Climate Change is the change in long-term weather activity through the fluctuation of Greenhouse Gases by natural and human activity. This can be measured through the change in average and extreme weather activity. Typically, when radiation from the Sun enters Earth’s atmosphere and bounces off its surface, a layer of gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) traps some of this radiation on Earth. Thanks to this layer, life on Earth is able to sustain itself and not freeze. Climate Change occurs when more of this radiation becomes trapped in Earth’s atmosphere,causing weather conditions can be altered in some form, such as global warming or the distribution of precipitation.

Originally, Climate Change was a natural cycle caused through natural forces such as changes in the Earth’s orbit and volcanic eruptions; these were noticeable through the cold, glacial periods known as the Ice Ages and warming periods that followed. The rise of industrialization in the past century has caused more of the sun’s radiation to become trapped in the same fashion as the exhaust from the volcanic eruptions, causing the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere to increase by 42 percent and has in turn led to changes in Earth’s weather patterns.

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Sources

Government of Canada. “About Climate Change.” http://www.climatechange.gc.ca/default.asp?lang=En&n=F2DB1FBE-1. Accessed May 2, 2016.

David Suzuki Foundation. “What is Climate Change?” http://www.davidsuzuki.org/issues/climate-change/science/climate-change-basics/climate-change-101-1/. Accessed May 2, 2016.

Curbside collection is a service provided to households for the disposal of refuse. In this service, trucks collect waste and deliver it to either a landfill or a recycling plant where it is processed for reuse. How this service is executed is left to the municipalities either alone or in partnership with other communities, which means that policies for what is considered recyclable along with when refuse is collected will vary. In some cases, the service is overseen by a department within the municipality or through a private firm under contract.

Before the nineteenth century, urban waste was disposed of through dumping it in unusable areas or in places of moving water, such as the River Thames in London, England. The closest thing to collecting at this time were scavengers (also called Toshers or Mud-larks) who mainly looked through waste for coins or salvageable material that they could sell back for a small price. During the medieval period, an early form of collection began with what were called “cart men,” who traveled collecting refuse from homes.

Overcrowding and the growth of industrialization in the nineteenth century led to more waste being left in cities, which caused outbreaks of diseases such as cholera that cost human lives. Cart men helped in the move for better sanitation in the towns by collecting waste from homes. This also led to an early form of modern recycling with the collection of rags and bones for the production of paper and glue respectively and next coal ash for soil conditioner and bricks. In 1890, the British Paper Company was established to make paper and cardboard from recycled materials that were provided from cart men and organizations such as the Salvation Army.

By the end of the nineteenth century, the cart man began to be phased out for a more standardized system of collection in communities. Through the twentieth century, curbside collection started to become more like the programs seen today with the introduction of motorized vehicles in 1918 and the arrival of hydraulic lifts in 1937. Though waste collection has modernized to suit the needs of society, so has waste. The arrival of the “Throwaway Society” after World War II and the use of more hazardous materials have meant that waste collection has had to find ways to meet these new demands. One major aid has been the use of recycling, which has allowed for less refuse ending up in landfills.

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Sources

“For Education.” Began with the Bin. http://beginwiththebin.org/resources/for-education. Accessed May 3, 2016.

“History of Waste.” Upstream. http://upstreampolicy.org/issues/corporate-accountability-for-waste/history-of-waste/. Accessed May 3, 2016.

Compost/organics is the use of biodegradable waste that usually can’t be recycled and using it to provide nutrients for plants. Typically used for gardens and farming, composting provides plants with nutrients while also treating the soil so that it will hold water and nutrients longer. The benefit of composting organics is that it not only provided food for the plants but also in protecting plants from pests.

Compost can play a role in waste reduction. Not only are fruit and vegetable peels usable, but also other wastes like coffee grounds, non-bleached paper, and hair can be composted. This can help in reducing the amount of waste going to the landfill while also finding a new use for some of the refuse that would end up there.

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Other Sources

“Can you compost paper towels?” David Suzuki Foundation. http://www.davidsuzuki.org/what-you-can-do/queen-of-green/faqs/composting/can-you-compost-paper-towels/. Accessed May 11, 2016.

“Composting 101: What Is Compost?” Bonnie Plants. https://bonnieplants.com/library/what-is-compost/. Accessed May 16, 2016.

“Compost your food scraps.” David Suzuki Foundation. http://www.davidsuzuki.org/what-you-can-do/food-and-our-planet/start-composting-your-food-scraps/. Accessed May 11, 2016.

A Composition Audit is designed to help you collect information on the contents of each of your collection Streams. The audit consists of emptying bags of Refuse from each Stream, one at a time, to see exactly what types of materials can be found inside. We recommend conducting your audit by looking at the Refuse collected at the endpoint of each divison you've set up for your organization.

By conducting a Composition Audit, you can expect to find out where your greatest contamination takes place, as well as which items your users find most difficult to Recycle. You may find that you have a bunch of yogurt containers in the Waste Stream, but really they might belong in the Plastics Stream, or you might discover coffee cups are in the Waste, Cans & Bottles and Paper Streams, so you'll need to add a Coffee Cups Stream.

To find step-by-step instructions on how to conduct a Composition Audit, Click Here!

The Capacity Estimate method is the most popular method of entering in data for the Resource Center, as it is the most practical and efficient way of submitting data at the station level. This data is entered by estimating the capacity of each container when running your daily, weekly, or monthly audit.

For example:

Station A is a two-stream station. Bin #1 is "Cans & Bottles". Bin #2 is "Waste".

Using the Capacity Estimate method, the user inputting the data uses their visual judgement to determine that Bin #1 is 70% full of "Cans & Bottles" and Bin #2 is 30% full of "Waste".

Therefore, when inputting the data, the user will enter 70% for Bin #1 and 30% for Bin #2.

A Cap and Trade System is a trading system that is aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In this system, a limit or cap is set on emissions and is then decreased by small amounts at a time. Companies that produce fewer emissions can sell off some of their emissions allowance to other businesses.

During the 1980s, the United States reduced sulphur dioxide and nitrous oxide, the key ingredients in acid rain, by using these programs. Its use in combating carbon emissions can be found in the Japanese city of Tokyo, who aim to reduce their emissions 25 percent by 2020.

The American state of California and the Canadian province of Quebec both implemented their own programs in 2012 and 2013 respectively, eventually leading to a partnership between the two inner-governments to allow all companies to trade between both regions.

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Other Sources

David Suzuki Foundation. “Carbon Tax or Cap-and-Trade?” David Suzuki Foundation. http://www.davidsuzuki.org/issues/climate-change/science/climate-solutions/carbon-tax-or-cap-and-trade/. Accessed July 26, 2016.

Kestler-D’Amours, Jillian. “What is Cap and Trade System.” Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/04/13/what-is-cap-and-trade.html. Accessed July 26, 2016.

Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is a technique to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions through storing it underground. It has been popular in the energy sector, where fossil fuels are still used to create electricity, though industries like cement and steel production have also shown some attraction to it.

In capturing and storing carbon, producers first separate CO2 from the gases emitted during production. The CO2 is then transported via pipeline or ship for safe storage. The carbon is then stored in areas that have been strategically selected to ensure that the disposed carbon will remain stored for long periods of time.

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Other Sources

Carbon Capture & Storage Association. “What is CCS?” Carbon Capture & Storage Association. http://www.ccsassociation.org/what-is-ccs/. Accessed July 26, 2016.

Green Facts. “CO2 Capture and Storage.” Green Facts. http://www.greenfacts.org/en/co2-capture-storage/index.htm#1. Accessed July 26, 2016.

A Carbon Credit is a form of emission reduction that plays into the cap and trade programs. It places a monetary amount on emitted carbon through the form of a credit.

In a cap and trade program, a limit is placed on the amount of carbon dioxide that can be emitted by companies. The allowanced amount of carbon given to emitting businesses is in the form of credit that represents one metric tonne of carbon.

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Other Sources

Investopedia. “Carbon Credit.” Investopedia. http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/carbon_credit.asp. Accessed July 26, 2016.

Nature Conservancy Canada. “Carbon: Frequently Asked Questions.” Nature Conservancy Canada. http://www.natureconservancy.ca/en/where-we-work/british-columbia/featured-projects/darkwoods/carbon-faqs.html?referrer=https://www.google.ca/. Accessed July 26, 2016.

The Carbon Cycle is the environmental system that describes the movement of carbon from organisms to the atmosphere and back. Carbon plays an important role on the Earth as all organisms are made from carbon compounds and are in themselves a part of the cycle. This allows for carbon levels to be regulated, ensuring that the global temperature is under control.

The amount of carbon moving in the Carbon Cycle is fairly balanced with carbon being absorbed from the atmosphere to plants, soils, geological formations, and the ocean and returning to the atmosphere through decomposition or exhaust from organisms. Since the onset of the Industrial Revolution, the amount of carbon entering the atmosphere has increased. This will have a strain on the typical absorbers of carbon, especially when some of these – like trees – are used as a sources of fuel and release the stored carbon into the atmosphere.

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Other Sources

Earth System Research Laboratory. “Carbon Cycle Science.” National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/research/themes/carbon/. Accessed July 26, 2016.

Riebeek, Holli. “The Carbon Cycle.” NASA Earth Observatory. http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/CarbonCycle/. Accessed July 26, 2016.

A Carbon Footprint is an image used to represent the amount of carbon dioxide emitted both directly and indirectly by humans. It is useful in determining the impact one has on the environment as the idea is: the more carbon emitted, the larger the footprint.

The Carbon Footprint derived from and is part of a larger concept known as the ecological footprint, invented in the early 1990s by Canadian ecologist William Rees and Swiss-born regional planner Mathis Wackernagel as a way to determine the total area needed to sustain human activity or population. The size of the Carbon Footprint is calculated by determining from some sources, such as how often a person drives, energy use, or food consumed.

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Other Sources

“What is a Carbon Footprint.” Time for Change. http://timeforchange.org/what-is-a-carbon-footprint-definition. Accessed July 26, 2016.

Dowdey, Sarah. “How Carbon Footprints Work.” How Stuff Works. http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/carbon-footprint.htm. Accessed July 26, 2016.

Sellen, Noelle Eckley. “Carbon Footprint.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/carbon-footprint. Accessed July 26, 2016.

Carbon leakage is an occurrence in climate change policy where carbon emissions from one country are increased because of reductions in another. This is usually due to companies moving from the reducing country to one that has less strict climate policies. This could be because those leaving companies may find it too costly to reduce emissions and therefore find it easier to move to countries with less stringent climate change policies.

National governments need to be careful in setting their policies. On the one hand, if their climate change policies are too strict, they may inadvertently cause carbon leakage. At the same time, if these policies are too lax, clean tech companies may leave due to the less ambitious policies and the less demand for low-carbon products and solutions that follows.

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Other Sources

Carbon Market Watch. “Carbon Leakage.” Carbon Market Watch. http://carbonmarketwatch.org/category/eu-climate-policy/eu-ets/carbon-leakage/. Accessed July 26, 2016.

European Carbon Comission. “Carbon Leakage.” http://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/ets/allowances/leakage/index_en.htm. Accessed July 26, 2016.

Carbon Neutral is the idea of making products or doing actions that will have no net greenhouse gas emissions. These measures can include:

- Energy reduction: using machinery or cutting back on the amount of energy required.

- Using renewable resources: this may include switching to recycled materials or switching to a more sustainable source of materials.

- Offsetting greenhouse emissions: the finding more sustainable sources of energy that will make up for the greenhouses that may be emitted.

The idea of this concept is that while one may produce greenhouse emissions, the active actions made in reducing emissions will cancel out and eventually override those emissions. It aims to allow for sustainable living in a much easier way.

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Other Sources

David Suzuki Foundation. “Go Carbon Neutral.” David Suzuki Foundation. http://www.davidsuzuki.org/what-you-can-do/reduce-your-carbon-footprint/go-carbon-neutral/. Accessed July 26, 2016.

Carbon Offsets are voluntary measures to counter the greenhouse gas emissions that are emitted by a person or entity. This is often in the form of a credit that represents the reductions of one entity to offset the emission of another. These credits are measured in tonnes of carbon equivalents and can include activities such as investing in cleaner forms of energy.

One thing to consider when looking into projects to offset emissions would be the quality of the project. This is because some projects, though environmentally significant, may only not deal with the issue of fossil fuel dependence. At the same time, some projects may flood the market, pushing out other more legitimate programs that may be available.

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Other Sources

David Suzuki Foundation. “Carbon Offsets.” David Suzuki Foundation. http://www.davidsuzuki.org/issues/climate-change/science/climate-change-basics/carbon-offsets/. Accessed July 26, 2016.

Dowdey, Sarah. “How Carbon Offsets Work.” How Stuff Works. http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/carbon-offset.htm.

Carbon Sequestration is a process where carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere for long term storage in plants, soils, geologic formations, and the ocean also referred to as carbon sinks. This occurs both naturally as a part of the carbon cycle and as a response to the growing amounts of carbon dioxide entering the atmosphere that has been leading to climate change.

Sequestration has become increasingly popular as carbon dioxide levels increase due to human activities, notably the burning of fossil fuels. Because these levels have been rising, more carbon and other greenhouse gases have been trapping more of the Sun’s rays on the Earth, causing global temperatures to increase steadily. Sequestration can play a significant role in removing the growing issue of climate change by removing carbon for storage and preventing it from ending up in the atmosphere.

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Other Sources

Selin, Eckley Noelle. “Carbon Sequestration.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/technology/carbon-sequestration. Accessed July 26, 2016.

United States Environmental Protection Agency. “Carbon Dioxide Capture and Sequestration.” EPA. https://www3.epa.gov/climatechange/ccs/. Accessed July 26, 2016.

Carbon Sinks are natural parts of the carbon cycle that absorb carbon from the atmosphere. These sinks are made up of oceans, soils and plants. Plants rely on carbon as a part of a process called photosynthesis and release some of the contained carbon into the ground when they die and decompose. Oceans are significant in carbon storage as carbon is not only needed for marine life but also breaks it down in seawater.

Carbon sinks are responsible for storing 50 percent of all human emissions, but may be decreasing as the twenty-first century continues. Deforestation means that there are fewer trees to absorb carbon while the absorbability of the ocean is weakening due to climate change. This has prompted scientists to look for ways to assist nature in sequestering carbon while looking for alternative ways to store carbon dioxide.

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Other Sources

Fern. What are carbon sinks?” Fern. http://www.fern.org/campaign/carbon-trading/what-are-carbon-sinks. Accessed July 27, 2016.

Thompson, Andrea. “What is a Carbon Sink.” Live Science. http://www.livescience.com/32354-what-is-a-carbon-sink.html. Accessed July 26, 2016.

Carbon Trading is a market-based system under cap and trade programs that aims to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. In this system, countries with high carbon dioxide emissions can purchase the right to produce more from other nations with lower emissions. In theory, this will help to reduce the overall emissions by adding a price tag to pollution.

The use of this system was born out of the Kyoto Protocol. In the early 1990s, all member states of the United Nations agreed that the threat of global warming needed to be addressed and tackled head on. In 1997, the Kyoto Protocol was signed and outlined the plan to form a carbon trading market that would help to slow down the threat of global warming.

In 2005, this measure came into force, setting specific targets of five percent below 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012 for members that have industrialized traditional economies while developing countries were not expected to meet emission targets.

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Other Sources

Dowdey, Sarah. “How Carbon Trading Works.” How Stuff Works. http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/carbon-trading.htm. Accessed July 26, 2016.

Investopedia. “Carbon Trade.” Investopedia. http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/carbontrade.asp. Accessed July 26, 2016.

A Certified Emissions Reduction, also known as CER, is a certificate issued by the United Nations to member nations for preventing one tonne of carbon dioxide emissions. These are usually issued to member states for projects achieving greenhouse gas reductions through the use of Clean Development Mechanisms (CDM). CDMs make it possible for these projects to occur and set a baseline for future emission targets.

Countries with developed or traditional economies (recognized as Annex 1 under the Kyoto Protocol) use CERs to help them reach their emission targets. Those nations are able to achieve their objectives and are able to set future goals as it makes the effort of reducing greenhouse gases more realistic many countries.

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Other Sources

Carbon 350. “Certified Emission Reductions (CERs).” Carbon 350. http://www.carbon350.co.uk/carbon-assets-and-offsets/cers/. Accessed July 28, 2016.

Clear. “Offset with the United Nations.” Clear. https://clear-offset.com/CERs-for-carbon-offset.php. Accessed July 26, 2016.

The Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) is the world’s first, and North America’s only, voluntary and legally binding greenhouse gas trading market. Since 2003, it has been the trading center for six greenhouse gases between businesses, who have committed themselves to reducing their emissions by six percent by 2010.

In the time since it started, the CCX has become associated with other similar exchanges including the European Climate Exchange, Chicago Climate Futures Exchange, Montreal Climate Exchange and the Tianjin Climate Exchange.

In 2000, founder of the CCX and economist Dr. Richard Sandor began studying the proposed cap and trade system that would be brought forward with enactment of the Kyoto Protocol and how it could work with national economies.

Sandor believed that private carbon trading market could be achievable as trading carbon would be similar to trading company shares on a stock exchange. When the Chicago Climate Exchange opened three years later, it had only thirteen members, today approximately 300 members trade greenhouse gases to reduce pollution.

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Other Sources

Trimarchi, Maria. “How the Chicago Climate Exchange Works.” How Stuff Works. http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/chicago-climate-exchange.htm. Accessed July 26, 2016.

The Clean Air Act was a bill passed by the United States Congress in 1970 with major revisions in 1977 and 1990. The act outlines regulations for air quality and the ozone layer above American territory and the role of the responsibilities of the United States Protection Agency about maintaining those laws. The revisions in 1977 and 1990 outlined new targets for air pollution and recognized new air pollution threats such as acid rain and damage to the stratospheric ozone layer.

Before the Clean Air Act, there was no real regulation to address the growing problem of air pollution. Cities and industrial centers were shrouded in thick, dense smog that caused repertory issues and other health concerns. While the United States Congress passed bills throughout the 1950s and 1960s, these acts only looked into researching the issue and while also expanding some federal power in such activities.

In 1970, United States President Richard Nixon signed the Clean Air Act. This marked a change in addressing air pollution by setting comprehensive regulations and standards for air quality.

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Other Sources

Union of Concerned Scientists. “The Clean Air Act.” Union of Concerned Scientists. http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/solutions/reduce-emissions/the-clean-air-act.html#.V5d6GFUrLIU. Accessed July 26, 2016.

United States Environmental Protection Agency. “Clean Air Act Requirements and History.” EPA. https://www.epa.gov/clean-air-act-overview/clean-air-act-requirements-and-history. Accessed July 26, 2016.

United States Environmental Protection Agency. “Evolution of the Clean Air Act.” EPA. https://www.epa.gov/clean-air-act-overview/evolution-clean-air-act. Accessed July 28, 2016.

United States Environmental Protection Agency. “The 40th Anniversary of the Clean Air Act.” EPA. https://www.epa.gov/clean-air-act-overview/40th-anniversary-clean-air-act. Accessed July 28, 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 can have a negative impact on the environment. The benefits of clean energy are that it reduces our reliance on fossil fuels and can mitigate climate change. In the United States, more than a third of emissions are derived from coal and other Fossil Fuels. Switching to renewable sources would reduce this and could provide as much as 40 percent of the American energy demand by 2030. --- Other Sources Union of Concerned Scientists. “Clean Energy.” Union of Concerned Scientists. http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy#.V5d-llUrLIU. Accessed July 26, 2016. United States Energy Information Administration. “Renewable Energy Explained.” United States Energy Information Administration. http://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/?page=renewable_home. Accessed July 26, 2016. “The Differences Between Clean Energy, Renewable Energy, and Alternative Energy.” UK Utilities. https://www.ukutilitiesltd.com/2017/03/05/the-differences-between-clean-energy-renewable-energy-and-alternative-energy/. Accessed September 27, 2019.

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 vast quantities of oil deposits for gasoline and diesel fuel made using fossil fuels a far cheaper choice.

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, ethanol returned to motor vehicles (though it was gaining traction during the late twentieth century) with the biofuel being mixed with oil and diesel.

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Sources

“Ethanol Fuel History.” Fuel-Testers. http://www.fuel-testers.com/ethanol_fuel_history.html. Accessed July 28, 2016.

Recycling Nation. “Clean Fuels.” Recycling Nation. http://recyclenation.com/green-glossary/clean-fuels. Accessed July 25, 2016.

Union of Concerned Scientists. “Clean Fuels.” Union of Concerned Scientists. http://www.ucsusa.org/clean-vehicles/clean-fuels#.V5eF7FUrLIU. Accessed July 26, 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 regenerating trees to have more access to sunlight while it reduces the risk of forest fires in some high-risk areas, opponents point out that in many cases, mass tree removal has caused soil erosion and the destruction of natural habitats for some animals.

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Other Sources

Earthroots. “Clear-Cutting in Ontario.” Earthroots. http://earthroots.org/index.php/clearcutting-item. Accessed July 26, 2016.

Nix, Steve. “Clearcutting – The Debate over Clearcutting.” About Education. http://forestry.about.com/od/forestresourceinformation/i/clearcut_issue.htm. Accessed July 26, 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 my manufacturers of recyclable products and can be as simple as aluminium 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 the second phase, manufacturing, the collected, recyclable materials are processed and then used in the production of a product. Finally, the newly made product is then sold to a third party before being reused and restart the process again.

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Other Sources

“Closed-Loop Recycling.” Business Dictionary. http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/closed-loop-recycling.html. Accessed July 29, 2016.

Mazzoni, Mary. “What Does ‘Close the Loop’ Mean.” Earth 911. http://earth911.com/general/close-the-loop-primer/. Accessed July 26, 2016.

United States Environmental Protection Agency. “Recycling.” EPA. https://www3.epa.gov/climatechange/wycd/waste/downloads/recycling-chapter10-28-10.pdf. Accessed July 29, 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 and can be later be used as a nutrient source for plants.

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Other Sources

Compost Council of Canada. “25 Questions and Answers about Composing.” Compost Council of Canada. http://www.compost.org/English/qna.html#section7. Accessed July 29, 2016.

United States Environmental Protection Agency. “Types of Composting and Understanding the Process.” EPA. https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food/types-composting-and-understanding-process. Accessed July 29, 2016.

Compressed Natural Gas is a gasoline alternative for motor vehicles that is considered more environmentally viable as it produces low hydrocarbon emissions and vapours that are not ozone producing. It consists mainly of methane and is produced in conjunction with crude oil. This form of natural gas has become popular in the United States with more than twelve million vehicles running on natural gas.

Natural gas has proven to be a useful energy source since the nineteenth century, where cities used natural gas to light street lamps and building. The use of gas lighting fell out of with the advent of the light bulb, sending it to new avenues like heating and the production of electricity. The consumption of natural gas has exploded throughout the twentieth century and continues to grow in the twenty-first with the United States consuming nearly 24 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in 2011 and 26 trillion in 2012. While Natural gas has proven to be a useful resource, it is still finite, and demand will eventually outstrip the supply.

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Other Sources

“What is CNG?” CNG Now. http://www.cngnow.com/what-is-cng/Pages/default.aspx. Accessed July 26, 2016.

Union of Concerned Scientists. “Uses of Natural Gas.” Union of Concerned Scientists. http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/our-energy-choices/coal-and-other-fossil-fuels/uses-of-natural-gas.html#.V5ecs1UrLIU. Accessed July 26, 2016.

Similar to that of an Ecological Footprint, a Consumption Footprint is a life-cycle assessment (LCA) set of indicators to determine the environmental impact of production and consumption, this being in the European Union (EU).  The consumption footprint follows five indicators in regards to area of consumption, these include food, mobility, housing, household goods, and appliances.  The environmental impact of these indicators are combined and multiplied by their intensity to find the consumption footprint. Assessing a consumption footprint is crucial when it comes to determining and maintaining ones conservation and sustainable development goals.  The framework for the assessment of a consumption footprint is built on its perspective of the environmental impacts of a product's full lifecycle; from its extraction and production, through its use and re-purposing.  This is then allocated to the country where it is used and/or consumed; production of imported goods are considered in this framework as well. --- Other Sources “Consumption footprint and domestic footprint” Publications Office of the European Union. https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/ea6f4326-b745-11ed-8912-01aa75ed71a1/language-en. Accessed February 1, 2024. “Consumption footprint: Assessing the environmental impacts of EU consumption” European Commission. https://eplca.jrc.ec.europa.eu/sustainableConsumption.html. Accessed February 1, 2024.

Centralized Recycling & Waste Bins are the focal point of any collection program. If you’re looking to improve your program, you start by making sure you have the correct centralized stations set up around your space, both indoors and outdoors.

As previously mentioned, all Deskside Recycling & Waste Bins should inevitably be emptied into your centralized stations, whether it is by the individuals themselves, or the custodial staff. However, besides the Deskside Bin channel of refuse, Centralized Stations also collect all other non-deskside recycling and waste refuse directly making them the most important part of your collection program.

Centralized Recycling & Waste Bins come in a LARGE variety of different shapes, sizes and colors and this is due to the fact that every program’s needs are a little different. Also, Centralized — while being a great term to describe the flow of refuse throughout your program—is still a broad term when considering bin placement. The term Centralized, in regards to recycling & waste bins, covers all bin placements in the following, but not limited to, locations:

Lobby/Foyer Areas Hallways Concourses Boardrooms Parks Quads Beaches

Stairwells Theatres Patios Restaurants Resorts Drive-thru’s Gas Stations

…you get the picture. Any recycling or waste bin (which specifically collects refuse, recyclables, compostables or reusable materials) that is not for personal or home use is considered a Centralized Station. And as you can imagine, for each of the above bin placement examples, each Station will have a drastically different set of needs.

Using a Subway Station as an example, the containers in this space may need an extremely high-capacity due to the amount of daily foot traffic. At the same time, they may also need to be bright and have clear concise signage, as the pace of the space only allows for a very short period of time for the user to walk by, see the container and dispose of their refuse in the correct stream. On top of that, it may be wise to maximize the number of streams due to the sheer variety of materials being disposed.

As you’re starting to picture, the process of deciding which Centralized Station is best for your program can be quite complex. However, if your team spends the time to do this correctly off the hop, you’ll eventually be able to reap the social and financial benefits as your program takes off.

Okay, so you’ve designed the ideal Centralized Recycling & Waste Bin Station for your program and have chosen the best placements throughout your space. People are using these stations, participation rates are high, contamination rates are low and the containers themselves are running at a manageable efficiency rate, woohoo!

But now the bins are almost full, uh oh…how do we transfer all of the refuse out of the bins? And where are we transferring them to? Transportation Recycling & Waste Bins.

To read about all the types of Recycling and Waste Bins, Click Here.

Once you've filled your Deskside Bin with everything it can handle, tossed that refuse into your Centralized Bin, and then transferred it to your Transportation Bin, it’s time to put the recycling, waste and compost in the Commercial Recycling & Waste Bins at your collection program’s endpoint. This is so you can send it on its merry way to be recycled, reused, combusted or - if your program is not totally where you’d like it - to the landfill (not recommended).

These Dumpsters, as referred to most often, are exactly as you’re picturing them in your head. They’re huge and certainly wouldn’t be classified as the best-in-show, but they accept an extremely high capacity of refuse and are designed to be easily picked up from your local hauler.

To read about all the types of Recycling and Waste Bins, Click Here.

CFLs should be recycled in hazardous waste facilities and are not accepted in curbside recycling programs. To recycle CFLs in hazardous waste facilities, there are many different drop-off programs provided by municipalities and hardware stores. Once CFLs are brought to a drop-off location they will be sent to a hazardous waste facility where they can be recycled safely. The components of the CFLs are recycled and can be reused to make new products. The mercury can be reused in new light bulbs, the aluminum becomes scrap metal and the glass can be used to make concrete.

CFL light bulbs must be recycled through a hazardous waste program because they contain mercury. With only 4 milligrams of mercury, CFLs are harmless unless they are broken. If a CFL is disposed of in a landfill and breaks the mercury can leak into landfills and contaminate soil and/or waterways. Properly recycling CFLs through a hazardous waste program allow materials to be reused and prevents toxic contamination.

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Other Sources

“How to Recycle CFLs.” Earth 911. http://earth911.com/recycling-guide/how-to-recycle-cfls/. Accessed July 23, 2017.

Definition

The definition of a circular economy is ensuring the maximum usage of resources then being able to recover and regenerate the materials at the end of a products life.

What to know more?

This is considered a closed looped system with the goal of eliminating waste. With an adoption of a circular economy, we can sustain our natural resources, reduce emissions and enhance Environmental protection. A circular economy works at all levels of a products conceptualization, design, and development. By minimizing wasted materials and the use of hazardous or non-recyclables fewer raw materials are being used in the initial stages with results in less materials ending up in landfills.

Interested in learning more about Circular Economy? Check out our Webinar on the topic!