What are Composting Facilities? July 25, 2016 Composting Facilities are locations where organic municipal solid waste is collected and stored in a controlled setting. The stored materials can be used as compost fertilizer for plants. These will often be a centralized location within municipal programs and include the collection of leaf and yard waste. At the same time, Composting Facilities include aerobic processing, where the collected material is broken down to and then decompose in windrow piles or in digesters. These mounds decompose the organics…

What is Closed-Loop Recycling? July 25, 2016 Closed-Loop recycling is a recycling process where a recyclable item that has reached its end life is recycled into new product. This is commonly used by manufacturers of recyclable products and can be as simple as aluminum cans being recycled into new cans or plastic being reused for polyester material. A Closed-Loop program is based on three principles: collection, manufacturing and purchasing. Collection is diverting and gathering materials that are recyclable so that they may be processed. In…

What is Clearcutting? July 25, 2016 Clearcutting is a method of tree removal where all trees in an area (approximately 20 acres or more) are removed. It’s the most common form of tree removal due to it being the easiest and most efficient way to handle lumber. In the Canadian province of Ontario, clear-cuts can remove trees from areas as large as 10,000 hectares. Clearcutting has been a controversial subject because of its environmental impact. While those who favour this method argue that it allows…

What are Clean Fuels? July 25, 2016 Clean Fuels are fuels that are treated with ethanol to produce fewer greenhouse emissions. There are numerous types of clean fuels based on the percentage of the ethanol or biodiesel mixed with conventional fuel. Ethanol was initially used as a fuel and as a form of alcohol among fifteenth-century Scots in what was called Moonshine Whiskey. Centuries later when Henry Ford unveiled his Ford Model T, it was intended for these machines to run on ethanol but the…

What is Clean Energy? July 25, 2016 Definition Clean energy is energy that is produced through methods that do not release greenhouse gases or any other pollutants. Clean energy can be generated from renewable sources like solar and air currents. Want to Know More It is important to note that the terms renewable energy and clean energy are not interchangeable. Not all renewable energy methods are clean energy. For example, geothermal power is renewable energy source but some of the ways it can be processed…