Category: Sustainable

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Sand from Recycled Glass…

Posted on by Lenny Variano

Glass Half Full is a recycling company that converts glass into sand. It was founded by Franziska Trautmann, who has a background in chemical engineering. The goal was to find a solution to coastal erosion. Sand is part of coastal restoration, construction, landscaping and flooring. Her and her partner Max were students at Tulane University and wanted to do something regarding disaster relief after severe storms. The company started small in 2020. Instead of glass bottles going to a landfill, Glass Half Full now recycles over 100,000 lbs. of glass in its 40,000 square foot facility every month. After the glass is pulverized, it is then sorted into different size sand particles which can be utilized in different ways. Fine sand is used to fill sandbags while courser sand is used for coastal restoration. This is truly a positive solution to addressing our coastline which is eroding at an alarming rate.

https://www.ted.com/speakers/franziska_trautmann

Seaweed Instead of Plastic…

Posted on by Lenny Variano

At present, most of our food wrappers and reusable containers contain plastics that are not biodegradable but are cheap to produce. What if seaweed could replace petroleum-based products? Since the 1970’s, seaweed production in the Philippines has been a big part of the local industry. It has provided income for more than 200,000 families. It is used as a thickening agent, a food stabilizer, and a base in many cosmetics. In 2019 Denxybel Montinolsa, a Filipino research student, developed a film like substance combining mango skins and seaweed as a replacement for our present-day plastic wrappings. Another start-up NotPla out of England is working on seaweed coating for take-out boxes to replace the present plastic coating used. Research is also being conducted in Australia where efforts to use seaweed are included as part of livestock feed. Seaweed is abundant, breaks down completely in water, and grows very fast throughout the world so most countries could develop and use some form of this innovative technology from this traditional food source.

 

https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/innovators-develop-seaweed-based-alternatives-to-plastic-food-wrappers/

Trees and cooling the world…

Posted on by Lenny Variano

Living Carbon, located outside of San Francisco, is a biotechnology company that has produced genetically modified poplars. This genetically modified poplar can grow at an accelerated rate and in so doing consume more carbon dioxide from the air. To date this is all experimental and the company has only been successful in growing these plants in greenhouses. Over a five-month period indoors, these poplars grew 50% faster. Photosynthesis is the process in which enables plant life to thrive. The hope is that these genetically modified trees will use this process more efficiently in turn absorbing more carbon dioxide from the air.  At present only a small field trial is under way to see how these trees grow outside the greenhouse. There is resistance from researchers who fear that these trees, since they are genetically modified, will cross pollinate with other trees. The positive side is that these trees can hopefully replace the problem we are facing with deforestation from the lumber industry.

https://www.livingcarbon.com/post/photosynthesis-enhanced-trees-grow-faster-and-capture-more-carbon

Builders turn to Hemp…

Posted on by Lenny Variano

The Pierre Chevet Sports Hall on the outskirts of Paris, Croissy-Beaubourg, is one of the first buildings constructed using hemp blocks. The project was able to be realized due to the cooperation of architects, building manufacturers, construction companies and town leaders. Hemp blocks are a combination of lime, hemp fibers and a chemical binder. It has been given the name “hempcrete” since it can be poured just as traditional concrete. Texas A & M University was given a $3.74 million dollar grant by the Department of Energy to develop 3D printed hemp buildings. Smaller objects are already being produced using hemp but the high cost of developing these building materials must be overcome. There is also the stigma of the word hemp being connected to drug use. Hemp buildings can provide a space that is resistant to fire, mold, and extreme weather conditions.  In Cape Town, South Africa, a 12-story building has already been constructed. The costs of the bricks are much higher, but construction takes considerably less time which decreases the expense of the overall project. As of now hemp buildings need to be a hybrid using traditional support systems (ex. iron beams) but the bulk of the building can be rendered using hemp.

https://www.buildwithrise.com/stories/building-with-hempcrete