Sustainability
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How Not Recycling Old Clothes Can Hurt The Environment
Americans may think they donate all of their used clothes, but only 15 percent of textiles are reused. That means a lot of fabric ends up in landfills.
Maybe you’ve done this yourself. You have clothing you want to get rid of. You sort out the stuff to donate. And the stuff that is just ratty beyond belief, well, you just toss it. Bret Jaspers, from member station WSKG in Binghamton, N.Y, reports that that might not be the best strategy if you care about the planet.
Zero Waste Bloggers
“Kathryn Kellogg, a 25-year-old print shop employee, spends four hours a day on her lifestyle blog Going Zero Waste. She posts on Instagram, engages with Facebook followers, and writes about homemade eyeliner and lip balm, worm composting, and shopping bulk bins – anything to avoid unnecessary waste. Her trash for the past year – anything that hasn’t been composted or recycled – fits in an 8oz jar.
NASA is Teaching Us Sustainability
“Astronauts who spend months on end in orbit have to learn to make do and mend in the best tradition of sustainability. Missions to bring fresh supplies are expensive and time consuming. For any astronauts who take on a mission to Mars, planned for the 2030s, with the round trip likely to take two years, life would be even tougher.
That prospect has helped focus minds at America’s space agency, Nasa, on clever ways to provide for daily needs in challenging conditions. But the lessons being learned are also proving to have knock-on benefits down here on Earth.”
Apple Has Recovered More Than A Ton Of Gold
“Helping the environment pays back — in Apple’s case, to the tune of millions. The tech company says it recovered more than a ton of gold from recycled devices last year — 2,204 pounds, according to Apple’s environmental responsibility report.
It came from Apple products that were either dropped off at stores or mailed in by consumers. Each iPhone, for instance, contains approximately 25 milligrams of gold worth about $1, according to a Forbes report. With gold selling for about $1,237.50 an ounce, Apple got back approximately $43.6 million last year and reduced its need to mine more gold from the Earth.”
