Report: Rooftop Revolution – Changing Everything with Cost-Effective Local Solar

Date: 21 Mar 2012 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 2 Facebooktwitterredditmail

With the cost of solar power plunging and retail electric prices rising, 100 million Americans in the nation’s largest cities will be able to “go solar” for a lower price than grid electricity in the next ten years. Seizing this opportunity requires rethinking electricity policy and planning even while solar produces less than 1% of the … Read More

Recycling PLA Webinar

Date: 19 Mar 2012 | posted in: biomaterials, plastics, Waste to Wealth | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Polylactic acid (PLA) is a plant-based plastic resin with applications in a wide range of nondurable and durable products from take-out food service items to textiles. PLA can be composted at industrial sites and is technically mechanically and chemically recyclable. One obstacle to PLA recovery is its current low volumes in recycling streams. This makes installation … Read More

Compostable Plastic Bags: A Glance of What’s Packed in the Bag

Compostable plastic bags are increasingly used to collect food scraps for composting. Their main benefit? Removing the “ick factor” associated with collecting food residuals by keeping collection containers clean and odors at bay, while also breaking down at the composting site. Unfortunately, many plastic bag makers claim that their products are “biodegradable” or environmentally preferable in … Read More

Sustainable Biomaterials: Criteria, Benefits, Challenges & Market-Based Tools

Date: 13 Mar 2012 | posted in: biomaterials, Waste to Wealth | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

The development of bioplastics and other biobased materials holds great promise to mitigate many of the problems associated with plastic derived from nonrenewable sources. However, they are not an automatic panacea. In this presentation, Brenda Platt shares the Sustainable Biomaterials Collaborative’s efforts to promote market-based tools such as purchasing guidelines and Working Landscape Certificates.… Read More

New Report: Walmart’s Greenwash

Date: 7 Mar 2012 | posted in: Press Release, Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

In this new report, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance documents how Walmart’s heavily promoted sustainability initiatives are falling short. “Walmart’s sustainability campaign has done more to improve the company’s image than to help the environment,” said Stacy Mitchell, the report’s author and a senior researcher at ILSR. … Read More

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