This Week in Waste: Top Stories from January 10-14

This week in waste sustainability takes the stage. Here are the top stories that drove discussions on Waste360.com.

1. VF Works Toward Apparel Circularity
By Arlene Karidis

The way clothes are designed and manufactured, and what happens to them once consumers no longer want them, is taking its toll on the environment. Multiple studies conclude tens of millions of tons of clothes are landfilled or incinerated annually, often after short lives, and after a lot of energy and other resources went into creating them. Overall, textile production churns out 1.2 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions a year—more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined, according to Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

Read the full article.

2. Survey: Healthcare Environments Free of Medical Waste Key to Fighting Pandemic
By Stefanie Valentic

As the number of reported COVID cases skyrockets across the globe, healthcare workers express their declining mental and physical states as hospitals reach capacity.

A new report from medical waste compliance provider Stericycle demonstrates the need for a safe, clean environment to assist healthcare professionals with providing adequate patient care and to prevent further transmission of illness.

Read the full article.

3. Top 10 Trends in Solid Waste Over the Next 10 Years
By Liz Bothwell

Stifel released its latest solid-waste industry update, “Top 10 Trends in 10 Years in Solid Waste: Technology Is Now Table Stakes But Does Not Disintermediate the Business Model.”

The financial-services company has published such a list for several years now, and this year’s repeats several trends from last year, combined a couple, dropped some, and added some new.

Read the full article.

4. End Could be Looming for Single-Use Plastic in National Parks
By Arlene Karidis

Plastic pollution inundates even remote places around the globe, and lately U.S. politicians and environmental groups are zeroing in on one such type of space hit by this plastic pileup:  national parks, which draw roughly 300 million people a year, eager to come out and explore.

Read the full article.

5. NERC's Minimum Post-Consumer Recycling Content Legislation Aims to Boost Glass Markets
By Stefanie Valentic

The Northeast Recycling Council (NERC) has released its Glass Minimum Post-Consumer Recycled Content Model Legislation.

The draft legislation is the result of an eight-month collaborative effort between government, industry, trade associations and non-profits to bolster demand for recycled glass.

Read the full article.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Episode 136: Setting the Stage for Sustainability in the Waste Industry
By Liz Bothwell

In our latest episode of NothingWasted!, we bring you a dynamic session from Sustainability Talks 2021 featuring speaker Susan Robinson, senior director of sustainability and policy at Waste Management. 

As Robinson notes, “What Waste Management does is very visible. We should expect to be in the spotlight, and we should be prepared.” To that end, she shared some thoughts with the audience on how they can do the same, when it comes to sustainability.

Listen to the podcast.