Circular economy more than just an opportunityeu-circular-economy

Now that EU parliament has given its support to a report on the circular economy, it’s up to the commission to deliver concrete proposals, writes Massimo Paolucci.
https://www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/articles/opinion/circular-economy-more-just-opportunity


Advancing Sustainable Materials Management: 2013 Fact Sheet

Assessing Trends in Material Generation, Recycling and Disposal in the United States
http://www.epa.gov/osw/nonhaz/municipal/pubs/2013_advncng_smm_fs


Coca Cola Enterprises to reduce virgin plastic use

www.rebnews.com/news/manufacturing/coca-cola_enterprises_aiming_40_recycled_renewable_pet_content.html

http://www.letsrecycle.com/news/latest-news/coca-cola-enterprises-to-reduce-virgin-plastic-use/


CCE will have all cardboard and corrugated packaging FSC certified
By Jenny Eagle+, 17-Jun-2015

‘Despite the fact nearly all of our packaging is recyclable, it is often not recycled’, says Coca-Cola Enterprises’ (CCE’s) in its 10th annual Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability (CRS) Report.

http://www.foodproductiondaily.com/Packaging/CCE-cardboard-and-corrugated-packaging-FSC-certified


Transcript: Fritjof Capra– Forget Newtonian Physics and Atomism– Learn About the Systems View Of Life and the Universe

OpEdNewsMonday 1st June, 2015

Fritjof Capra– The Systems View of Life– Replacing the Mechanistic View

Rob: And welcome to the Rob Kall Bottom Up Radio Show

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Transcript-Fritjof-Capra-by-Rob-Kall-Bottom-up_Life_Systems-Systems-Theory-150531-467.html


Why Medicine is broken

http://mintonsunday.livemint.com/news/why-medicine-is-broken/2.3.3324537208.html


The Ecology of Law Toward a Legal System in Tune with Nature and Community

http://www.fritjofcapra.net/blog/


California Isn’t Having a Water Crisis, it’s Having a Runoff Crisis

California Isn’t Having a Water Crisis, it’s Having a Runoff Crisis
Surface runoff due to industrial agriculture and urban development is a big factor in the California water shortage.
Permaculture may be the answer.

http://www.alternativesjournal.ca/community/blogs/aj-special-delivery/california-isnt-having-water-crisis-its-having-runoff-crisis


How to plan a scalable permaculture garden in Maine

http://bangordailynews.com/2015/06/28/living/how-to-plan-a-scalable-permaculture-garden-in-maine/


Growing an urban food forest, one garden at a time

http://www.thestarphoenix.com/life/Growing+urban+food+forest+garden+time/11177951/story.html


Pope Francis Slams GMOs and Pesticides for Destroying the Earth’s ‘Complex Web of Ecosystems’

http://ecowatch.com/2015/06/26/pope-francis-pesticides-gmos/


France Bans the Sale of Glyphosate

(Monsanto Roundup)

http://www.globalresearch.ca/france-bans-the-sale-of-glyphosate-monsanto-roundup/5459338


A Catholic Worker Approach to Laudato Si’: Repent! Understand! Pray!

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/cosmostheinlost/2015/06/21/a-catholic-worker-approach-to-laudato-si-repent-understand-


Saving seeds for future plant biodiversity and food

The Seed Saver movement has its roots in northern New South Wales, where Michel and Jude Fanton were working in permaculture and related fields …

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-02/seed-gatherers-seed-savers/6514466


Trawling for Plastic: Sketches from the Bermuda Triangle

http://upstreampolicy.org/trawling-for-plastic-sketches-from-the-bermuda-triangle/


A Drain On The Economy? Ecological Restoration Is A $9.5 Billion Industry

Thank those spotted owls. Rather than hurt jobs, cleaning up the environment actually employs more workers than industries such as logging or mining.
http://www.fastcoexist.com/3048002/a-drain-on-the-economy-ecological-restoration-is-a-95-billion-industry


Investing in the next ‘smart material’ industrial revolution

http://www.investmentweek.co.uk/investment-week/analysis/2414943/investing-in-the-next-smart-material-industrial-revolution


General Electric forecasts new industrial revolution as machines go online

Industrial conglomerate says smart components in equipment will boost world economy by $1 trillion
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/internet/11695871/General-Electric-forecasts-new-industrial-revolution-as-machines-go-online.html


Innovation to Close the Loop in Recycling 3Rs

http://www.techvibes.com/blog/innovation-to-close-the-loop-in-recycling-3rs-2015-06-23


Carbon tax repeal sparks jump in Australia’s electricity emissions

The Guardian
The Climate Council says the increase of 4.3% has undone part of an 11% fall in emissions during the two years the carbon tax was in place.
https://web.mail.comcast.net/zimbra/mail?app=mail#4


Top Dem: Carbon tax could come if Clinton wins

The Hill
But there’s one sort of VAT that Democrats might be for, and that’s a carbon tax,” Schumer said Tuesday at an environmental policy event hosted by
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/245904-top-dem-carbon-tax-could-come-if-clinton-wins


Circular economy inspires young people to change the world

The Guardian
The circular economy presents a chance for young people to take charge of their lives by being creative, innovative and resourceful.
http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2015/jun/29/circular-economy-inspires-young-people-to-change-the-world


The Circular Revolution

https://www.veolia.co.uk/sites/g/files/dvc636/f/assets/documents/2015/06/The_Circular_Revolution.pdf


‘Costing’ the environment

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20150627/opinion/Costing-the-environment.574225


Neil Young Invites Permaculture on Tour

http://www.permaculture.co.uk/news/2906156387/neil-young-invites-permaculture-tour


Think Tank Behind Regenerative Capitalism Announces New Project: A Year in the Life of a Regenerative Bank

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150623005808/en/Tank-Regenerative-Capitalism-Announces-Project-Year-Life#.VZw9v9x2LwI


Forest collaboration needs federal support to be successful

http://www.idahopress.com/members/forest-collaboration-needs-federal-support-to-be-successful/article_96726fe2-1c6a-11e5-b436-a30934f03bde.html


Leading experts gather at the Circular Economy 100 Annual Summit

http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2015/jun/23/leading-experts-gather-at-the-circular-economy-100-annual-summit


Iconic National Parks Move to Eliminate Landfill Trash

Yosemite, Denali and Grand Teton will attempt to recycle and compost millions of pounds of visitor-generated trash. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/06/150629-zero-landfill-national-parks-yosemite-grand-teton-denali/


Opportunity for Southland businesses to improve efficiency

http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/business/69876773/Opportunity-for-Southland-businesses-to-improve-efficiency


Meet the 23-Year-Old Martha Stewart of Zero-Waste Living

https://www.yahoo.com/beauty/meet-the-23-year-old-martha-stewart-of-zero-waste-122534902803.html


EXCLUSIVE: Dunkin’ Donuts debuting eco-friendly cup in New York as city’s Styrofoam ban takes effect

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/cupping-new-feel-eco-law-alters-dunkin-containers-article-1.2270517


Five-Star Dining on Leftover Scraps?

Buoyed by a global movement to reduce the tons of food that are thrown away each year, fine-dining establishments like chef Dan Barber’s Blue Hill and chef Matt Orlando’s Amass are spinning odds and ends and formerly discarded ingredients into culinary gold
http://www.wsj.com/articles/zero-waste-restaurants-five-star-dining-on-leftover-scraps-1434386371


USDA Develops New GMO-Free Certification And Label For Foods

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/14/usda-gmo-label_n_7284544.html


2015 Adopted Resolution In Support of Municipal Zero Waste Principles and a Hierarchy of Materials Management

The U.S. Conference of Mayors
83rd Annual Meeting
June 19-22, 2015
San Francisco

In Support of Municipal Zero Waste Principles and a Hierarchy of Materials Management

WHEREAS, solid waste management is one of those most basic of services that a city must provide to its residents, and cities and local government entities exclusively bear the operational and financial burdens of sustainable municipal solid waste management; and

WHEREAS, The United States Conference of Mayors has a long history of supporting the principles of sustainable waste management and of endorsing programs and initiatives that promote them; and

WHEREAS, examples of this support include a host of policy resolutions adopted by The United States Conference of Mayors, particularly over the past 25 years, including resolutions in 1990, 1993 and again in 2005 supporting comprehensive solid waste management; 1993 and 1994 resolutions supporting composting; a 1997 resolution in support of Recycling at Work; resolutions in 1994 and 2000 supporting shared manufacturer responsibility for waste reduction; resolutions in 2010 endorsing Extended Producer Responsibility for Products and “Closing the Recycling Loop – Affirmative Sustainable Procurement Program;” a 2012 resolution supporting Extended Producer Responsibility for Mattresses; and a 2014 resolution supporting the Donation of Used Goods to Legitimate Local Nonprofits as a Means of Contributing to Local Economies and Diverting Items from Landfills; and

WHEREAS, while progress has been made, today the United States as a whole still generates an estimated 251 million tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) each year, recovering only 87 million tons, or 34% of that amount, through recycling and composting – a mere fraction of the recyclable/compostable amount; and

WHEREAS, the majority of MSW – 135 million tons in 2012 – ends up in landfills, generating significant amounts, as it decomposes, of methane – the second most prevalent greenhouse gas in the United States – among other adverse environmental impacts; and

WHEREAS, Increasing the amount of MSW recycled and/or composted could create hundreds of thousands of jobs and contribute billions to the economy; and

WHEREAS, the energy intensity of extracting virgin materials for product manufacturing is an order of magnitude higher than that of recovering the same material through recycling – to wit, it takes 10.4 million Btu to manufacture products from a ton of recyclables, compared to 23.3 million Btu for virgin materials; and

WHEREAS, additional concerns arise from the inefficient routing of waste, and in some cases the long-hauling of waste for low-value disposal methods – which result in increased energy use, greater emissions and increased road and traffic impacts; and

WHEREAS, the concept of zero waste goes beyond recycling and composting at the end of a product’s life cycle, to encompass the entire life cycle of a product, beginning with product design, and envisioning the use and management of materials in ways that preserve value, minimize environmental impacts, and conserve natural resources; and

WHEREAS, materials management through zero waste can begin to shift the fiscal burden of waste and empower industry to embrace resource responsibility by rewarding stewardship through purchasing and economic development incentives; and

WHEREAS, while cities and other local and regional government entities across the country have adopted a variety of ambitious plans and strategies aimed at increasing diversion rates, there is no one set of universally adopted principles or guidelines that guides the development of these plans and strategies; and

WHEREAS, furthermore, while cities and local government entities bear the operational and financial burden of sustainable municipal solid waste management, in many instances state and federal legislative actions can significantly enhance cities’ abilities to work successfully toward zero waste; and

WHEREAS, while industry and the federal government have variously defined and categorized zero waste strategies, it behooves the nation’s cities, with primary responsibility for waste management, to devise a definition that encourages shared fiscal responsibility and legislative innovations,

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of Mayors adopts a definition of Zero Waste, and set of Zero Waste principles, that recognizes a Hierarchy of Material Management as follows:

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of Mayors calls upon the federal and state governments to recognize the rights of local governments to enact ordinances that support strategies to reduce waste in their local communities, as part of a comprehensive zero waste strategy; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of Mayors actively supports a system where producers minimize waste during product design and take responsibility for the reuse and/or recycling of these used products; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of Mayors calls upon the various partners in the food industry to work with the federal government and other stakeholders to minimize food waste through education about food expiration dates and other strategies; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of Mayors calls upon Congress and the Administration to design tax incentives, legislative and other strategies that incentivize the use of recycled over virgin materials in the manufacture of products and product packaging, as well as the local handling and management of solid waste; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of Mayors encourages cities that have not already done so to work toward the adoption a similar set of zero waste principles in their own communities.

You can view that resolution on the USCM website by clicking on the following link (or cutting and pasting it into your browser of choice):

http://usmayors.org/resolutions/83rd_Conference/displayresolution.asp?resid=83aReso0