On AlterNet: waste

Stories, blog posts, and videos tagged as "waste"

Waste Company Locks Out Teamsters in Bid to Eliminate Pensions

Josh Eidelson, In These Times. May 15, 2012.

Teamsters Local 215 says it offered to extend the current contract into the future, but Republic insisted on eliminating pensions and replacing them with a 401(k).

Where No City Has Gone Before: San Francisco Will Be World's First Zero-Waste Town by 2020

Sven Eberlein, AlterNet. April 18, 2012.

A future without landfills? SF is already 78% of the way there -- but the hardest part is still ahead.

Can New Corporate Pledges of Zero Waste Make Landfills Obsolete?

Christine MacDonald, AlterNet. April 11, 2012.

Businesses are learning that what they throw away can be just as valuable as what they are making.

Rare Rolling Sympathy Strike Beats Garbage Company That Tries to Trash Its Promise

Josh Eidelson, AlterNet. March 29, 2012.

Teamsters in Alabama went on strike against a giant garbage company--and in Seattle, New York and Ohio, workers joined them in solidarity, in a move that's usually illegal.

Compost Cuisine: Amazing Ways to Make Delicious Food Out of Garbage

Anneli Rufus, AlterNet. January 11, 2012.

Chefs are taking sustainability to new heights by gazing into the depths: that is, at what would otherwise be deemed not fit to eat.

Americans Waste Enough Food to Fill a 90,000-seat Football Stadium Every Day -- What Can We Do About It?

Jonathan Bloom, AlterNet. September 15, 2011.

For some, food is a crisis of scarcity, but for many in U.S., it's just the opposite. The book "American Wasteland" show us how much we squander and what we can do about it.

The 10 Worst Post-9/11 Military Contracting Boondoggles

Adam Weinstein, Mother Jones Online. September 9, 2011.

Since 9/11, America's wars haven't brought victories, but have spawned countless scandals, scams and boondoggles. Here are the 10 worst.

World's Rivers in Crisis: U.S. and Europe Face Highest Threat Levels

Stephen Leahy, IPS News. October 7, 2010.

A new report on the health of our rivers reveals that "the richer the country, the greater the threat to river systems."

Smart Toilets? A Revolution May Be Coming to Your Bathroom

Michael Graham Richard, TreeHugger. March 12, 2010.

It turns out that there's a double-win in most bathrooms around the world with "NoMix" toilets that separate urine from solid waste.

Life Among the Eco-Capitalists: A Revolution Takes Hold in New Jersey

Sander Hicks, AlterNet. May 6, 2009.

When you step into world of TerraCycle, leave all your old ideas about trash at the door.

Leaving Las Vegas: Are Americans Ready to Put Cataclysmic Consumption and Hedonism Behind Them?

David Sirota, AlterNet. December 27, 2008.

Will we finally accept the public policy and lifestyle changes that the real world now requires? Or will "Viva Las Vegas" always be America's motto?

Disney Exhibit Gives Visitors a Warped Idea of Waste and Consumption

Elizabeth Royte, AlterNet. December 20, 2008.

The message of the exhibit, sponsored by the largest garbage company, is that we needn't radically change our lifestyle or our way of thinking.

Why Our Food Waste May Be Our Greatest Asset

Ruben Anderson, The Tyee. July 17, 2008.

Composting is key to reducing waste costs, cutting global warming emissions, and increasing urban food security.

Medicare Fraud Tops $60 Billion Per Year

Lindsay Beyerstein, Majikthise. June 16, 2008.

One high school dropout takes Uncle Sam for $105 million.

$300 Billion Down the Tubes: Shocking Wasteful Spending on Weapons Systems

Nick Penniman, American News Project. June 14, 2008.

Video: The Pentagon spends hundreds of billions of dollars on weapons systems, but troops still aren't getting what they need.

Hey Coffee Drinker, Ditch That Paper Cup

Ruben Anderson, The Tyee. May 5, 2008.

North America consumes 50 million trees a year for paper cups. Buy a travel mug already!

The World's Dump: Ocean Garbage From Hawaii to Japan

Kathy Marks, Daniel Howden, The Independent UK. February 6, 2008.

A "plastic soup" of floating waste in the Pacific Ocean now covers an area twice the size of the continental U.S.

Consuming Our Way to Unhappiness

Terrence McNally, AlterNet. January 10, 2008.

Our excessive consumption is trashing more than just the planet. An interview with Annie Leonard.

Dumped: Could You Survive on a Landfill?

Simon Usborne, Independent UK. September 3, 2007.

Some unsuspecting reality TV contestants who signed up for an "eco-challenge" were dumped on a landfill for three weeks and learned to survive on other people's garbage.

One Person's Dumpster Is Another's Diner

Becca Tucker, AlterNet. March 21, 2007.

A subculture of people make a statement by living off the waste of millions. For three days, a reporter gave it a dumpster-diving go in the "freegan" paradise of Manhattan.

Can We Create A World Without Waste?

Andi McDaniel, Conscious Choice. January 9, 2007.

A new movement is working to make manufacturers more accountable by pushing them to stop producing anything that can't be resold, recycled or reused.