Project Freesheet

Greenwash explored

2008-10-27T11:13:00.000-07:00

Here's a really excellent article by Fred Pearce of the Guardian

He explores the ludicrously shallow 'green' claims of some corporate giants and cites the record number of complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority as evidence of many corporations' increasingly cynical attitude towards improving carbon footprints. Mr Pearce goes on to tell us that the Guardian will have a regular column looking at these very issues called Greenwash.

"Can we shop our way to sustainability? Are some products so green it is better to buy two of them rather than one? Or are our own consumer lifestyles, suffused in greenwash, the problem? Is there really no alternative to putting away our credit cards, pulling on our thickest jumper and heading for the hills?"

Timely, succinct and relevant to y'all!

Paperless paper

2008-10-17T02:38:00.000-07:00

It's a technology that's been around for a few years, but until now it hasn't been proven to be a practical alternative to the newspaper. How useful a product this will prove to be in years to come remains to be seen; see here for one of the newer electronic reader products.

However, in this article written by Steven Rosenberg, the author explores the technolgy and concludes that "sitting on a commuter train, I suddenly realise there's another good thing you can do with an ordinary newspaper that you couldn't do with a flashy electronic one. Leave it behind for someone else to read."

There you have it. Confirmation that even a well informed journalist can still act under the misguided impression that he is helping a fellow passenger by abandoning his own reading material. But why? You wouldn't leave your book behind would you? You probably wouldn't leave a magazine behind? Any 'disposable' product that is left behind on the public transport network costs us both environmentally (by landfilling of precious resources) and fiscally (through our local council taxes).

The article goes on to observe that if you lose your newspaper "it's no problem - 50 cents. But if you lose an electronic newspaper it will be expensive for you." And even more so on the environment.

Will people be able to adjust their own reading habits in favour of technologies that require a certain amount of forethought, or will impulsive demand for consumption mean that products like disposable newspapers will be around for a lot longer than some may think?

Insiders view on the paper industry

2008-10-07T01:31:00.000-07:00

Written by Mr RC Viner of the Premier Paper Group this article gives a very frank and honest account of where one paper industry executive thinks the industry as a whole needs to go in order to continue to improve the industries' sustainability.

Here are some snippets -

"The United Kingdom should recycle more paper and use more of its waste paper in the domestic production of paper and board - instead of exporting over five million tonnes of waste paper each year."

"Using 70gsm paper instead of 80gsm can use 23% less wood fibre, 20% less water, 28% less energy and produces 13% less waste. And yet, today’s 70gsm papers will perform just as efficiently in the most demanding xerographic applications as an 80gsm equivalent."

"In practice, the vast bulk of paper produced today comes from trees - they are a convenient, flexible and relatively cheap source of pulp. But there are alternatives. One manufacturer already produces a range of coated papers suitable for high quality printing applications that contains a high proportion of a bagasse - a by-product from the refining of sugar."

PLA producer answers criticism

2008-09-23T04:49:00.000-07:00

After an article published on the Guardian website questioning the long term prospects of PLA as an alternative to petroleum based plastics, it is good to see that Natureworks have hit back, albeit a bit slowly, with some compelling evidence to back up their much championed technology. They say -

PLA generates less than half the greenhouse gas emissions of making oil-based plastics.
PLA will soon produce 75% lower emissions than petro-chemicals.
PLA is infinitely recyclable

See here for the full article

FSC failing

2008-08-27T09:51:00.000-07:00

Mongabay reports that the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is coming under increasingly harsh criticism. Ecological Internet (EI) and many others believe FSC is imploding as claims of environmental and social benefits of certified ancient forest logging and industrial monoculture plantations are exposed as myths. FSC's future (if it is to have one) depends upon changing its guidelines to end support for both business as usual old-growth logging and large-scale monoculture plantations.

If unwilling to end their involvement in ancient forest logging, FSC and supporters must be protested until they are shutdown. Global ecological sustainability depends critically upon strictly protecting all remaining relatively natural ecosystems, particularly primary forests. All ancient forests are of high conservation value. There is no alternative to continued logging of centuries old trees found in primary forests. The era of ancient forest logging must end if global ecological collapse is to be averted.

Recyclables being stolen from curbside collections

2008-07-16T00:21:00.000-07:00

Interesting story this one, and a real sign of our times

In a nutshell - people who are putting their recyclable goods out for collection are watching in disbelief as organised gangs with trucks and mobile phones are pilfering all the valuable goods such as glass and aluminum. Even cardboard and newspaper is being stolen to be resold, sometimes for as much as $1000 per full truck.

Pilfering cans, bottles and other recyclables from bins is already illegal in many places, including San Francisco and New York City. In San Francisco, poachers can be fined up to $500 and get six months jail time. In New York, thieves are subject to arrest, vehicle impoundment and fines of up to $5,000.

But in a survey conducted in 2000 by the nonprofit advocacy group Los Angeles Coalition to End Hunger and Homelessness, 75 percent of homeless people in Los Angeles said they depended on income from recycling.

2008-06-30T04:19:00.000-07:00

I'm reading a fascinating book a the moment called Wikinomics written by Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams.

This really is a must read for anyone who is interested in learning how the internet will be creating new models for business and how proprietary thinking within the business community will become increasingly harmful to those that seek success.

For those of you not familiar with the terminology, Wikinomics is essentially the economics of mass collaboration, and the book explores all those working at the cutting edge of 21st century business. This technology could well see an end to the vast majority of intellectual property being harbored by businesses.

One of the bolder statements written by the authors claims that internet based mass collaboration has "the potential to improve human health rapidly, turn the tide on environmental damage, advance human culture, develop break through technologies, and explore outer space"

Wheat Straw gets major new role in North America

2008-06-05T09:28:00.001-07:00

We've known for some time now that by-products of the agricultural wheat industry have been well suited to paper production. And certainly the idea of making a newspaper out of chaff does not seem to far fetched to me. But now it seems that the technology being used in North America is advanced enough to make a magazine.

This new report is very exciting for those in the recycling business. As a by-product wheat chaff in the UK is being landfilled.
What a massive opportunity this is for the publishing industries of the Western world to embrace.

I say in the West, because in China they have been doing this for years. Farmers from all over China have been able to supply their local paper mill with rice farming by-products and thereby creating a much needed income stream from their own waste; though this agreement is now under threat because of an influx of large European style paper mills from Finland that have no use for agricultural by-products.

Walkabout II is falling together

2008-02-20T10:44:00.000-08:00

Nice to see the next Walkabout is getting some coverage in the Telegraph. Shane Richmond takes time to point out that Project Freesheet has managed to make an "interesting point". Not ours I'm afraid but Mr Hughes' from The Ecologist does make quite a few other interesting points in his article.

So, for those that are interested I thought I'd post here a rough idea of how things are going to pan out on the 27th for The Big 10,000....(with thanks to Ebullient Cohort Fewins)

We are set to have at least 70 volunteers out there on the streets picking up papers across London. There are at least 12 groups starting from the 'burbs and ending up at various central locations around town.

All the newspapers will be dumped at City Hall at 8pm for a photo opportunity in order to illustrate to those in power the scale of the problem, before being taken to the newspaper house project in Hackney. This is a jolly impressive project - see here for more info. You’re welcome to go along the following evening and make your own ‘brick’ (I have - it’s great fun).

Project Freesheet have a van for the night, which will be going around the various groups picking up the papers collected so don’t worry about carrying a heavy load.

The best places to find newspapers are by tube station entrances and bus stops – you can’t just take them out of the hands of the vendors. We need to play by the rules here. Remember we are collecting litter – so bins also count.

Finally – we thought that we could do with a suitable uniform for the walkabout but sadly Vivienne Westwood was busy that night, so instead we’ve come up with some very funky hat designs to make out of the freesheets you collect. Or a chap with a ‘tasche has this.

Don’t forget to bring along a map / sundial / GPS equipment but more especially your camera so that you can take pics and upload them to the site. We will have bags in which to carry the papers you collect. That’s all you need. Oh and perhaps a big fat marker pen with which to decorate your hat.

Happy Pickings!

Increasing demand boosts Asian recovered paper prices

2008-01-09T06:30:00.000-08:00

This summary of a recent increase in the price was reclaimed paper was taken from Risiinfo.com

Prices for recovered paper have climbed in China and Southeast Asia.
US old newspapers (ONP) have climbed $15/tonne, European ONP by $10/tonne and Japanese ONP by $5-10/tonne.
US old corrugated containers (OCC) have risen $20/tonne and European OCC has climbed $20-25/tonne and Japanese OCC by $15/tonne.

These value hikes have pulled up prices for mixed paper, which has climbed $10/tonne. Chinese mills are buying more mixed paper than usual and sorting out what they need. Prices for US pulp substitutes climbed by $5/tonne in late December, reflecting increasing global pulp prices.

Meanwhile the Japanese government has been pushing renewable energy policies that have resulted in the installation of more than 100,000 residential solar power systems since 2004, as well as a projection of 5 GW of solar generation capacity by 2010. Japan even plans to launch a solar satellite by 2040, which will deliver energy to the earth via low-intensity microwaves. The satellite will absorb the sun’s energy 24 hours a day, unobstructed by clouds, and generate one million kilowatts per second – equal to the output of a nuclear power plant.

Japan leads the world in solar power technology and not only produces half the total solar cells made in the world, but it also exports 30% of these cells, with expected demand for 20% increases per year.

Both of these examples highlight positive and successful implementation of new and existing technologies from the renewable sector. It is claimed that the renewable sector alone cannot meet the energy requirements of the 21st Century. But you have to wonder about that don't you?

Whilst Gordon Brown umms and arrs over the nuclear decision for the next 5 years, the renewable sector will continue to go from strength to strength. But how much quicker could this growth be though with the full support of the UK goverment?

2007 - Year of the Freesheet?

2007-12-06T02:27:00.000-08:00

In a long discussion with Nick Hallett (distribution manager of the Londonpaper) on tuesday, the message that free newspapers are here to stay was reaffirmed. Nick went to great lengths to tell me about all the waste and recycling initiatives that the Londonpaper was involved with. They have some interesting plans in the pipeline, some of which are quite encouraging.

And over the past few months we have seen further evidence that the free publication model continues to grow in popularity. Piet Baker, in his newsletter, recently reported that there are now 53 countries producing 41.8 million copies of 229 different titles every day. That means circulation of free newspapers around the world has nearly doubled in just two years.

In London, Metro will soon be overtaking one of the oldest tabloids, the Daily Mirror, in terms of circulation; and with Shortlist (aimed at men 'with more than one thing on their mind') hoping to establish itself as the first general interest free weekly magazine, the potential for new rival publications has never been greater. Free publications will enjoy an increasing share of the advertising revenue pie for years to come it seems.

But with all this new enterprise, can we expect to see relative increases in the capacity of the recycling infrastructure to reasonably reflect the free publishing industries desires and achievements? No, is the short answer. New publications require large amounts of money and resources to start up (with the potential of advertising revenues to keep the project moving forward), but the present reliance and pressures on public money to sponsor the increasing demand for free literature and its corresponding waste/recycling challenges, means our ability to act responsibly is becoming increasingly impossible.

Industry is going to have to commit a lot more of its 'bottom line' towards investment and sponsorship of 'green' priorities if we are to really get to grips with the millions of tons of waste we send to landfill every day.

Companies considering new routes to market therefore, should be doing so with environmental levies and taxation uppermost on their balance sheets. This is the only way we can expect to run an economy responsibly. Every new enterprise should be forced to pay realistic amounts of income towards the direct impact it has on the street cleaning services, the recycling infrastructure and the local community at large.

Observations

2007-11-26T02:04:00.000-08:00

Giveaways are booming, and some think it is only a matter of time before a Fleet Street title follows them, reports James Robinson in the Observer (25.11.07)

In this article there are some interesting conclusions and observations from some of the key players involved in the London freesheet battle. One of which is from Steve Auckland, MD at Metro -

'People weren't sitting on tubes or trains reading papers before Metro came along. A few of them might have been reading a book, but most of them were staring into space.'

One might make the same conclusion when chronicling the impact of the iPod. But to say that very few people were listening to music on the tube before the iPod came along would be inaccurate. Does Mr Auckland truly believe that before the Metro, no-one read books, magazines, work reports, newspapers or any other type of literature on public transport? Perhaps this was a tongue in cheek comment, but for me, Mr Auckland is attempting to make us believe and buy into the one thing that Apple, Associated Newspapers et al work very hard for on a daily basis. That the products they tout are items essential to our daily existence. That we must have these items in our lives to make our lives feel more complete.

In a sense, iPod's and Free newspapers are bought to market in quite similar ways. Both are backed up by big budget marketing campaigns, they are both very visible on the streets, and they are both aimed at 20-30 somethings.

I for one, whilst being a fan of the iPod did not buy one for 2 years based on the fact that I felt I didn't need one at that stage. Eventually I succumbed. This was perhaps because the cleverly designed and ubiquitous poster campaigns which were designed to be completely unavoidable and irresistable eventually got through to me.

The same is true of the free newspapers. We will all eventually grow to love one of the many free publications that will be made available to us I suppose, but that does not escape the fact that free literature publishers must be made to contribute far more to the clean up bill.

Through their seemingly inexhaustable availability the free papers are indeed very successful. But that doesn't make the producers of them any less responsible for paying towards more of the clear up costs.

We at Project Freesheet shall be striving to do just that.

Industrialised Tree Plantations

2007-10-29T05:05:00.000-07:00

I had an interesting meeting with Steve Auckland, Don Gray and Karen Wall from Associated Newspapers last week. They were interested to hear of Project Freesheets' observations that the street vendors (or merchandisers) were not carrying out their clearing up responsibilities to anything like an acceptable standard. And as AN seem to value the street vendors greatly, the idea of a recycling incentive scheme amongst their street vendors was given some thought.

The efforts being made by AN appear to be genuine (they are hoping to make some announcements in the not too distant future), but I still have this nagging thought - Can a product made from trees with a designed life span of twenty minutes ever be produced in an environmentally responsible manner?

A life cycle assessment of a free newspaper has not been carried out yet, and would cost a lot of money to do, but until tree based paper pulp is taken out of the supply chain, can a free newspaper made from trees ever hope to be labeled environmentally responsibe? This quote is taken from a report entitled "Banks, Pulp and People - A Primer on Upcoming International Pulp Projects" recently published on Pulpmillwatch.org

"Pulp mills and the industrial tree plantations that feed them have become increasingly controversial. In country after country, local people and environmental organisations are protesting against the impacts of plantations. The vast areas of mono-cultures required to feed modern pulp mills have severe impacts on biodiversity, water, land rights and livelihoods. And the mills themselves are among the most polluting of industrial facilities. Communities around the world have seen their rivers, fisheries and drinking water ruined. Protests against pulp mills are ongoing in Thailand, Indonesia, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay, to mention just a few of the countries involved."

And according to PulpMillWatch.org, over the next 5 years the pulp industry is planning to increase production capacity by more than 25 million tonnes.........

free-daily.com: How not to distribute a free daily newspaper

2007-10-08T06:34:00.000-07:00

free-daily.com: How not to distribute a free daily newspaper

Great piece Clyde! Couldn't have put it better myself

Free thinking?

2007-10-05T00:47:00.000-07:00

Taken from News Corp's carbon report - "We aim to transform our business practices in order to significantly reduce our energy use and carbon emissions. Each News Corp. business unit is on the path to achieving carbon neutrality, net zero carbon emissions."

And Mr Murdoch continues within his own address to News Corp - "Now, I realize we can't take just one year in one city or even one continent as proof that something unusual is happening. And I am no scientist. But there are signs around the world, and I do know how to assess a risk. Climate change poses clear, catastrophic threats. We may not agree on the extent, but we certainly can't afford the risk of inaction. We must transform the way we use energy, and of course not only because of climate change..."

I followed Mr Murdochs advise and had a look at his Myspace.com/ourplanet site so that I could see how he was communicating with the internet generation. And what I found was that the address I inputted was forwarded onto the normal Myspace site resplendent with advertsising for Myspave TV - the tagline for this particuler advert was 'Scrap your TV and switch to MySpacetv.com'.

And as Mr Murdoch goes on to say "News Corporation, today, reaches people at home and at work... when they're thinking... when they're laughing... and when they are making choices that have enormous impact."

Exactly Mr Murdoch! Couldn't have put it better myself. And what a great example you are setting to us all.

Small steps

2007-08-23T23:47:00.000-07:00

Certainly it's good news that Westminster City Council have at last been able to announce the results of their protracted negotiations with the free newspaper publishers this week. As Westminster have been bearing the brunt of the freesheet war over the past 12 months it is only sensible that pilot projects are tested out in the borough which has to deal with 4 tonnes of newspaper every day. However a few questions spring to mind...

Are these measures alone going to solve the problem of diverting free newspapers from going to landfill?
What measures will be put in place to deal with the excessive number of free papers to be found on the buses, the tube network and the regional trains services?
How are we going to stop the culture of abandoning waste on the transport infrastructure which is so costly and bad for the environment?

On September 12th Project Freesheet is going to take to the streets once more to assess the impact of the new bins being sponsored by Associated Newspapers and News International. We will gather data which will give an accurate account of how much paper is ending up in the aforementioned recycling bins compared to what is ending up in the waste bins or on the street. If you would like to join us please email via the website for more details

As the gentle ripple of approval throughout the media continues let us see how many more boroughs and transport networks follow Westminster's lead in succeeding to get the free newspaper publishers to clean up their own mess.

Thin end of the wedge

2007-08-02T03:58:00.001-07:00

A new free weekly magazine is soon to appear on the streets of London from French Connection founder Stephen Marks and film director Matthew Vaughn. Codenamed Alpha One, the title will be the first general-interest weekly given away free to men.

The magazine is the brainchild of former IPC editorial director Mike Soutar… Mr Soutar said half a million copies of the title would be distributed by hand on a Thursday at key commuter points across the country, including London, Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh and west Yorkshire.

Mr Soutar added: ”For consumers under the age of 45 the power of free media is extraordinary. Survey after survey shows younger consumers value free media as much as paid for and expect the same quality both online and in print. Alpha One, the title will be the first general-interest weekly given away free to men, who are shunning monthly magazines such as GQ and Esquire."

As the competition between 'paid-for' and free publications increases, I don't think anyone can be in denial about the increasing problem being faced by the local authorities due to the ever increasing amount of free literature now being handed out on our streets. 30% of the European newspaper market is now free - that's nearly 27 million publications being handed out on a daily basis.

I was at the London Recycling Officers Group (LROG) meeting held at City Hall, London, yesterday (chaired by Beverley Simonson, Waste minimisation and recycling officer for Ealing Council), where recycling officers from boroughs all over London gather to share knowledge and update each other on all aspects of recycling management. I gave a presentation which seemed to go down well, and was pleased that some offered to help out with the next round of volunteer recruitment for our upcoming walkabout (date + details soon to be announced).

One interesting discussion early on in the meeting was with Shameem Shah (from the DEFRA Waste Strategy Review Team) who was questioned about who was supposed to pay for the increasing amount of commercial waste that the authorities are having to look after, at the expense of the tax payer. Yet again we are seeing the private sector making savings at the tax payers expense. Legislation does not exist to negotiate this problem.

Lets hope the Government through our efforts can be influenced to look at producer responsibility as the primary way in which to take the burden off the tax payer. It simply isn't right that tax payers are subsidising the private sector in this manner.

Waste escalation

2007-07-16T01:57:00.000-07:00

As reports of new measures to combat excessive household waste going to landfill are debated in the UK, the free newspaper publishers of the World carry on merry in the knowledge that their industry has never had it so good.

Record breaking profits and circulation figures continue to be reported in the press. Metro International have reported more than the first profit ($13m) ever for the company. Metro UK are looking forward to increased revenue later this year when they increase their circulation within the ever competitive market of London by producing a further 200,000 copies of their morning edition free paper, Metro. And City AM publishers have announced that they will be looking to publish their title in Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Tokyo, New York, Paris and Amsterdam.

Free newspapers are now being 'given away' on the streets of 50 countries around the globe. And Israel may soon be the first country with more free than paid-for papers being distributed.

Now If anyone was under the impression that free papers are incidental publications that pose no threat to municipal services they should perhaps pay close attention to the outcome of the current 'Westminster versus Associated and News International' battle that is panning out behind closed doors in London. And how long will it be before the likes of Tokyo and New York have a similar problem to London's already excessive free paper distribution fiasco?

Right now, the free paper publishers are making huge savings off the fact that no-one has yet been able to force them to contribute to the clean up of their product. When this type of legislation is put into effect will the free newspaper business model continue to be so attractive to publishers?

Walkabout - The Premier

2007-06-14T08:19:00.000-07:00

Starting in Liverpool St @ 10am I had already collected 40 odd Metro's without too much effort. Then having agreed our plan 15 of us left to meet up later on, none of us really knowing what to expect. We were pleasantly surprised by people's reactions however. Pretty much everyone we spoke to was in agreement that the free papers are a serious litter problem for London. Despite claims by Metro, we were picking up plenty of their copies during the 10am - 1pm slot.

Admittedly the streets weren't overflowing with free papers during our first outing, but we were concentrating on conversation and engagement with the public during this quieter part of the day. The really interesting thing for me was the consistency of people's reactions - everyone was of the same mindset - ie 'having found this paper on the tube I might read it, but it isn't mine so i don't feel that obliged to recycle it'. Therein lies the real problem; once abandoned on the tube the papers can really only be classed as public litter.

On to Euston where everyone reconvened looking uplifted by their morning of engagement, but all were suffering from filthy hands and slightly aching backs. Having secured our mornings stash with a friendly operative at Euston (to be picked up later) we all left for our next session. And from there it really took off.

No-one was able to collect all the papers that had been abandoned. The large recycling bags we were using just weren't big or strong enough. I'm not trying to exaggerate; if we'd had a 100 volunteers and we'd concentrated on the busiest time for freesheets (4-8pm) I think we could easily have collected in excess of 15,000. The only limiting factors for us were the bags, our strength, and the number of bags we could carry with us. The abandoned papers were in plentiful supply.

As it was we all made it to Trafalgar Square by 6.30 and collated the 19 bags we had dragged around town. We worked out we had approximately 80 papers in each - grand total 1500. Photo's of our stash and interviews followed and then it was off to the pub via the recycling truck that had very kindly been supplied by Westminster Council.

Come September when we undertake 'Walkabout 2' with our ever growing army of faithful volunteers I'm looking to achieve the gathering of 15,000 collected papers. And if you don't believe me, you can come and count them yourself.

;-)

Metro meeting

2007-06-08T04:46:00.000-07:00

A big thankyou to Kenny Campbell (editor), Don Gray (distribution) and Karen Wall (marketing) from Metro.

After a request sent from Project Freesheet we were invited to sit round the table to discuss the issues raised by Project Freesheet.

Of course we disagreed on a few points but the fact remains that Metro have invited us in, explained to us their point of view, told us about what they are trying to do to deal with the lack of recycling and enabled us to carry on with our campaign further enriched in the hope that positive actions will result.

If only the other free paper publishers were half as responsible. This issue, for me, keeps coming back to producer responsibility. And Metro appear to be doing their bit; though is it enough?

But what of the other free newspaper producers? Are they doing their bit?

Farming in Wales

2007-04-03T02:56:00.000-07:00

I was over in Wales last week, visiting my auntie on her farm in Carmarthenshire. Denny and her husband Martin moved down to Wales from London 20 years ago to farm sheep and cattle.

For the last few years they've been turning their land to tree planting on behalf of the Woodland Trust. They've planted 18,000 trees over 20 acres. And every 2 years they'll have to cull about half of what they've planted to make room for the stronger trees. Then in 20/30 years they'll have some beautiful mature trees which will add hugely to the local environment providing a rich resource for bio-diversity to thrive unchecked. All very lovely.

The Woodland Trust have advised Denny and Martin that they'll probably end up with 1000 or so trees from the 18,000 planted. Herein lies an interesting point; how can we attempt to quantify the impact that the loss of 9000 trees (the number of trees used every day around the world by the freesheet publishers) has on the environment when you consider that 18 times that number of trees would have to have been planted in the first place if the forest was being managed properly?

How many?

2007-03-03T03:06:00.000-08:00

Ever wondered how many freesheets there are around the world? According to data gathered by newspaperinnovation.com there are free daily newspapers available in 41 countries.

30 million freesheets are being printed daily.

London's 1.5 million freesheets equate to the consumption, after recycled pulp usage, of 400 trees every day. That means the worldwide tree consumption on a daily basis is 8000 trees, approximately. How much acreage is that I wonder?

A big thank you to Piet Bakker for his support and for putting together such a comprehensive blog on all things freesheet.

Imagine

2007-02-20T05:46:00.000-08:00

The imagination is a very powerful thing. And one man's imagination has the ability to change the course of mankind.

Could these be the people that change the way we produce, consume and dispose? William McDonough with his colleague, the German chemist Michael Braungart, have been working hard at doing just that for many years now. McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry based in the US, have been letting their imaginations run riot. Cars with 5 year life spans, books made from lightweight plastic paper, a fabric safe enough to eat, toilets that don't need flushing - all with bio-degrading and upcycling at the heart of their design.

Another of their concepts is 'cradle to cradle' design. This is product design where everything is reused—either returned to the soil as nontoxic "biological nutrients" that will biodegrade safely, or returned to industry as "technical nutrients" that can be infinitely recycled.

One of their biggest projects is in China. They are consulting with the Chinese Housing Industry Association who have the responsibility of building homes for 400 million people over the next 12 years. Which will mean designing 7 new cites. And they've got some pretty incredible ideas -

"We're identifying building materials of the future, such as a new polystyrene from BASF [with no noxious chemicals]. It can be used to build walls that are strong, lightweight and superinsulating. The building can be heated and cooled for next to nothing. And it's silent. If there are 13 people in the apartment upstairs, you won't hear them."

"We'll have bamboo wetlands nearby to purify the waste—and the bamboo, which grows a foot a day, can be harvested and used for wood."

"The Chinese are afraid urbanization will reduce productive farmland, so we'll move farms onto rooftops. At least, that's what I'm proposing. The farmers can live downstairs. And when you look at the city from a distance, it will look like part of the landscape."

"I want to see solar power cheaper than coal, but to get the speed and scale to do that fast, you need a place like China. We're not talking about dinky solar collectors on roofs. Think of square miles of marginal land covered with them. This could drop the cost of solar energy an order of magnitude. And for every job making solar panels, there are four jobs putting them in place and maintaining them. We could import these panels, and for every job the Chinese give themselves, we get four."

Wow.
And that's all planned for the next decade?

Insania

2007-02-12T23:21:00.000-08:00

"The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has spoken, the politicians have uttered their platitudes, environmental activists call for action, the flat earthers remain in denial and the rest of us go shopping"

So says Fazlun Khalid of the Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences on the BBC website. And isn't he right. With all the legislation and action currently being considered by the Governments, NGO's and think tanks the world over, how much action is being taken by the likes of you and me? How many compromises are being considered? How many employees are trying to change the attitude of their colleagues?

I had a meeting with Westminster Council yesterday. They showed me some interesting images they had captured from rubbish trucks they were searching. Within these trucks 22% of the rubbish turned out to be newspapers heading straight for the landfill sites east of London.

4 officers analyzed 1 tonne of street cleaning waste on 29/11/2006. The waste was presented loose from litter bins and in sweepers bags. The contents of 166 sweepers bags were segregated.

219 kg of newspapers collected. 22% of the waste sorted was newspaper.

Some of the photographs they took featured unopened newspaper bundles. Papers that had not even been distributed.

Do we not have a responsibility to call to an end this insanity? For how much longer can we all turn a blind eye each and every day to all the unnecessary waste going straight to landfill?

Slow boat to China

2007-01-26T21:37:00.000-08:00

'At about £500 to send a 26-tonne container of waste to China, it is now cheaper to send plastic to the Far East than by road from London to Manchester'

Here's another example of waste management policies in the UK that are simply not good enough. This article ( The slow boats to China filled with our refuse by Cahal Milmo at The Independent) illustrates more topsy turvy thinking. How can it be that this recyclable waste cannot be put to better use in this country. Surely we have the personnel, funding and location to handle our own plastics recycling?