Title : Is Zero-Waste Possible? Sweden Recycles 99% of Garbage
link : Is Zero-Waste Possible? Sweden Recycles 99% of Garbage
Is Zero-Waste Possible? Sweden Recycles 99% of Garbage
Would not it be great if the household waste is lost? If every element of garbage became something else? - New products, raw materials, gas or heat at leastSweden is almost there. Over 99 percent of all household waste is recycled in one way or another. This means that the country has gone through a revolution recycling in recent decades, considering that only 38 percent of household waste was recycled in 1975.
Sweden already imports more or less 800,000 tons garbage a year in the UK, Italy, Norway, and Ireland to generate electricity and heating for the country 32 waste-to-energy (WTE) plants .
Today, the recycling stations are no more than 300 meters of any residential area, so Swedes can make their own descents.
In addition to the environmental benefits, recycling also has plenty of tax incentives, says director of communications management Swedish waste Anna-Carin Gripwell, in an interview with Huffington Post .
Garbage has become a commodity, and that someday may be a common practice for the purchase of waste as a fuel for vehicles plants and power generation.
Weine Wiqvist, CEO of the Association of Waste Management and Swedish Recycling still thinks that Swedes can do more, taking into account that about half of all household waste is burned, ie, converted into Energy.
he explains that the reuse of materials or products means using less energy to create a product that burning one and make one from scratch.
"We are trying to" climb the ladder of garbage, "as they say, burning the recycling of materials, promoting recycling and work with the authorities' she says.Meanwhile, homes Swedes continue to separate their newspapers, plastic, metal, glass, electrical appliances, light bulbs and batteries. Many municipalities also encourage consumers to separate food waste. and this is reused, recycled or composted.
newspapers became mass of paper, bottles are reused or melted into new articles, plastic containers become plastic raw material, food is composted and becomes soil or biogas through a chemical process complex. garbage trucks are often run on electricity or recycling biogas.
waste water is purified to the point of being undrinkable. trucks special garbage go around cities and collect electronics and hazardous waste as chemicals. Pharmacists accept unused medicines. Swedes deliver the biggest such roles as a television used or broken furniture, to recycling centers outside of cities.
Businesses are also responsible for promoting and allow recycling to the public. Producers are required by Swedish law to handle all relevant costs for the collection, recycling or proper disposal of their products.
So if a drink is sold in bottles, financial responsibility is the producer of the product to pay for all costs associated with bottle recycling or disposal.
garbage burning facilities in the United States handle only a small part of the US waste , and most of burned garbage ends up in landfills, according to The New York Times.
In just one example of the US waste Americans throw away almost half of their food , at a cost of approximately $ 165 million a year, a recent study by the Defense Council Natural Resources.
Related: Everything you need to know about food waste - 1/3 of the food produced in the world is LOST ;
Each of us can promote sustainability
Each of us can promote sustainability and justice at multiple levels: as an individual, as a teacher or parent, a member of the community, a national citizen, and as citizens of the world. As Annie says in the film, "how good of a so pervasive problem is that there are so many points of intervention."
That means there are lots and lots of places to plug, beginning immediately, and to make a difference. There is no such unique and simple thing to do, because all the problems we are addressing just is not simple.
But everyone can make a difference, but the bigger your action the bigger is the difference it will make. Here are some ideas:
1. Current cut!
Much of the resources we use and the waste we create is in the energy we consume. Look for opportunities in your life to significantly reduce energy consumption: drive less, travel less, turn off lights, buy local seasonal food (food needs energy to grow, packaging, storage and transport), wear a sweater instead of turning up the heating, use a clothesline instead of a dryer, vacation closer to home, buy used or borrow things before buying new, recycle.
All these things save energy and save money. And if you can switch to alternative energy by supporting a company that sells green energy to the grid or by installing solar panels on your house, bravo!
2. Wasting less.
waste production per capita in the US for just keeps growing. There are hundreds of opportunities every day to foster a culture of zero waste at home, school, workplace, church, community. This leads to develop new habits that will soon become second nature.
Use both sides of paper, bring their own mugs and shopping bags, get printer cartridges refilled instead of replaced, food scraps compost, avoid bottled water and other over packaged products, upgrade equipment instead of buying new ones, repair and repair rather than replace ... the list is endless!
The more visible engage in reuse of wear, the more we cultivate a new cultural norm, or actually, reclaim an old woman!
3. Talk to everyone about these issues.
At school, neighbors, in line at the supermarket, on the bus ... A student once asked how he organized Cesar Chavez. He said, "First, I mean a person then I talk to someone else.."
"No," the student said, "How organized?" Chavez replied: "First I mean a person then I talk to someone else.." You get the point. Talk about these issues raises awareness, builds community and can inspire others to action.
4. Do you feel your opinion.
Write letters to the editor and submit articles to the local press. In the past two years, especially with Al Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize, the media has been forced to write on Climate Change. As individuals, we can influence the media to better represent other important issues.
Letters to the editor are a great way to help newspaper readers make connections that could not do without your help. Also local newspapers are often willing to print books and films, interviews and articles written by members of the community. Let's get the issues that concern us in the news.
5. Detox your body, detox your home, and detoxification Economy.
Many consumer products today - from children's pajamas to lipstick - contain toxic chemical additives that simply are not necessary. line of research (eg http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/ ) before buying to make sure you are not inadvertently introducing toxics into your home and body. Then tell your friends about toxics in consumer products.
Together, the companies ask why they are using toxic chemicals without any warning labels. And ask your elected officials why they are allowing this practice. The European Union has adopted strong policies requiring toxic are removed from many products.
Thus, while our electronic devices and cosmetics have toxic substances in them, Europeans can now buy the same things free toxic. We demand the same here. Getting the toxic products of production at source is the best way to ensure they do not get into any home and body.
6. Unplug (television and internet) and plug (the community).
The average person in the US watches T.V. over 4 hours a day. Four full hours of messages about things you should buy. That is, four hours a day that could be spent with family, friends and our community.
Online activism is a good start, but spending time in face-to-face civic or community activities strengthens the community and many studies show that a stronger community is a source of social and logistical support, greater security and happiness. A strong community is also essential to have a strong and active democracy.
7. Park the car and walk ... and when necessary MARCH!
policies of land use of focused and lifestyles car lead to emissions of greenhouse gases more effect, fossil fuel extraction, conversion of agriculture and wildlands to roads and parking . Driving less and walking more is good for the climate, the planet, your health, and your wallet.
But sometimes we do not have an option to leave the car at home because of inadequate bike lanes or public transportation options. So we may have to leave, to join with others to demand sustainable transport options.
Throughout US history, peaceful non-violent marches have played an important role in raising awareness about issues, mobilizing people, and sending messages to policy decisions.
8. Change your light bulbs ... and then change your paradigm.
Changing bulbs is quick and easy. Energy efficient light bulbs use 75% less energy and last 10 times longer than conventional. That's a no-brainer. But changing lightbulbs is just tinkering at the margins of a fundamentally flawed system unless we also change our paradigm.
A paradigm is a set of assumptions, concepts, beliefs and values that make up a community the way of seeing reality. Our current paradigm dictates that more stuff is better, that infinite economic growth is desirable and possible, and that pollution is the price of progress.
To realize the things we need to cultivate a different paradigm, based on the values of sustainability, justice, health and community.
9. Recycle your trash ... and recycle elected officials.
Recycling saves energy and reduces both waste and harvest pressure and mine new things. Unfortunately, many cities still do not have adequate recycling systems in place. In that case, you can usually find some recycling options in the phone book to start recycling while you're pressuring your local government to support recycling throughout the city.
In addition, many products - for example, most electronics - are not designed to be recycled or contain toxic substances so recycling is dangerous. In these cases, you have to press the government to ban toxic substances in consumer products and enact laws Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), as is happening in Europe.
EPR is a policy which holds producers responsible for the entire life cycle of their products, so that electronics company who use toxics in their products, have to take them back. This is a great incentive for them to get toxics out!
10. Buy Green, Buy Fair, Buy Local, Buy Used, and most importantly, buy less.
Shopping is not the solution to the environmental problems we face today due to real changes we need just are not for sale in the shop even greener. But when no store, we must ensure that our dollars support businesses that protect the rights of workers and the environment. Look beyond vague claims on packages like "all natural" to find specific information. It is organic?
Are you free super toxic PVC plastic? When you can, buy local products from local shops, keeping more of our hard earned money in the community. Buying used items keeps them out of the trash and avoids the upstream waste created during extraction and production.
However, buying less may be the best option of all. Less pollution. Less spending. Less time working to pay off the field. Sometimes, less is more.
In April McCarthy preventing disease ; | Huff Post ; Yes Magazine ; Sweden ;
About the Author: April McCarthy is a community journalist playing an active role reporting and analyzing world events to advance our health initiatives and ecological
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