In 2016 Zack and Brie Smithey built their dream home in St. Charles, Missouri: a 3BR, 2.5 bath, 3,000 sq. ft., two-story structure made out of eight shipping containers. Now, they’re helping other people build container homes. Sunday Morning correspondent Luke Burbank talks with homeowners who refuse to be boxed into traditional notions of home construction. (Click arrow in center of photo above)
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Cheryl Auger was stunned this month when one of her Pasadena neighbors and friends received a flier in the mail featuring her state assemblyman, with a line stating, “Higher taxes on plastic products will enrich corporate interests with no guarantee of reducing plastic waste.”
Although she didn’t know it at the time, Auger’s friend was on the receiving end of a plastics industry campaign to pressure California state lawmakers into weakening proposed restrictions on single-use containers, which legislators are mulling in bill form and which could become a November ballot measure.
“What is surprising to me is a lack of culpability,” said Auger, a plastic waste activist.
The mailers, sent by a group calling itself the Environmental Solutions Coalition, assert without attribution that bans on single-use plastics “will have a devastating impact on working families” by driving up costs for consumers. Unmentioned in the mailings is that plastics manufacturers and other industries are financing the coalition.
The fliers are all aimed at Democrats, largely in Southern California, possibly an attempt to pressure them into derailing the November ballot measure by enacting watered-down legislation the industry can accept.
“I interpret it as a message, as a warning to members of the Legislature,” said Assembly Member Jesse Gabriel (D-Encino), whose constituents received one of the mailers. “If that’s the intent, it’s backfired because it’s made us even more committed to trying to pass meaningful legislation to crack down on plastic pollution.”
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A new project aims to shore up the disappearing coastline of New York City’s Staten Island, while reviving a once famously thriving oyster population
Billion Oyster Project workers place oysters in the water from a pier at Brooklyn Bridge Park in New York City in August 2020. Photograph: Ted Shaffrey/AP
By Clark Mindock The Guardian
On a recent Saturday afternoon, diners at the Brooklyn restaurant Grand Army slurped oysters drizzled in mignonette and lemon juice against a soundtrack of hip-hop classics and funk. Unbeknown to many of them, they were also supporting a new effort to use oyster shells as building blocks for new, living coastal reefs – a transformative use that’s not only restorative but may also help protect the city from climate change.
Grand Army is one of dozens of restaurants in the city donating its oyster shells to support restoration projects like Living Breakwaters, a $107m effort to shore up the disappearing coastline of New York City’s Staten Island.
An oyster served at Grand Army
The project will consist of nearly a half-mile of partially submerged breakwaters, strategically covered in recycled oyster reefs. As those reefs grow, the project’s designers hope they will help control flooding and coastal erosion while providing new habitat for abundant aquatic life.
In a sense, Living Breakwaters is an attempt to reimagine the relationship between humans and nature in one of the world’s most heavily engineered harbors. It is a departure from so-called gray infrastructure like dikes, seawalls and dams – the tools that largely define New York’s efforts to control flooding.
Instead, the project is designed to protect the city by harnessing the power of the very natural systems that have been all but destroyed by environmental degradation – and reviving them in the process.
For thousands of years, oysters played a special role in the story of New York. Once a staple of the Lenape people’s diet, oysters led European visitors later to write home in wonder of their quality, and colonizers turned them into a major industry – ultimately devastating local oyster populations through pollution and overconsumption.
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County’s landfill expected to reach capacity in 2027
By Sara J. Verrillo ACUA
ACCU
Egg Harbor Township, NJ — May 23, 2022 — The Atlantic County Utilities Authority (ACUA) is currently seeking qualified bidders for the hauling and disposal of solid waste from Atlantic County in anticipation that the landfill will reach capacity in 2027. Bids are due on July 13, 2022.
“Since the landfill was built, we have known it would eventually fill and close,” said ACUA President Rick Dovey. “We have been preparing for this and exploring opportunities for many years. This bid is the next prudent step.”
Atlantic County ratepayers benefit from the public bidding process which is transparent and ensures contracts are entered into fairly and without bias. Bidders are required to provide information on the intended equipment and vehicles that will be used for transportation as well as the designated disposal or recovery facilities that will accept the waste. Bidders will need to provide necessary permits and licenses related to operating a solid waste hauling and disposal business as well as references from current partners.
As the agency designated to implement Atlantic County’s Solid Waste Management Plan, ACUA is responsible for ensuring the safe and responsible disposal of solid waste on behalf of Atlantic County residents, businesses, and institutions. This bid is one avenue the Authority will use to evaluate options in advance of the landfill’s ultimate closure.
ACUA currently operates a 68,000 sq. ft. transfer station, recycling center, composting facility, and landfill at its 360-acre Environmental Park in Egg Harbor Township. The site was developed after an extensive procurement and permitting process and is specifically designed to handle the large flow of waste in and out of the facility.
“ACUA operated solely as a transfer station for seven years before the approval and construction of the landfill,” said Dovey. “We are prepared to do that again and will be judicious in selecting a responsible partner.”
Prior to the creation of ACUA, trash was buried in unlined landfills, which caused pollution and groundwater contamination. ACUA’s regional approach has increased oversight and greatly improved the quality of life for residents in Atlantic County. It has also stabilized rates – ACUA has historically offered the lowest in the state.
“While we expect rates will increase once the landfill is closed, we will continue to offer innovative and revenue-generating services and products that will help keep rates affordable for our community,” said Dovey.
Currently, ACUA ratepayers benefit from a range of supplementary services offered by the Authority, including curbside waste and recycling collection, street sweeping, EcoSoil production, and more, that help stabilize rates for customers.
ACUA will also continue to research alternatives to landfilling and expects to release a request for proposal (RFP) for new technologies in the coming months. It will be the third time ACUA has sought information on such projects in the past 10 years.
Interested bidders can access the bid documents at www.acua.com/bids.
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In partnership with Statista, Newsweek evaluated the top 2,000 U.S.-based public companies by revenue on key corporate responsibility indicators including environmental stewardship; workforce and leadership diversity; community impact; disclosure and transparency; and economic performance, among other factors. Statista also conducted a survey of more than 11,000 people on how these efforts were perceived.
“We are proud to be recognized among America’s top companies as a corporate responsibility and ESG leader,” said Alistair Field, group chief executive officer and managing director of Sims Limited. “We are committed to operating in a way that is best in class – extending to our environmental stewardship, respect of laws and human rights, and positive engagement in our communities. This will help us to achieve our purpose: create a world without waste to preserve our planet.”
Over the past year, Sims made various commitments in its corporate sustainability program including committing to become carbon neutral by 2030 and to use 100% renewable electricity across all operations by 2025. Earlier this year, Sims was ranked 11th on Corporate Knight’s Global 100 List of the most sustainable companies in the world. In 2021, Sims became a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact, a corporate leadership platform that focuses on aligning strategy and operations with achieving societal benefits. Sims responded to the crisis in Ukraine by making a $200,000 (AUD) donation to UNICEF Australia to provide humanitarian relief.
“Sims Limited’s businesses enable a sustainable future,” Field adds. “Metal products made with recycled materials are lower in embodied emissions and are a key building block for technologies, including electric vehicles and renewable energy infrastructure that are essential to realizing a sustainable, low-carbon economy.”
The company’s annual Sustainability Report shares more about how Sims continues to strengthen its practices to deliver social, environmental, and economic value.
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