Recycling

Arrow Electronics and the nonprofit Close the Gap celebrated an important milestone: Since 2003, the organizations have refurbished and donated 600,000 electronic assets that customers have designated for humanitarian donation, including computers, storage, servers and mobile devices. By finding new life for these renewed assets, Arrow and Close the Gap diverted nearly 600 tons of used electronics from landfills in 2017.

“Circular design gives us the opportunity to rethink the whole paradigm instead of operating under current restraints.”

This is the potential for circular design, says Stephanie Johnston, Director of Sustainable Business at Heineken USA, speaking to a room of circular economy enthusiasts, experts and those curious to learn more about how closed-loop design is moving us toward a world without waste. On February 6, BBMG hosted the gathering, “Powering the Circular Economy,” as part of Circular Economy Mapping Week, a global event in partnership with the Circular Economy Club that had similar convenings happening in 67 cities, from Rio de Janeiro to Copenhagen to Aruba.

Aramark is teaming with the NFL and PepsiCo, along with U.S. Bank Stadium partners, for a landmark sustainability project at Super Bowl LII – Rush2Recycle -- aimed to recover more than 90% -- more than 40 tons -- of stadium waste on game day. The project is part of the NFL’s initiative to reduce the environmental impact of Super Bowl LII activities and leave a “green” legacy throughout the area.

RecycleMania, the premier collegiate recycling competition managed by national nonprofit Keep America Beautiful, is back for its 18th year as college and university campuses across the country compete to see who will claim the championship title in the fight to reduce, reuse, recycle and compost the most on campus. Registration for the 2018 RecycleMania competition will close on Friday, Feb. 2. RecycleMania will begin on Sunday, Feb. 4, with the campus competition running for eight weeks, concluding on Saturday, March 31.

Every year 20 to 50 million tons of e-waste is generated worldwide, but only 12.5 percent of that ends up being repurposed in other products. To narrow this gap and raise awareness on the growing issue among consumers, companies are coming up with creative ways to close the loop. Now, one electronics brand is bringing the e-waste issue to life in a flashy, unexpected way while tackling a problem prevalent in its industry.

The Dr Pepper Snapple Group/Keep America Beautiful Park Recycling Infrastructure Grant Program opened its 2018 application process today, offering new opportunities to make recycling convenient for communities across the country. Applications are open for submission at kab.org/parkrecycling through Feb. 16, 2018.

With a common goal of improving recycling access and increasing recycling rates by educating consumers about the value of recycling, the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) and Keep America Beautiful announced their partnership today at the 2018 Keep America Beautiful National Conference, taking place Jan. 17-19 at The Fairmont Dallas Hotel in Dallas, Texas. IBWA will become a national sponsor of America Recycles Day, a Keep America Beautiful national initiative that takes place annually on and in the weeks leading into Nov. 15.

Ingersoll Rand’s Residential heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) & Supply's National Distribution Center (NDC) in Bridgeton, Missouri, won the Award of Merit from the St. Louis Green Business Challenge for the third consecutive year. The Challenge recognizes top companies in the St. Louis area for implementing sustainability measures in their daily operations.

Trisa Thompson, Senior Vice President and Chief Responsibility Officer at Dell, shares in her article on thecirculars.org the growing challenge we face in dealing with the global rise of e-waste. Thompson shares some of the key barriers to innovation as well as provides insight into the work Dell is doing to lead the change.

In the midst of a water crisis in India – where 77 million people don't have access to safe drinking water – the Green Team at the Ingersoll Rand Sahibabad facility built a rainwater harvesting system to collect and filter rainwater before putting it back into the water table. This restores about 1.2 million gallons of rainwater annually, offsetting 75 percent of the water the plant uses in its operations. In addition, the Green Team reduced the facility's water consumption by 43 percent by implementing standard work and making important upgrades to its wastewater treatment plants.