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  • How a #Litterati army on Instagram sparked a global fight against litter

    October 12, 2020 |

    Hothouse Solutions |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

    What started as a small group of people taking pictures of waste in their communities and tagging it on Instagram with the hashtag #Litterati, turned into a global effort, and even an app, to map and dispose of trash. Users can upload to the app an image of trash and machine-learning algorithm can tag it location, material, and company who made it. The city of San Francisco asked the makers of the app for help documenting cigarette butts and tobacco products on its streets and ended up winning a legal victory over the tobacco industry to increase the taxes on their products.

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  • Bug Breeders Are Cultivating Waste-Guzzling Flies to Gobble Up America's Trash

    October 05, 2020 |

    Future Human |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Camas, Washington

    A growing number of bug breeders in the United States are raising black soldier flies to tackle greenhouse gas emissions, land degradation, and food waste. The larvae can convert waste into fertilizer for crops, while also reducing carbon dioxide emissions. In one experiment at Louisiana State University, about two tons of cafeteria food waste is processed by the fly larvae. Creating a similiar system on a larger scale for municipalities can be expensive, but the flies could be a multifaceted solution to the country’s trash problem.

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  • Kenyan engineers recycling plastics for bricks

    September 28, 2020 |

    Citizen TV Kenya |

    Video |

    5-15 Minutes

    Response Location: Kenya

    Gjenge Makers Ltd is an alternative building product manufacturing company that creates products – such as pavers and blocks – out of recycled plastics. Founded by four Kenyan engineers, the team began by studying the manufacturing process and researching what products would do well on the market. They then built all of the machinery themselves, which break down the plastics, and then mix them with other building material products to ultimately create customizable plastic bricks that can withstand larger weight and are less expensive than concrete. They are popular in rural and lower-income areas.

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  • Soap on tap? A startup arrives in NYC with a plan to take the plastic out of cleaning products.

    September 21, 2020 |

    Grist |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, New York, New York

    To make food and cleaning products more accessible to those experiencing economic hardship, the startup Algramo has installed more than 2,500 automated bulk-dispensing systems throughout Chile where people can purchase an item and come back to refill it using the same container. Instead of competing against other consumer good companies, Algramo works with them to help change their packaging practices to reduce their plastic waste. Algramo is scaling the service to New York City and Indonesia to help cash-strapped and eco-friendly shoppers.

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  • Jersey City's Composting Program Expands During a Pandemic

    September 16, 2020 |

    Next City |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Jersey City, New Jersey

    Since the Jersey City composting program, over 50,000 pounds of disposable waste has been used to fertilize home gardens, parks, and community gardens, instead of going into landfills. While scaling the program is a challenge due to the lack of infrastructure for integrating composting as part of the city’s waste removal, residents were eager to participate.

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  • ‘Tons and tons of fishing equipment': B.C. tour operators clean up ocean debris during coronavirus pandemic

    September 15, 2020 |

    The Narwhal |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: Canada, Vancouver Island

    Expeditions to clean up debris from the coastline are underway along the B.C. coast after an ecotourism company was forced to stop tours during the pandemic. The project is largely funded by the B.C. government’s Clean Coast, Clean Waters Initiative Fund, and involves five different companies. In just one expedition, 61 tonnes of garbage was collected and removed via volunteers, a helicopter, and a barge.

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  • Smartphones saving the rainforest

    September 15, 2020 |

    BBC |

    Radio |

    Over 15 Minutes

    Response Location: Brazil

    Rainforest Connection makes a smartphone app that is part of a system using solar-powered phones in the rainforests of Brazil, Sumatra, Costa Rica, and Peru to stream audio of suspected illegal logging. This system, using recycled phones, enables the capture and shutting down of logging operations. In Brazil, about 100 loggers have been arrested and a large share of the rainforest has been protected, though many loggers there and in other countries still evade detection. This app is one example of innovations in use around the world to extend the lives of smartphones to benefit environmental conservation.

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  • Cities are using poop to look for early Covid-19 outbreaks

    September 03, 2020 |

    Quartz |

    Text |

    Under 800 Words

    Response Location: United States, Arizona

    Wastewater-based epidemiology is helping scientists and public health experts track the prevalence of coronavirus in communities. Although this practice can be complicated by the size of cities and lacks a standardized testing protocol, it has already helped identify outbreaks at two universities.

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  • What sewage can tell us about the spread of COVID-19

    September 02, 2020 |

    High Country News |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Bozeman, Montana

    Scientists in Bozeman, Montana are tracking community spread of COVID-19 by studying samples from the city’s wastewater. Although this form of tracking is more tedious and not necessarily as effective as testing individuals via a swab, the wastewater tracking program is able detect the virus and help health officials identify the area where it likely originated from.

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  • Organic fertilizers to lift African farmers out of poverty

    August 27, 2020 |

    Heidi.news |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: Burkina Faso, Koubri

    After realizing that chemical fertilizer was doing more harm to the land than good in Burkina Faso, a Burkinese agronomist created a fertilizer from organic waste that has allowed the land to once again become fertile. Although the organic fertilizer promises a much higher increase in yields, chemical fertilizer is still widely used in the region.

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