities to raise awareness about the importance of separating trash at home. The National Plan on Solid Waste requires municipalities to take measures to ensure environmentally-friendly disposal of waste by 2...
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Posted by on in Earth Violators
  The fact is that 10 to 12 per cent of the primary energy supply today comes from renewable sources (not counting hydroelectric energy). But new renewables – technologies of the future – still make up only one or two per cent of this supply. The rest comes from biomass systems of the poor, ...
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Posted by on in Buy Local
Support your local economyRelying on imported goods doesn't sustain your local economy and may drive out small businesses. Imagine if your home town or village only had one or two large chains of shops rather than a number of independently run small businesses. For me personally, that would not be a...
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Posted by on in Beauty and Fashion
This article breaks down the new certification standard that has been created for cosmetic and personal  care products. Hopefully this is a shift in the right direction! Nonprofit organization Green Seal Inc. has created GS-50, reportedly the first U.S. certification standard for cosmetic a...
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Posted by on in Agriculture
Waltham, Mass. – Harvest Power, a developer of technology for recycling waste materials into soils, fertilizers, energy, and engineered fuels, has raised $1.3 million in venture capital, according to a new filing by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Founded in 2008, Harvest P...
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Posted by on in Sustainable Development
Mainstream business is catching up to what the sustainability community has intuitively known for a long time: a sustainable approach is more profitable. From KKR (the private equity firm) to manufacturers such as Interface FLOR (famous amongst the sustainability community but not often known outsid...
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Posted by on in Fossil Fuels
The price of oil isn’t the only hydrocarbon going through the roof. Check out thermal coal prices to see how dependent economic growth has become on burning increasing amounts of fossil fuels. Prices of Newcastle coal, the Asian coal price benchmark, are poised to rise by as much as 30 per cent this...
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Posted by on in Earth Violators
Wisconsin, USA -- Europe burns heaps of garbage, getting lots of electricity and some heat. The United States does not. Proponents say incineration shrinks the waste and produces heat and electricity while reducing the need for landfills and the diesel-drinking trucks tasked with taking trash to o...
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