CleanTechnica

Marks & Spencer (M&S) may not be a familiar company to those outside of Britain or Europe, but it is no small business. It sells clothing, home and furniture goods, electronics, and food in 30 countries. It has 560 stores in the UK and 130 more worldwide.

Why would you care about this?

Well, M&S is on track to start one of the most innovative recycling systems in the world. It will fund a new curbside (kerbside, if you are British) recycling program and will use the recycled materials for its own food products. Closed-loop — that’s what this kind of full-cycle system is called.

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Yowzers – according to the U.S. EPA, about four billion, yes billion pounds of carpet go into the waste stream every year – much of it is used, some is new carpet left over from building construction.  A lot of that carpet (and carpet backing) is made of cheap, durable polypropylene fiber, which makes up about 80% of the sales for commercial carpet.

Polypropylene, aka olefin, may be familiar to recycling addicts through its #5 plastic recycling designation, a number that can spell trouble.  Until now, recyclers have been slow to adopt #5, partly due to the expense of separating it from other materials.  Used polypropylene carpets on the other hand offer good potential for cost effective processing due to their sheer bulk and availability.

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Pitchers and catchers don’t report for spring training until February 18 but the Minnesota Twins are already getting a jump on the 2010 baseball season by installing a huge new rainwater harvesting and recycling system at the team’s new home, Target Field.

The new Rain Water Recycle System was designed by by Minneapolis-based Pentair, a global water innovator.  Using a gigantic underground water storage tank the size of a freight car, the team aims to save more than two million gallons of water yearly – and that’s all part of a bigger sustainable plan for Target Field.

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Even as more states put e-waste laws into effect, a legal challenge to New York City’s law is raising issues about their future.  E-waste laws are just one example of a growing U.S. movement toward extended producer responsibility (EPR). Nineteen states and New York City have passed electronics EPR laws that require electronics manufactures to pay for and facilitate collection and recycling of their products at the end of consumer use.

But the Consumers Electronic Association (CEA) and the Information Technology Industry Council (ITIC) have sued to block New York City’s law because of a feature requiring door-to-door collection of the waste products. Manufacturers must provide such an option for city residents disposing of electronic devices heavier than 15 pounds. Read the rest of this entry »

Wineries are notorious for using large amounts of water, with estimates ranging up to 20 gallons of water needed to produce a singe gallon of wine. Jackson Family Wines is one wine maker that has found a high tech way to put a billion-gallon dent in its own annual water consumption, and the implications could be enormous for wine rich, water poor states like California.

Jackson Family’s new water recycling system has just completed a “proof of concept” pilot run certified by the University of California at Davis.  Once in full swing, the system will involve about 70% of the winery’s water use, which primarily goes to rinsing barrels and tanks.  The new system will recycle 90% of that water for up to ten rinses but wait, there’s more: the recycled water also keeps 75% of its heat, which will save a significant amount of energy that would otherwise be needed to warm up cold water.

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U.S. garbage behemoth Waste Management has teamed up with the world’s largest live music company, Live Nation, in what promises to be one of the most unusual sponsorships in the history of rock and roll.

The new venture calls for Waste Management to be the official waste disposal and recycling sponsor at 66 Live Nation venues nationwide, backed by a “Recycling Rocks” kickoff campaign.  By pushing recycling to the front and center of the entertainment experience, the partnership mainstreams the sustainable music scene championed by cult faves like Phish along with other music industry efforts from green music festivals to guitar string recycling.

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In yet another indication that the days of king coal are numbered, another coal-fired power plant in the U.S. is converting to biomass.  Michigan’s L’Anse Warden Electric Company purchased an existing coal, oil, and natural gas power plant and promptly made the switch in order to engage in some sustainable synergy with a nearby manufacturing operation of the CertainTeed Corporation.

The CertainTeed facility will get the benefit of using electricity with a lower carbon footprint than coal.  It will also give something back.  The factory will recycle its formerly landfilled scrap by sending it to the Warden power plant for fuel, and that’s just the tip of the sustainable iceberg.

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Laura Kurgan, Chris Jordan, Lorrie Vogel and Assaf Biderman – Pop!Tech 2009 – Camden, ME

In Part One, Lorrie Vogel explained some of the work Nike is doing to increase recycled and organic content in their products. Our conversation continues with discussing how Nike designers are encouraged to use sustainable principles in their work.

SS: You mentioned something about rewarding designers for innovating around sustainability, how does that work?

LV: As with any company centered on innovation, the process begins with Nike’s designers. To influence the designers to make responsible choices, Nike designers are scored against the Considered Index. In order to get new Considered innovations adopted faster, Nike gives innovation points to designers who come up with a brand new idea, as well as to teams who adopt considered innovations in the first year.

SS: And how are employees outside of the design department scored against the Considered Index?

LV: At Nike, there are so many different groups in different matrices, a lot of them are expected to calculate their CO2 footprint. But the Considered Index is primarily for designers.

SS: Sustainability 101 and Step by Natural Step (mentioned in this press release)- are they teaching personal sustainability practices, or teaching employees how to spot opportunities to be more responsible in the choices they make in their jobs?

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This impressive footprint is Nike’s Considered Air Jordan XX3, their first basketball shoe designed using the Considered Ethos.

Lorrie Vogel is the general manager of Nike Considered, Nike’s in-house sustainability think tank. She holds a degree in Industrial Design from Syracuse, and numerous patents. Her work in innovating around sustainability has helped put Nike on Fast Company’s Fast 50 list multiple times. Considering how aggressive Nike’s sustainability goals have been, it’s even more impressive that they are on track to meet their targets.

Sustainability is second only to performance when ranking the critical factors of a product. Nike is committed to making their entire collection as environmentally responsible as possible. Lorrie Vogel spoke at the Opportunity Green conference in Los Angeles, explaining some of the ways Nike is meeting these targets. In this phone interview, Lorrie expands on some of the points she touched on in her presentation. The conversation is split into two articles, in order to go deeper into the many changes that need to happen to increase use of recycled and organic materials in apparel and footwear. We begin with a discussion about materials, and conclude with the human element needed to ensure these changes occur in a timely manner.

From Nike: The long-term vision for Considered is to design products that are fully closed loop: produced using the fewest possible materials, designed for easy disassembly while allowing them to be recycled into new product or safely returned to nature at the end of their life. By 2011, 100 percent of footwear will meet baseline Considered standards, apparel by 2015 and equipment by 2020 – creating better performing products while minimizing environmental impact by reducing waste, using environmentally preferred materials and eliminate toxins.

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In a move that fairly reeks with symbolism, The U.K. companies Versus Energy and Knowaste have teamed up to build the first diaper recycling plant in England, and it will be located in a region that was once the heart of the Industrial Revolution.  The new recycling plant will power itself with sustainable energy generated from the organic materials recovered from disposable diapers.

Organic waste accounts for only 2% of the materials in “pre-owned” disposable diapers.  What happens to the other 98%?  It will be dried, sterilized, and separated into reusable paper pulp and plastic.  The end use of those materials has not yet been announced but based on Knowaste’s past experience, roof tiles, shoe insoles, wallpaper, plastic “wood,” and industrial thickeners are likely candidates.

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