Month: September 2022

The Governments of Rwanda and Norway have launched The High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution together with Canada, Peru, Germany, Senegal, Georgia, Republic of Korea, U.K., Switzerland, Portugal, Chile, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Costa Rica, Iceland, Ecuador, France, and the Dominican Republic.

The High Ambition Coalition was first initiated following the historic UN Environment Assembly resolution 5/14 passed in March of 2022 to start negotiations of an international legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution.

The High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution will issue statements and undertake intercessional work on essential elements and issues to inform the negotiations in order to develop a landmark treaty by 2024.

“We took the initiative to form a group of ambitious countries to work for a truly effective global treaty that will establish common global rules, turn off the tap and end plastic pollution by 2040,” says the Minister of Climate and Environment of Norway and co-chair of the coalition, Espen Barth-Eide.

Plastic pollution has reached unprecedented levels the world over and is projected to rise significantly in the next decades. According to the OECD’s Global Plastic Outlook Policy Scenarios to 2060 report, without urgent global action, the volume of plastics in rivers and lakes will increase from 109 million tonnes in 2019 to 348 million tonnes in 2060 while plastics leaking into the ocean will rise from 30 million tonnes in 2019 to 145 million tonnes in 2060.

Plastic consumption is projected to skyrocket in the coming decades, from 460 million tonnes in 2019 to 1,231 million tonnes in 2060. The most significant sectors driving consumption are packaging, vehicles, and construction which will make up two-thirds of all use.

“Rwanda started the journey to end plastic pollution in 2004, unfortunately, plastic wastes are still visible in the country’s downstream which proves the need for global efforts towards a common goal of ending plastic pollution because this is an unacceptable burden to place on future generations,” says Minister of Environment of the Republic of Rwanda and co-chair of the coalition, Dr. Jeanne d’Arc Mujawamariya. “Plastic pollution constitutes a planetary crisis with impacts on human health, biodiversity and climate system.”

Members of the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution will meet in New York in a few weeks, during the UN General Assembly, to discuss the next steps in the coalition’s work.

The first meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee is set to commence on November 28 in Punta del Este, Uruguay.

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Plastic is probably one of the biggest problems we face today in our civilization.

When we talk about pollution, plastic is always on top of the list. As an initiative, multiple ambitious countries are joining forces by forming a group that will establish common global rules. Possibly finding a solution to end plastic pollution.

JUNK GODS™ is already taking action towards finding solutions by diverting plastic from landfills which impacts our environment. We ensure that every item collected from our junk removal services is sorted properly by our sorting center personnel. That is why we can say, we are North America’s GREENEST junk removal company.

Source :
https://www.recyclingproductnews.com/article/39052/countries-across-the-globe-aim-to-end-plastic-pollution-by-2040

Rubicon Technologies, Inc. has launched its annual Trick or Trash campaign, a program designed to help reduce the waste that accumulates every year around Halloween.

Now in its fourth year, Trick or Trash provides easy-to-assemble mail-back recycling boxes to schools, independent businesses, and community organizations, which can be filled with discarded candy wrappers.

It is estimated that each year 600 million pounds of candy are consumed in the United States during the Halloween season, and research from the National Retail Federation shows that in 2021, $3 billion dollars was spent on candy during the holiday, up from $2.4 billion the year before. The materials used for candy packaging are notoriously difficult to recycle with the vast majority ending up in landfills, as well as America’s waterways and oceans. To address this challenge, Rubicon is enlisting the help of teachers, business owners, and community leaders around the U.S. in collecting candy wrappers and inspiring communities to recycle.

Trick or Trash participants deposit their wrappers into custom collection boxes and, once full, simply return the boxes for processing using a prepaid shipping label for carbon-neutral shipping. Rubicon is giving free boxes to every participating school, independent business, and community organization while supplies last.

“Rubicon’s mission is to end waste, and our annual Trick or Trash Halloween recycling campaign is the purest example of this mission in action,” says Nate Morris, chairman and CEO of Rubicon. “From the thousands of Halloween candy wrapper collection boxes that we send out to schools and businesses all across the country, to the campaign’s core educational component that will once again be taught in hundreds of schools and universities, I look forward to Trick or Trash taking a central role in teaching future generations about the importance of protecting our environment.”

This year’s program sees the return of The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) as the official education partner of Trick or Trash. To set educators up for success in teaching about recycling, Rubicon and NWF have created a list of downloadable lesson plans designed for students ages K to 12. These lesson plans introduce students to new terms, phrases, and ideas about the circular economy that can be integrated into any curriculum, and provide fun, interactive, critical thinking exercises with the goal of helping children understand recycling and why it is important to the health of our planet. Lists of recommended reading materials have also been compiled for colleges and universities.

“The National Wildlife Federation seeks to educate and inspire the next generation of environmental and wildlife champions in all that we do,” says Kim Martinez, vice president of education and engagement at the National Wildlife Federation. “This feeds directly into our support of Rubicon’s Trick or Trash campaign for the third year in a row to help show millions of people how small steps, like reducing waste and increasing recycling rates, can help recover wildlife populations and restore natural resources to ensure healthier communities for people and save habitat for imperiled wildlife.”

This year’s program also sees the return of Cox Communications, a longtime Rubicon partner, as the official media sponsor of Trick or Trash. The company has pledged to place hundreds of Trick or Trash boxes in community organizations, YMCAs, Boys and Girls Clubs, and local schools.

Rubicon is also excited to introduce three new partners to this year’s campaign: Trick or Trash’s official entrepreneurship partner, Junior Achievement of the Bluegrass; the official nonprofit partner, Kentucky FFA (Future Farmers of America) Foundation; and the official Kentucky partner, Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR).

Trick or Trash 2022 follows the campaign’s success in 2021. When first launched in 2019, it reached more than 470 schools in 49 U.S. states. The 2020 campaign reached more than 730 schools and small businesses in all 50 U.S. states. The 2021 campaign reached significantly more individuals, with almost 2,000 collection boxes being sent to more than 1,250 schools, independent businesses, and community organizations.

Source : https://www.recyclingproductnews.com/article/39186/rubicon-launches-trick-or-trash-2022-campaign-to-recycle-halloween-candy-wrappers

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As JUNK GODS™ is concerned, any company that embarks on cleaning the environment to make it a safer and cleaner place to live is a plus in their books.

JUNK GODS™ always strives to impact the community by reducing waste for generations to come. That’s why we stand strong behind our commitment to be North America’s GREENEST Junk Removal company.

O-I Canada Corp. (O-I) is receiving federal funding to modernize its plant and increase its ability to use recycled glass.

O-I manufactures glass containers for the beer, alcoholic beverage, wine and spirits, and food industries. Through the Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions (CED) the federal government is granting the company a repayable contribution of $3.5 million.

O-I Canada Corp. is a branch of U.S.-based O-I Glass Inc. It plans to acquire digital production equipment to increase the amount of recycled glass introduced into the production line at its Montréal plant and diversify production. This expansion project will make it possible to divert up to 75,000 tonnes a year of cullet and glass from landfill sites.

“Our facility has produced high-quality, sustainable glass packaging in Quebec since 1905,” said Nicola Porrazzo, senior plant manager for O-I Canada Corp.

“Our partnership with CED will bring transformative innovations to our glassmaking capabilities that will heighten our sustainability ambitions for generations to come.”

Since the start of February CED has announced nearly $40 million in investments in over 20 projects by Quebec businesses and organizations.

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Increase the ability to use recycled glass ? It’s the greatest idea since sliced bread.

As you may or may not know, glass is 100% recyclable and it has an unlimited life. It can be melted

and reused endlessly with no loss in quality.

That’s why JUNK GODS™ stands so strongly behind their recycling model. We recoup all glass and transport it to a recycling center.

That’s what makes us North America’s GREENEST Junk Removal company.

Source :

https://www.wasterecyclingmag.ca/glass/o-i-canada-to-increase-use-of-recycled-glass/1003286474/

Hydrofuel Canada Inc., which produces green ammonia and hydrogen, has entered into a share purchase agreement with Lumos Laboratories Nigeria Limited.

Lumos has patented technology to produce green hydrogen, ammonia, fertilizer, electricity and other commodities from human and animal wastes. Under the terms of the share purchase agreement, Hydrofuel will provide funding to commercialize the technology.

“We are grateful that we have made this acquisition deal with Hydrofuel Canada as it will offer a wonderful platform to achieve our dream of making clean, affordable, renewable hydrogen-ammonia energy widely available, while reducing the health impacts of untreated waste in our community,” said Lumos CEO, Ejikeme Patrick Nwosu.

Lumos developed its technology to address the serious health concerns of communities without centralized sanitary sewage treatment.  Untreated sewage poses a major risk to human health as it contains waterborne pathogens that can cause serious illness, such as cholera, typhoid and dysentery.

The World Health Organization estimates that nearly three billion people lack access to improved sanitary facilities, with the lowest coverage in sub-Saharan Africa (37%), Southern Asia (38%) and Eastern Asia (45%). Lumos technology would provide decentralized treatment of sewage on a neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood basis.

In addition to poor sanitation, third world economies typically face energy poverty to heat, cook and provide basic services. Lumos’ technology addresses these concerns in part with the energy produced from its process.

“Our mission to provide Green Hydrogen from Ammonia with lower costs and life cycle pollution than any other fuel now also addresses sanitary waste issues in third world economies,” said Greg Vezina, Hydrofuel Canada  chairman and  CEO.

Funding for the technology is gained from the sale of green energy and other by-products captured and generated by the process. It is estimated that the value of the energy that can be captured using this process will enable Lumos to pay residents a small incentive fee for using its waste capture technology, further enabling local economic development.

Lumos has secured a consulting contract with the Nigerian Prison Authority to study and pilot its technology. The green hydrogen and ammonia generated will be evaluated and assessed as a fuel for mobility, heat and electrical generation, and as fertilizer.

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To reduce the impact on our everyday lives on our surrounding environment and eliminating our waste footprints is one of the principal objectives towards a greener continent.

Spreading awareness and building on eco-friendly blueprints, JUNK GODS™ transmits its core values through their recycling process and giving a second life to a multitude of different items that can be used on a daily basis.

Source :

https://www.wasterecyclingmag.ca/biofuel/hydrofuel-canada-invests-in-nigerian-energy-from-waste-start-up/1003287172/

If you’ve been thinking about buying a new bike this spring, you’re far from alone.

The pandemic has spawned a boom in bicycle sales, but that demand has severely curtailed supply and driven up prices, leaving many would-be bike buyers spinning their wheels.

In response, a group of cyclists in the Ottawa Valley has set up a free bike bank, similar to a food bank.

“A lot of people can’t afford bikes, and we want to get bikes into the hands of people who want them and need them,” Ish Theilheimer, a member of the Ottawa Valley Cycling and Active Transportation Alliance (OVCATA), told CBC Radio’s Ottawa Morning.

“In … Renfrew County, we don’t have public transportation at all. People who need to get to work, to school or shopping, if they don’t have a car, they’re really in bad shape,” he said.

Flooded with offers

OVCATA launched the initiative April 6, putting out the call for surplus bikes. Theilheimer said the response has been tremendous.

“We’ve been flooded with offers of bikes,” Theilheimer said. “Some bikes coming in are in better shape than others, but we’ll take them all.”

Several of the group’s handier volunteers are skilled at bringing old bikes back to life, Theilheimer said.

“We’re doing some restoration. We don’t mind picking up the odd bike part.”

He doesn’t just talk the talk. The Golden Lake, Ont., resident has been cycling for more than half a century, and still loves to travel by two wheels with his wife Kathy.

“I’ve travelled all over the world with bikes. It’s a wonderful way to meet people, to see the world, to have experiences you couldn’t possibly have otherwise. And of course, to stay healthy and happy.”

If you live in the Ottawa Valley and need a bike, or want to donate one that’s been gathering dust in your garage or basement, you can email OVCATA or check out the group’s website.

“If they need a bike, they should just contact us and we’ll get a volunteer to get a bike to them,” Theilheimer said. “Bikes are really, really important. They’re a way to get to work, to school, a way to feel healthy and feel good about yourself. And it’s good for the environment.”

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JUNK GODS™ took on a great initiative as one of their goals is reducing every impact hazardous gases have on our environment within their communities. They contribute by implementing their recycling footprint with the help of their sustainable model to recycle, donate or give a second life to unwanted items as much as humanly possible.

JUNK GODS™ contributes by donating bicycles to their community whenever they are still in good working condition.

Source :

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/bike-bank-ottawa-valley-surplus-bicycles-repair-donate-1.5978021

Sortera Alloys to open recycling facility capable of processing 150 million pounds of scrap alloy

Sortera Alloys, Inc. has expanded into a new 200,000 sq. ft. processing facility in Markle, I.N. A formal groundbreaking of the new facility will take place in Q4 of 2022, with processing starting to ramp up in Q1 2023.

Sortera’s technology sorts, captures, and recycles aluminum from existing streams of mixed alloy scrap that are typically shipped abroad for processing or downgraded into lower-quality secondary materials. The resulting aluminum scrap created by Sortera’s sorting process is recirculated back into the manufacturing industry to be used in applications, such as automotive; cast and flat-rolled products; and building, construction, and aerospace extrusions.

“The new facility represents a significant milestone for Sortera as we look to scale our operations and capture a large chunk of the four billion pounds of scrap alloy that is currently sent overseas. This will allow us to fill the increased demand for high-quality recycled alloys in the domestic market, specifically with automotive customers,” says Michael Siemer, CEO of Sortera Alloys. “We are immensely grateful to the town of Markle and The Zacher Company for helping us to bring this vision to reality with the new facility, and we look forward to being a contributor to the local economy and community.”

The new facility has the option to expand to 400,000 sq. ft. It is located just outside of Markle, Indiana (roughly 25 miles southwest of Fort Wayne), off Interstate 69. Sortera plans to move its existing operations from Fort Wayne to the new facility with initial processing operations starting in Q1 2023.

“Sortera’s low-cost, scalable sorting process enables aluminum manufacturers to use roughly five percent of the energy required to manufacture aluminum from virgin material, enabling customers to reduce their CO2 footprint and pursue sustainability and circular production goals. Our new facility is a perfect fit for our first mass production location. We are excited that Markle has the right workforce and is a special place that is proactively looking for partners to enhance their community,” says Ben Pope, vice president of commercialization at Sortera Alloys.

The new facility follows Sortera in July 2022 of having raised $10M in funding to advance end-of-life recycling for automotive metals. The funding round was led by Assembly Ventures with additional funding from Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Novelis, Inc. In addition to the recent funding round, Sortera announced a commercial agreement with Novelis Corporation that enables Sortera to deliver high-quality aluminum feedstock directly to Novelis to be reused for automotive manufacturing components.

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JUNK GODS™ recycles 100% of all the aluminum recuperated from their residential and commercial clients.

Source :

https://www.recyclingproductnews.com/article/39103/sortera-alloys-to-open-recycling-facility-capable-of-processing-150-million-pounds-of-scrap-alloy

 

Ocean trash and overflowing landfills have drawn widespread attention to the plastic waste that we put into our environment. In response, communities around the world work hard to reduce, reuse, and recycle. But what does it mean for something to be recyclable? A research team led by Guoliang “Greg” Liu, associate professor of chemistry in the College of Science, is working to expand the frontiers of plastic recycling.

We must stop using this product and use an alternative. Did you know that the lifespan of styrofoam in a landfill is around 500 years?

Who knows, maybe one day, we’ll be able to recycle styrofoam.

But for now, JunkGods do other types of recycling.

 

Source : https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/08/220823115625.htm