J.A. Ginsburg’s Post

PDX-Earth Tip: For those who somehow missed out, Super Bowl LVIII is just around the corner as the Kansas City Chiefs get set to square off against the San Francisco 49ers on February 11th in Las Vegas. But if inviting friends over to watch two teams grind up the gridiron seems environmentally innocuous to you, think again: there’s plenty you can do to green your Super Bowl party and reduce your carbon footprint. First, green your technology. If you’re considering buying a new TV for your party, choose an energy-efficient model. Many televisions are Energy Star certified, and on average these models are 25 percent more energy efficient than other models. And if you do buy a new TV, be sure to donate or recycle your old one. Make food at home. Grocery store party platters and takeout can be tempting for options when hosting a party, but oftentimes these come with a lot of packaging. Pizza boxes especially can pose a recycling dilemma; if they have any grease or food residue on them, they can’t be recycled. Consider seeking out some party food recipes that are easy to make ahead of time, and wherever possible, go vegetarian. Offer environmentally friendly beverages. First, buy in bulk; a two-liter bottle of soda yields less trash to deal with and often costs less, too. If you do opt for individually packaged drinks, select easy-to-recycle containers like cans or glass bottles that your guests are used to putting in the recycling bin. Skip the disposable dinnerware. It may be the quickest to clean up after a party, but sending bags of paper plates, paper napkins and plastic forks to the landfill isn’t ideal for any party. Instead, try using your own plates and cups, or if you don’t have enough for a large group, ask friends to pitch in and bring their own. Finally, ask guests to either carpool or take public transport to your party. Nothing says “greenhouse gas” like a long line of parked cars up and down the block – but heck, your guests are going to be sitting for the next 4 hours anyway. For more, visit kpsu.org.

Do you think we'll ever see BYO containers for food leftovers at events/conferences? Eater recently covered people bringing their own take-out containers to high-end restaurants. It's not hard to imagine that this could catch on, especially with a growing focus on reducing single-use plastics. Check out the Eater article for more on this interesting concept. https://lnkd.in/guiFpcQr

PDX-Earth Tip: For those who somehow missed out, Super Bowl LVIII is just around the corner as the Kansas City Chiefs get set to square off against the San Francisco 49ers on February 11th in Las Vegas. But if inviting friends over to watch two teams grind up the gridiron seems environmentally innocuous to you, think again: there’s plenty you can do to green your Super Bowl party and reduce your carbon footprint. First, green your technology. If you’re considering buying a new TV for your party, choose an energy-efficient model. Many televisions are Energy Star certified, and on average these models are 25 percent more energy efficient than other models. And if you do buy a new TV, be sure to donate or recycle your old one. Make food at home. Grocery store party platters and takeout can be tempting for options when hosting a party, but oftentimes these come with a lot of packaging. Pizza boxes especially can pose a recycling dilemma; if they have any grease or food residue on them, they can’t be recycled. Consider seeking out some party food recipes that are easy to make ahead of time, and wherever possible, go vegetarian. Offer environmentally friendly beverages. First, buy in bulk; a two-liter bottle of soda yields less trash to deal with and often costs less, too. If you do opt for individually packaged drinks, select easy-to-recycle containers like cans or glass bottles that your guests are used to putting in the recycling bin. Skip the disposable dinnerware. It may be the quickest to clean up after a party, but sending bags of paper plates, paper napkins and plastic forks to the landfill isn’t ideal for any party. Instead, try using your own plates and cups, or if you don’t have enough for a large group, ask friends to pitch in and bring their own. Finally, ask guests to either carpool or take public transport to your party. Nothing says “greenhouse gas” like a long line of parked cars up and down the block – but heck, your guests are going to be sitting for the next 4 hours anyway. For more, visit kpsu.org.

A city in California is launching a first-of-its-kind program to fight disposable cup waste. Instead of throwing away cups after a single use, customers in Petaluma will be given reusable cups for their coffee and drinks. ♻️ The program aims to make reuse the new normal, reducing reliance on wasteful single-use cups. 🗜 Over 30 restaurants are participating, including Starbucks, Peet's Coffee, and local cafes. Special bins will be placed around the city for easy cup return. This initiative is a collaboration between businesses, government agencies, and environmental groups. 🚀💡 Organizers hope this program will be a model for other cities. They'll be tracking how many cups are reused and the environmental impact. The goal is to create a system where reusable cups are the most convenient option for everyone. ✨ Follow for more equity news: https://buff.ly/3Y2bGHm #climatechange #environment #sustainability #socialimpact #equity #equityandinclusion #innovation #partnership #collaboration

In Petaluma, California, Starbucks is piloting a program aimed at reducing waste by using reusable to-go cups, an initiative involving over 30 locations in Napa and Petaluma. This initiative, part of a larger goal to cut Starbucks' waste by half by the end of the decade, allows customers to borrow these cups for free, return them to designated smart bins, and have them cleaned for reuse. The cups, made from durable polypropylene, can be reused up to 120 times before being recycled. The program includes features like QR-code-enabled return bins and a custom mobile truck for efficient cleaning and redistribution. This initiative is part of Starbucks' broader efforts to make using reusable cups more convenient for customers, even allowing personal cups for drive-through and mobile orders starting next year. As Starbucks’ initiative highlights, the key to ensuring a sustainable future in waste management lies in reducing waste in the first place, but as manufacturing levels reach unprecedented highs, the waste management industry faces a surge of waste to be handled. By establishing clear benchmarks for environmental, economic, and social performance, the SWEEP Standard can provide municipalities with the framework to improve operational efficiency and minimize environmental impact, while increasing diversion rates to optimize recycling capacity and off put the burden of single-use goods. Read the full article at the link below, and download the comprehensive SWEEP+ (SWEEP-Plus) Standard here: (https://lnkd.in/eZV-juQW) #SWEEPStandard #Wastemanagement (https://lnkd.in/gYQkiuGQ)

New Rules Pending for Reuse And How Movers in This Space Are Doing: “The basic concept of reusable cups is familiar. This is how most of us consume beverages at home and in restaurants. In recent years, however, new, innovative, large-scale systems for reusable cups have emerged,” Oceana says. #ecoxpress #wastefree #ecoliving

Did you know that Taco Bell and TerraCycle have been working to increase the amount of fast food packaging that is recycled since 2021? In 2021, Taco Bell and TerraCycle came together to create the Taco Bell Sauce Container US Recycling Program—an initiative to boost fast food packaging, particularly sauce packets. The partnership came after the realization that Taco Bell was responsible for ~8.2 billion hot sauce packets entering landfills each year, as small sauce packets are traditionally harder to process and recycle in many MRFs. The program boosted Taco Bell’s recycling rates, and they began accepting all sauce packets in 2022. In April of this year, Taco Bell and TerraCycle announced that the program will now accept items like, “sauce dipping cups, souffle cups and lids, and coffee creamer pods.” You might be wondering . . . how does it work? Plastics Today lays it out in 4 steps: 🖥 Any entity (individual, school, institution, etc.) signs up online at the “Taco Bell Sauce Container US Recycling Program” landing page on TerraCycle’s website. 🍟 Participating entities collect used sauce packets and other accepted items in a recyclable box. 🚛 When a participant's box is full, they “log into their TerraCycle account to download and print a free UPS shipping label and then ship the labeled package to TerraCycle for recycling.” ♻ Once TerraCycle receives the box, the organization separates and organizes the waste by material type and cleans the waste. Next, “the materials are then melted into hard plastic pellets that can be remolded into new products, such as picnic tables.” Read more on how Taco Bell and TerraCycle are collaborating to boost sauce packet recycling here: https://lnkd.in/evvTHH_5 #tacobell #packaging #recycling #sustainablepackaging #circulareconomy

Did you know ~90% of waste and pollution are locked into a product at the design phase? Now think about the impact single-use items play in our economy. As a sustainability leader focused on unlocking waste and pollution from our manufacturing systems, I am so excited to see this example of circular design and sustainability being tested in Petaluma, California! Here’s the spoiler alert: (you can read the full article below) 👇🏼 👇🏼👇🏼 It’s a groundbreaking pilot program, where more than 30 restaurants are leading the way by testing reusable to-go cups, transforming the traditional takeaway experience. As Kate Daly managing director of the Center for the Circular Economy at Closed Loop Partners, puts it… "It's the first initiative that we're aware of that will make reusable to-go cups the default option over single-use across multiple restaurants throughout a U.S. city." At the core of this program is a commitment to making reusable cups the default option over single-use cups across multiple restaurants. This approach not only showcases the power of circular economy solutions but also underscores the importance of creating closed-loop systems in open-networks. By emphasizing convenience and accessibility for customers, this project sets a new standard for sustainable practices in the food industry. And I’m pumped to follow along. I know a lot will be learned from all stakeholders involved! ✨ #CircularEconomy #Sustainability #Innovation #designthinking #systemsthinking ♻️🥤

I'm excited to see innovative circular economy initiatives like the one in Petaluma, California. The city's new reusable cup program for to-go drinks is a prime example of how local communities can drive significant change in reducing single-use waste. What's particularly inspiring about Petaluma's program is the collaboration between local businesses, the city government, and a tech-enabled solution provider. This multi-stakeholder approach is crucial for scaling circular economy solutions, something we've learned firsthand at LimeLoop. As we continue to innovate in the reusable packaging space, it's initiatives like these that fuel our passion and reinforce the importance of our work. Let's keep pushing for a world where reuse is the norm, not the exception. https://lnkd.in/eWj9tRaK #CircularEconomy #Sustainability #ReusablePackaging #WasteReduction #Innovation

All the coffee, none of the waste ☕️🌎 As part of our business evolution and journey towards carbon neutrality, we’re constantly looking for new and innovative ways to implement more sustainable practices. Following discussions with universities focused on packaging reduction methods, our founder and MD Bryan came up with a zero waste coffee scheme. Since 2018 we have offered customers the option to accept coffee deliveries in reusable food-grade plastic tubs. This has been a big hit for large volume sites, such as The University of Sheffield, thanks to the ease of process and alignments of values. The scheme has also proved popular for retailers offering customers packaging-free products, such as Unwrapped in Crookes. It’s something we’d love to offer the at-home market from a collection point at our roastery sometime in the future… watch this space! Each easy-to-stack tub is batch coded and sealed, then after customers decant their beans we collect the tubs and sterilise them, ready to be used again. This has saved a total of 7,880 coffee bags since the strategy was implemented. The coffee bags we do use (1kg wholesale and 250g retail) are now made from monoplastic LDPE, which is fully recyclable. To complement the offering, we generate our own box filler packing where required, using our cardboard shredder, which has negated the use of packing peanuts. All cardboard packaging that comes into the roastery is put through the shredder, as well as larger items from our team’s homes. Our coffee is packed into hessian sacks at origin and we send these to K&H Ellis jute recyclers, where they are shredded and repurposed for products such as carpet underlay. The GrainPro bags that line the hessian sacks are also reused for our coffee chaff waste and bin liners for our warehouse and for litter picking sessions in local parks, which our customer service manager Lizzie undertakes. As tech evolves we will continue to research and implement the best options we can find. #cafeology #roastology #roastologyuk #zerowaste #zerowastecoffee #coffee #specialitycoffee #ethicalcoffee #sustainability #sustainablebusiness #coffeelife #coffeecompany #coffeetime #sheffield