?? Resource Conservation is Climate Protection

Circular Economy - the Climate Protection Potential of Waste

Produce, use, dispose - this principle is still deeply anchored in our behavior. However, it is more intelligent to keep raw materials in circulation - like descried by the principle of circular economy. If we use our resources efficiently and sustainably, this brings with it an enormous potential for CO?e emissions saving and thus for succeeding in meeting global and national climate protection goals. This is because it is estimated that around half of global greenhouse gas emissions are attributable to raw material extraction and processing.

The idea is not simply to recycle products, but to share them, repair them and make them reusable through upcycling. The cradle-to-cradle principle goes even one step further: It defines an approach to a continuous and consistent circular economy. Waste does not exist in this sense; it is a valuable raw material and a component of new products. Only such an understanding creates effective climate and environmental protection!

The potential of a circular economy is increasingly recognized in politics and business. Some success stories await you in this issue. Enjoy reading!

Waste Materials from Industry Turn into Green Hydrogen

...that's the good news from a new study. This shows that thanks to renewable energy, cities are able to produce their own gas and thus become less dependent on fossil fuels. - Gas may not sound particularly environmentally friendly at first, but here's how it works: Waste materials from industry and wastewater treatment plants are converted into methane and hydrogen with the help of surplus green electricity. This can then be used as gas. In this way, surplus green electricity is also put to good use and a contribution can be made to stabilizing the power grid. The study shows that the energy transition can be successfully implemented not only in rural areas, but also in urban regions. Read more here.

Countering Plastic Waste with Recycling

Plastic in oceans is a worldwide problem. Not only is it harmful to humans and animals, but it also prevents mangroves from growing, for example, because it gets stuck in the roots (Mangroves are special all-rounders and have a significant impact in curbing climate change).

Stopping the plastic tide would require starting at early points in supply chains. - However, this is not always so easy. That's why there is now an initiative in Kenya that collects plastic waste, educates people about recycling plastic and also recycles it itself. Boat planks or fence posts could already be produced! As long as plastic is still floating in the ocean, this is the best solution to bind it and recycle it, says the team responsible. You can learn more here!

How Corn Waste can be Harnessed and turned into valuable Products

Corn starch production generates more than 100 million tons of waste worldwide each year, which contains valuable dietary fiber. These cannot be absorbed directly by the human digestive tract, but they can be extracted with supercritical water (high pressure, 300°C) and then processed into hydrogels, as a team of researchers in Sweden recently discovered. Such hydrogels can then be used for medical and nutritional applications.

The technology could help reduce food waste and greenhouse gas emissions in the production of corn starch (market volume of 120 million tons per year). These result from the loss of up to 15 percent of the corn kernel, which is waste during processing. Read more about this exciting issue here.

?? Number of the Week

11.48 million tons of CO?, or 4 million liters of paint, could be saved or salvaged by the British social enterprise Seagullsby reusing paint. To do this, the company collects leftover paint from nine household waste sites in central England and uses it to mix new, low-cost paints, varnishes and wood care products - up to 75% cheaper than in stores. The aim of the project is to avoid the disposal of paint, a valuable resource, and to act in an environmentally responsible way. The Seagulls also want to encourage people to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle through environmental education and explicitly hire people who don't have it easy in the job market. More info here.

?? Challenge of the Week

Collect unused IT hardware

There is often a lot of old electronic waste piling up at home or in the office. Whether the old cell phones in the drawer or the cable clutter from the long discarded PC under the bed, there’s often a lot of dust on it and it is never used again.

This is exactly where we try to help you with our challenge of the week. And the best part is, we can even speak from our own experience!

Collect unused IT hardware

This is basically about collecting your e-waste and disposing of it properly. And the easiest and fastest way to do that is to team up with others. Then only one of you has to go to the recycling center and you can combine the collection with a small (office) party.

That's how we did it at 2zero! On January 30, we met at the office with our old scrap and cell phones. There we sorted everything and afterwards we had a little team event around recycling. The cell phones were donated to NABU and the rest of the scrap was given to BSR who recycle the materials properly. We covered our event for you in two stories on our 2zero-Instagram channel (1 & 2) and in an article on LinkedIn.