Some companies have taken the initiative to resolve our out of control waste management crisis.
Currently, we are facing an out of control waste management issue. There is an increase in waste products that must be managed. This is in part due to China’s bans prohibiting China from importing discarded plastics, yarn, cotton, ash, waste wool, slag from steelmaking, and paper. In the past, the United States and other countries used to ship tons of waste to China every year. Now, due to the bans, American waste management is in need of a major overhaul.
Linchpinseo.com reported that currently, more than 20 percent of the trash in landfills is wasted food. Moreover, without changes to waste management, there will be more plastic in the oceans than fish by 2050. Additionally, of the five major plastic patches in the world’s oceans, the one between California and Hawaii is the size of Texas.
Now traditional disposal methods are not an option because they fail miserably to adequately and properly handle the increasing load. Waste dumping isn’t an option because it is polluting the planet and harming marine, animal, and human life.
The good news is that researchers anticipate that in 2020 the United States will make some headway in efforts to eliminate some of the country’s mounting trash problems. This will be accomplished through the implementation of several composting and recycling trends.
One such trend is composting with black soldier fly larva (BSFL). Composting with BSFL has been shown to be way more efficient than many other methods of composting. This is mainly because you can feed them ALL kinds of biodegradable matter. For this reason, many companies now experiment with BSFL for waste disposal and a protein-rich food source for animals. BSFL also converts feed into biomass. Biomass is organic matter used as a fuel. Ultimately, BSFL is an alternative for dealing with food scraps.
Other composting trends include:
- Reducing wasted food. Linchpinseo.com reported that California already created a law that requires food-wasting businesses such as restaurants, hospitals, and hotels to recycle wasted food.
- Growth in residential food scraps collection and drop-off
- Multiple scales of composting
- State composting regulation revisions
Meanwhile, some trending recycling solutions reported by GreenBiz.com, Linchpinseo.com and BioCycle.net include:
- Improved sorting technology to better and more cleanly sort even more waste items into separate, usable materials.
- Improved reclaiming and remanufacturing of recycled content so that manufacturers can readily and effectively use the materials.
- Developing end materials and products that can be made easily with recycled content.
- Facilities are getting more equipped to deal with increased contamination that has resulted from the increase of plastic film and packaging and the consequential mandatory disposal bans that have accompanied it.
- Companies are collaborating to reuse materials and packaging.
- Consumer brands are exploring refill models that solve for waste and consumer convenience, while ensuring the integrity of the product inside.
- Fast fashion may become the next ocean plastics as the industry comes under increasing pressure to become more sustainable. Hence, many brands are working on zero waste and closed-loop designs.
- We will see plastic waste made into high-quality resin that will replace the current greenhouse gas-emitting prime resin that is used in the plastic industry.
- Researchers are looking at ways that waste can be converted to energy (WTE).
Various factors led to waste management in the United States going out of control. There’s no denying that the sudden inability to ship much of our trash to China caused waste and recycling companies to scramble for effective waste management solutions.
In response, many companies are taking the initiative to resolve the issue. Some apparel brands have been working on zero waste, closed-loop designs. For instance, Adidas unveiled the first fully recyclable sneaker this year, called the Futurecraft Loop sneaker. The sneaker is made using a closed-loop design with “infinitely reusable” materials. Meanwhile, other brands are recycling plastic.
Though these initiatives are undoubtedly a positive step that will help us to reverse the looming ecological challenges the world is facing more will need to be done. What are you doing to support this movement?
What do you think about the companies who have taken the initiative to resolve our out of control waste management crisis? Do you foresee it having a significant impact?
