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4 Stepping Stones to Sustainability for New Construction Firms

Posted on March 15, 2024 by dishanth

4 Stepping Stones to Sustainability for New Construction Firms

The construction industry has a well-deserved reputation for being an environmental polluter. It has gotten away with ungreen practices because the other sectors are just as dirty, if not more. However, climate change has made the world less tolerant of environmentally unsound organizations. Governments have joined the sustainability movement, so the writing is on the wall for maladaptive enterprises.

Many firms are slow to adopt greener practices, but the influx of startups can accelerate the sector’s sustainability transformation. New design-build firms, general contracting businesses, and subcontractors are better positioned to embrace eco-friendly initiatives.

The corporate culture is still a blank canvas, so start fresh with these four tips.

Go Digital

Technological adoption and sustainability go hand in hand. Outdated methods and crude tools limit your ability to overcome your blind spots and find opportunities to operate more sustainably. Investing in digital technologies is necessary to address your pain points and streamline your processes.

Which innovations should you prioritize? There are numerous excellent candidates:

Mobile devices and messaging tools can harness cloud computing’s potential to promote remote resource access and foster interconnectedness. The interplay between these technologies will break down the usual communication barriers, making it easy to keep everybody on the same page.
Computer-aided design, building information modeling, and construction management programs streamline processes. They have unique functions but digitize data so you can review information more granularly. Analytics programs can reveal insights to solve problems that harm the environment, like surplus inventory and rework.
LiDAR and camera-equipped drones, wearable Internet of Things devices, and telematics systems can collect data on almost anything. They can help you precisely and accurately scan the landscape to minimize disturbance on existing ecosystems, quantify worker performance to identify and correct wasteful habits and keep tabs on equipment usage.
Bots automate tedious tasks, allowing you to conduct construction work more efficiently. Robotic arm 3D printers and bricklayers can help you complete projects faster and decrease material waste.

Construction has been slow to innovate primarily due to employee hesitance. Feeling intimidated by innovative solutions and receiving inadequate technical support are some of the usual baggage crews carry. Budget for training and continuous learning, as technologically savvy workers feel comfortable with innovations and can maximize their tools to run your business more sustainably.

Be Circular

Circularity promotes using renewable, reclaimed or recycled materials, reusing or repurposing items, recovering salvageable materials, and designing structures with easily recoverable components. Such practices aim to leave the remaining virgin resources untouched because logging, mining and quarrying have considerable environmental consequences. These extraction methods destroy natural habitats, displace wildlife, eradicate biodiversity, pollute soil, water and air, and reduce natural carbon sinks.

Considering the planet’s finite resources, the construction industry has to switch from the linear to the circular model sooner rather than later. Otherwise, the sector will face crippling supply chain disruptions, which can result in project delays and loss of profits. How do you join the circular economy?

Buy reclaimed, recycled and repurposed construction supplies: Try doing so whenever you can to help conserve virgin resources.
Choose vendors carefully: Circular suppliers engaging in unethical practices practice greenwashing, not sustainability. Exercise due diligence to ensure your supply chain partners are as green as they claim to be to avoid enriching environmentally damaging businesses.
Select used equipment over new products: Purchasing pre-owned tools, machines and vehicles is sustainable because they’re already around. Ordering brand-new assets incentivizes manufacturers to build more products, potentially using newly extracted raw materials. Plus, pre-owned models save you money because used items cost less, less downtime is necessary for training and replacement parts are usually cheaper.
Put a premium on prefabrication: Prefab construction minimizes waste since it’s easier to control material usage when building components off-site in a factory-controlled environment. More importantly, construction modules lend themselves to deconstruction, simplifying dismantling and material recovery for reuse or resale.

Emit Less

Decarbonize your operations at every turn. Switching from diesel to electric is one of the best ways to do so. Powering your assets with nothing but electricity eliminates air and noise pollution on-site.

Running on electricity doesn’t automatically translate to fewer greenhouse gas emissions. In 2023, fossil fuels produced 60% of the electricity generated in the United States. The nation’s power mix will be cleaner once green hydrogen becomes ubiquitous, so operating electric construction assets will be even more eco-friendly in the future.

If upgrading to electric equipment doesn’t make sense for you, adopting renewable diesel is the next best thing. This alternative fuel is chemically identical to fossil-derived diesel, so you can use it on your existing assets without modifying anything. Renewable diesel releases fewer climate change gasses because it burns cleaner.

Furthermore, localize your supply chain. Ships are responsible for 3% of all greenhouse gasses linked to human activities globally. Ordering materials from overseas will increase your construction firm’s carbon footprint, but transporting domestically sourced materials involves fewer emissions. It’s also logically simple because they cover less ground and avoid Customs and Border Protection. As a bonus, you enjoy shorter lead times.

Make it a mission to have a lean mindset. A lean construction philosophy aims to cut waste at every chance, minimizing idle time and redundant processes that drive up greenhouse gas emissions.

Look Ahead

Sustainability isn’t an objective — it’s a purpose. It’s a never-ending pursuit, so always seek new ways to run your construction firm in an environmentally friendly way.

Lack of knowledge about emerging technologies is among the limiting factors in innovating. Curiosity is the antidote to ignorance, so keep up with the hottest trends in eco-building. Transparent wood, superabsorbent hydrogel, luminescent cement, 3D-printed soil structures, biodegradable polyurethane foam and plasma rock are some of the most promising innovations.

Most promising eco-friendly construction solutions take a lot of development before becoming ready for sale — and only a few ultimately gain mainstream acceptance. Although many ingenious ideas don’t pan out, be ahead of the curve. Use them to inspire regenerative and climate-resilient building designs that positively impact the environment for decades.

Take Small Steps Toward Sustainability

These four strategies only scratch the surface of what you do to be a force for good in the sector’s sustainability transformation. Strive to be more eco-friendly as you grow and you’ll establish a solid reputation as a green construction business.

Source Happy Eco News

Recycling Cigarette Butts into Asphalt

Posted on March 12, 2024March 12, 2024 by dishanth

Cigarette butts are the most littered item worldwide. Over 4.5 trillion cigarette butts pollute our environment every year. They do not easily biodegrade and are full of chemicals that are toxic to the wildlife that may ingest them. They are small individually, but they add up to a big problem. A waste management company in Bratislava, Slovakia, has found a new way of recycling cigarette butts, and that is by transforming cigarette butts into asphalt.

The environmental effect of cigarettes

More than 6 trillion cigarettes are smoked yearly around the world. You are probably familiar with how cigarettes cause air pollution due to the burning of tobacco, which releases harmful chemicals into the air. But did you know the butts from cigarettes are the most common form of personal litter in the world?

In the world total, cigarette butts make up more than one-third of litter. While cigarette butts may look like cotton, they are made of plastic fibers which are tightly packed together. And because they are made from man-made materials, they won’t organically break down into the environment.

Moreover, because cigarette butts are made of toxic chemicals when they are disposed of improperly, these chemicals (such as nicotine, lead, cadmium, and arsenic) will leach into the environment. The toxic chemicals can find their way into rivers, lakes, and oceans, harming aquatic life and contaminating water sources. There is also a risk of wildlife mistaking cigarette butts for food, accidentally injesting them.

Transforming cigarette butts into asphalt

A municipal waste management company in Bratislava, Slovakia, is pioneering a new way of recycling cigarette butts. At the end of 2023, the company trialed special containers designed to collect standard cigarette filters and those found in modern heated tobacco devices like vapes. And placed them around the city.

In collaboration with companies SPAK-EKO and EcoButt, the Bratislava City Council will be recycling cigarette butts to use the discarded materials to create asphalt for roads. Once the filters have been collected from the specialized bins, they will undergo a cleaning process to remove toxins and any residual tobacco. The cleaned filters are composed of cellulose acetate from the filters, which are then transformed into fine fibers. The fibers are mixed with traditional asphalt materials, which help with the asphalt’s durability and longevity.

The final product can be used just like conventional asphalt for creating new roads or repairing existing ones.

This isn’t the first time Slovakia is recycling cigarette butts into asphalt to be used on their roads. Their first cigarette filter road is located in Ziar and Hronom and was the first in the world.

With this program, cities in Slovakia can encourage people not only to stop throwing their cigarette butts on the ground, where they will do harm to the environment. But this project can also show people how they can participate in sustainable urban development.

Recycling cigarette butts into asphalt can also help reduce the environmental impact of the construction industry. The production of asphalt involves heating and mixing aggregates with bitumen, a petroleum-based binder. This process releases greenhouse gases and other air pollutants, contributing to air quality issues and climate change.

Rainwater runoff from asphalt surfaces can carry pollutants, such as oil, heavy metals, and chemicals from vehicle exhaust, into waterways, potentially contaminating aquatic ecosystems. Recycling cigarette butts in the asphalt may help absorb and reduce many of these environmental harms and could change how we construct our roads.

Cigarettes might not be disappearing in the very near future, but we can find ways to make them less damaging to our planet and help cities be a little cleaner. Providing users with these specialized cigarette butt bins is one way to keep cigarette butts off the ground and out of our waters. And repurposing these butts is one way we can support a circular model and reuse and repurpose our resources.

Slovakia has a very innovative plan, and we hope it catches on around the world.

Source Happy Eco News

Premier League Clubs Agree To Minimum Standard Of Environmental Action

Posted on February 13, 2024February 13, 2024 by dishanth

‘Underpin long-term environmental ambitions’

The Commitment outlines four operational measures, which will build on existing actions and provide a foundation to underpin long-term environmental ambitions. They are:

1. Develop a robust environmental sustainability policy, by the end of the 2024/25 season

2. Designate a senior employee to lead the club’s environmental sustainability activities

3. Develop a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions dataset (scope 1, 2 and 3) by the end of the 2025/26 season and work towards a standardised football-wide approach to measuring emissions

4. Support the development of a common framework for action via the Premier League Sustainability Working Group (PLSWG)

The statement confirms that ‘the measures have been developed following extensive consultation with clubs and the Premier League Sustainability Working Group, which was established last year to help shape and inform environmental practices across the League.’

What impact will this have?

According to Sport Positive Leagues dataset (the latest update of which is in progress, out in March), the majority of Premier League clubs have an environmental policy or strategy in place. They range from a statement on the club’s website, to a large-scale breakdown of their activities, environmental footprint, reporting and ambition. Having a date in place for all clubs to have something robust in place is a strong step forward.

Designating a senior employee to lead the environmental sustainability activities is crucial, to ensure this stays on the agenda and is pushed forward. In Premier League clubs currently this ranges from head of sustainability and sustainability manager roles, to communications, facilities and operations.

Six Premier League clubs currently publicly share some or all of their carbon footprint – Manchester City, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace. Some clubs know their emissions footprint but don’t currently publicly report on scope 1, 2 and 3, beyond SECR regulations. Other clubs are earlier on in the journey of capturing data, but the majority are on the way to understanding their baseline. Having a standardised football-wide approach will enable a level playing field.

The development of a common framework for action via PLSWG is an important commitment, as the power of collective and unified action in football is key to ambition, action and success at scale.

Source Forbes

Aloe Vera Insect Repellants from Aloe Vera Peel Waste

Posted on November 30, 2023 by dishanth

Aloe vera is a succulent plant from the genus Aloe and is grown in various tropical, semi-tropical, and arid regions around the world. China, the U.S.A., Mexico, Australia and some Latin American countries are the major producers and exporters of aloe products. Aloes produce two substances: the gel, which is the clear, jelly-like substance found in the inner part and the aloe latex, which comes from just under the plant’s skin and is yellow in colour.

Because of these properties, aloe vera has been used for a variety of reasons, including treating wounds and skin problems or promoting healthy digestion. It’s known for its anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antiviral properties, which make it useful for treating burns, sunburns, and minor abrasions. Aloe vera gel can also help soothe and moisturize the skin. Aloe vera is also a common ingredient in skin care products, shampoos and conditioners.

While the inner parts of the aloe vera plant are in high demand, the peels are thrown away as agricultural waste. It is said that millions of tons of aloe vera peels get thrown away every year. The agricultural waste is used in the creation of biomass, which can improve the soil quality at aloe farms. While it is good that they are not being thrown into the landfill, agricultural waste does have some environmental consequences. For example, after some time, it can release methane and other greenhouse gases, which contribute to climate change.

Scientists from the American Chemical Society have found another alternative for the aloe vera peels, which can act as a more sustainable solution. They have found that the peels can ward off bugs and can act as a natural insecticide for crops. The aloe vera insect repellant discovery was made at an aloe vera production centre, where they noticed that insects were leaving the aloe vera plants alone but attacking other plant varieties, they had discovered natural aloe vera insect repellants.

To analyze how and why aloe vera insect repellants work, the team from the American Chemical Society dried out the peels in the dark at room temperature by blowing air over them. They then produced various extracts from the peels. The researchers found that in the hexane extract (used to extract edible oils from seeds and vegetables) contained octacosane. Octacosane is a compound with known mosquitocidal properties.

The researchers identified that there were over 20 compounds in aloe vera insect repellants that had antibacterial, antifungal or other potential health benefits. Additionally, they found six compounds within the peels that are known to have insecticidal properties. Best of all, they also concluded that the compounds were not toxic, meaning there are no safety concerns in using aloe-peel-based insecticides in crops.

The researchers still have to test how these aloe peel insecticides could work against agricultural pests. They hope that developing a natural pesticide could help farmers in areas where insects can be a major threat, including regions of Africa, the tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas, and the maize and millet fields in India. The researchers are also testing to see if the aloe vera peels also have anti-mosquito and anti-tick properties, which could eventually be used to develop a natural aloe vera insect repellant for consumer use.

This is an important discovery to help make aloe vera production and even other crop production more sustainable. If the researchers can develop this into a natural insecticide, it could help us move away from harmful pesticides and make farming less harmful to the environment. Furthermore, this might also be the beginning of what we can do with other plant peels and waste and how we can utilize them for other purposes instead of throwing them away.

Source Happy Eco News

Mush-Rooms: How Mycelium Concrete Could Revolutionize Building Construction

Posted on August 29, 2023September 5, 2023 by dishanth

Mush-Rooms: Mycelium concrete (Myocrete) could revolutionize low-carbon building construction and provide another tool for building green.

A new paper published by the University of Newcastle has outlined a new method of creating a mycelium concrete construction material, with potentially far-reaching changes as a result.

The Need for Low-Carbon Building Materials

Concrete, by far, is the world’s most used building material. It is cheap, incredibly strong, and easy to manufacture. However, it carries costs elsewhere in our world.

The environmental impact of concrete manufacture, use, and transportation is incredibly high. Concrete production is responsible for 8% of all greenhouse gases worldwide, making it the second largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. Natural materials like mycelium concrete (myocrete) might be part of the answer.

Burning fossil fuels creates most of these greenhouse gases to heat the enormous kilns used to create concrete. As well as that, there are the negative effects of mining the sand and gravel required to create concrete, which disturbs the environment and destroys natural ecosystems.

There is also the fact that concrete production requires massive amounts of water, which puts a strain on communities and areas already in need.

There have been some developments to make concrete less environmentally damaging, such as improving the efficiency of kilns so they don’t require as much heat; however, by and large, concrete production and use have been disastrous for our world.

Nevertheless, new developments have been underway to replace this widely used building material, such as mass timber. However, a unique and potentially revolutionary new material could be just around the corner, and it’s something that you’re probably more used to seeing on your plate than in your buildings.

Mushrooms in Our Walls

Mycelium-based construction material research, including mycelium concrete, has been underway for several years, as the effects of concrete production have been well-documented for decades. However, so far, the ability to scale and use mycelium in construction has been limited by the available technology and methods.

Currently, the method used in creating mycelium-derived construction materials is by filling a rigid mold with a mixture of mycelium and a food source such as grain for the mycelium. This method can produce rigid shapes, such as bricks, which can be used in construction.

However, there are limitations to the usability of these materials. For one, the strength required to compete with concrete isn’t there, and the rigid mold limits the variety of shapes and structures.

A new method created at the University of Newcastle, dubbed mycocrete (mycelium concrete), could completely change this and how construction has been done. The way mycocrete works is similar to past methods, with some distinctions.

One of them is in the mold that the paste is put into; where previous methods used rigid molds, mycocrete uses a permeable knitted mold that facilitates the growth of the mycelium by the amount of oxygen available. This flexible mold also allows the mycelium to grow in shapes that otherwise would be impossible with a rigid mold.

The process works by filling the knitted mold with a mixture of mycelium, paper powder, paper fiber clumps, water, glycerin, and xanthan gum. This is then hung up in a dark, warm, humid environment to facilitate the mycelium’s growth.

The result is a mycelium-based material significantly stronger than conventional mycelium bricks, notably much stronger than the material created with rigid molds. This is due to the amount of oxygen the mycelium has access to, given the mold’s permeability.

Myocrete is Still in the Early Stages, Though

However, despite the team’s promising results at Newcastle, myocrete mycelium concrete based buildings are still quite far off.

While continuing to develop the mycelium compound is still of major importance, the main obstacle is the fact that the factories and industries that work with the construction industry will need to be re-tooled for mycelium concrete along with new installation equipment being implemented.

Nonetheless, they have created some interesting prototypes, including the “BioKnit” project. This project was created to demonstrate the use of alternative materials in solving conventional construction design problems.

The team created BioKnit as one piece to limit weak spots inherent in joinery. Dr. Jane Scott, the author of the corresponding paper, said, “Our ambition is to transform the look, feel, and well-being of architectural spaces using mycelium concrete in combination with biobased materials such as wool, sawdust, and cellulose.”

With the priority being placed on reducing the environmental impact of construction, this new method could completely change the way we live and the spaces we live inside.

Source Happy Eco News

AI Tree Health Monitor Technology

Posted on August 22, 2023 by dishanth

ePlant Tree Tag is an AI tree health monitor technology that monitors the health and productivity of trees. It is a small, lightweight device that is attached to the trunk of a tree.

The device collects data on a tree’s environmental conditions, such as temperature, humidity, and soil moisture. It also collects data on the tree’s health, such as its growth rate and leaf water potential.

It is a new application of AI to monitor and protect the health of our ever-diminishing wild places. In the case of forests, not only do they store huge amounts of carbon, but they also provide a habitat for a diverse range of plants and animals. They also regulate the temperature of the planet and change the soil structure below the canopy, increasing water availability.

Simple Technology, New Application

Beyond the commercialized product being sold by ePlant Tree Tag, other types of AI tree health monitors will soon be available. Using common technology that is already available, more advanced versions of AI tree health monitors are being developed. Some of the technologies that will be used are simple, and some more complex, but the key is to have them be durable and long-lasting to allow longevity in the field with little maintenance.

For example, temperature sensors will use a thermistor, a type of resistor that changes its resistance depending on its temperature. The thermistor is placed in the tree’s environment, and its resistance is measured. The resistance is then converted to a temperature reading.

The humidity sensor would be a capacitive sensor, which is a type of sensor that changes its capacitance depending on the humidity of its environment. The sensor is placed in the tree’s environment, and its capacitance is measured. The capacitance is then converted to a humidity reading.

The soil moisture sensor is also a capacitance sensor but is instead placed in the soil around the tree. The sensor’s capacitance changes depending on the moisture content of the soil. This change in capacitance is then converted to a soil moisture reading.

The leaf water potential sensor is a pressure sensor that is placed in the leaves of the tree. The sensor measures the pressure of the water inside the leaves. This pressure is then converted to a leaf water potential reading.

The growth sensor is a laser sensor that measures the distance between the sensor and the tree’s trunk. The sensor is placed on the tree’s trunk, and its distance from the trunk is measured over time. This change in distance is then converted to a growth rate reading.

The data collected by an AI tree health monitor is transmitted to the cloud, where it can be accessed by users such as scientists, foresters or other parties interested in the long-term health of the forest. They can use this data to track the health and productivity of the forest. They can also use the data to identify potential problems with their trees and to take corrective action.

When deployed on a large scale in forests that may be suffering from the effects of climate change, an AI tree health monitor system would be able to provide scientists with big data that could then be used in an ai model to help plan mitigation strategies to cope with drought, increased local temperatures or other conditions that may affect the health of the forest such as forest fires.

Fire Risk

An AI tree health monitor would detect changes in the environment that could indicate a fire risk. For example, the monitor can detect changes in temperature, humidity, and soil moisture. This information can be used to predict the likelihood of a fire and to take preventive measures.

Because the tag can detect changes in the temperature and humidity of the air around the tree, in case of a fire, the unit would show a sudden increase in local temperature and then cease to function, indicating the precise location of a fire and early detection. This information can be used to track the progress of the fire and to identify areas where it has spread, but most importantly, provide early detection of a fire allowing firefighters to move in and extinguish it before it grows.

It can be used to recommend fire suppression strategies because it can detect changes in the environment that could indicate the effectiveness of different fire suppression strategies. This information can be used to choose the most effective strategy for suppressing a fire in a specific location or weather conditions.

The ePlant Tree Tag could be used to reduce the risk of fire in the first place. In a forest with a history of wildfires, an AI tree health monitor could be used to monitor the health of trees in high-risk areas. If the tags detect changes in the tree’s environment that suggest that a fire is imminent, firefighters could be dispatched to the area to take preventive measures.

In a forest that is prone to lightning strikes, for example, AI tree health monitors could be used to monitor the weather in specific locations and to alert authorities if there is a risk of a lightning strike. This information could be used to evacuate people and clear the area of flammable materials.

In a forest located near a residential area, AI tree health monitors could be used to monitor the movement of people and vehicles. If the tags detect an increase in activity in a high-risk area, this could be a sign that a fire is starting. This information could alert authorities and evacuate people from the area.

The ePlant Tree Tag and other AI tree health monitors like it are valuable tools for scientists, arborists, farmers, and other individuals who are responsible for the care of trees. It can help them to ensure that their trees are healthy, productive and safe.

Source Happy Eco News

Carbon Dioxide Livestock Feed

Posted on June 14, 2023 by dishanth

Researchers may have discovered a protein substitute for livestock feed that is significantly less environmentally damaging than corn and soybean production. The researchers have explored the concept of synthetic nutrition, which means essential nutrients can be produced artificially, efficiently and with a small footprint. They have turned greenhouse gas emissions into an ingredient that could be used for carbon dioxide livestock feed.

The researchers captured carbon dioxide and combined it with renewable hydrogen to make methanol powered by wind and solar energy. With the material created, they applied a series of enzymes into an eight-step process which, after several combinations, created an amino acid called L-alanine. This amino acid makes protein and is an energy source for muscles and the central nervous system. It also strengthens the immune system and helps the body use sugars.

This isn’t the first time researchers have been able to transform carbon dioxide into food products. Researchers have found a way to convert carbon dioxide into starch that typically comes from corn which requires a lot of land, water and fertilizer to grow. The process they used was 8.5 times more efficient than photosynthesis, which the corn plant uses to convert CO2 and sunlight into carbs. Moreover, their process took only four hours compared to the 120 days required for corn to grow and generate starch.

These new processes of using carbon dioxide to minimize the use of corn and starch will bypass the problem of repurposing a climate-damaging waste stream. Although there are other ways to synthesize L-alanine protein, they require emission-intensive processes that require petroleum products. Using existing carbon dioxide will reduce the need for emissions and harmful products. It also decouples production from the land because less land will be needed to produce the same amount of L-alanine. It will also use significantly less energy as the energy required will be taken from renewable sources.

The demand for animal protein continues, so the need for carbon dioxide livestock feed will also rise. Researchers are developing solutions that utilize harmful and excess emissions that can be transformed into food for these animals. These new solutions will allow us to move away from excess land and water use and monocultures and help us create more biologically diverse environments.

Source Happy Eco News

UAE to Ban Single-Use Plastic January 1, 2024

Posted on April 20, 2023April 20, 2023 by dishanth

In one of the world’s most crucial oil pricing regions, single-use plastic will be all but eliminated on January 1, 2024.

In 2017, we came to the island of Bali approximately halfway through a 10-month trip around the world with my family. We had been looking forward to the beaches and surfing for months, but when we arrived, we found them polluted with single-use plastic of all types. Due to a proliferation of corporate peddling of plastic convenience items but no meaningful way to manage trash or recycling in the communities, the local population discarded their waste in local ravines. The waste, flushed out to sea by winter monsoons, was deposited upon the (formerly) pristine beaches.

It is wonderful, therefore, to read that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) recently announced a ban on single-use plastic items, from cutlery to cigarette butts. The ban is part of an effort to reduce the plastic waste in the world’s oceans, a number generally estimated at around 8 million new tons each year. The announcement brings hope to environmentalists worldwide, showing us that even countries with an economic interest in oil-based plastic production are stepping up to make positive changes.

By banning single-use plastic products, the UAE is taking a big step forward regarding sustainability. Not only will this help reduce the amount of plastic waste in the ocean, but it will also encourage people to make more sustainable choices when they shop or eat out.

According to a 2019 report from the World Bank, the UAE ranked 11th in per capita consumption of single-use plastic. The report states that 11 billion single-use plastic items in the UAE are consumed annually, an average of 4.8kg per person or about 4 million tonnes per year for the entire country. This number contrasts with the global average of 3.25 kilograms per person. For reference, the highest-ranking countries for plastic waste are Japan, with 8 million tonnes and the USA, with 7.2 million tonnes, but a much higher population, resulting in lower per capita rates.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will ban most single-use plastics starting January 1, 2024. The ban includes everything from food packaging to plastic bottles, cotton sticks, crackers and chip bags, wet wipes, balloons and even balloon sticks that contain plastic. They also include cigarette butts and compostable plastic shopping bags, which while a good idea when used properly, often end up in the environment and can take decades to biodegrade outside a civic composting facility.

The UAE has introduced incentives for businesses to switch to reusable packing. They include subsidies for investments in reusable packaging, tax incentives for companies that reduce their plastic consumption, and grants for research projects on reducing plastic waste. The government has also introduced a new “Plastic Smart” program encouraging citizens to reduce their use of single-use plastics. It also enables businesses to reward customers who bring reusable items.

With these incentives in place, many businesses in the UAE have already begun to take steps to reduce their plastic consumption. For example, many hotels and resorts have started replacing plastic straws with paper or metal alternatives, while others are providing refillable bottles to customers instead of single-use plastic ones.

The immediate environmental benefits of the UAE’s ban on single-use plastics are apparent. By eliminating single-use plastics, the UAE will significantly reduce the amount of plastic waste in the ocean every year. This plastic ban, in turn, will prevent the destruction of marine life and reduce the risk of pollution from microplastics in the food chain and the greenhouse gasses emitted as plastic degrades over time.

The UAE is one of many countries to reduce plastic pollution in recent years. Countries like Canada, China, France, and the UK have also implemented similar bans. With continued effort, single-use plastics can be reduced or eliminated in the coming years.

Source Happy Eco News

Hornsea 2 offshore wind farm now fully operational, making it the world’s largest

Posted on September 6, 2022September 6, 2022 by dishanth

Construction began at the 165-turbine project, 89km off the coast of Yorkshire, in 2018. Ørsted announced on Wednesday (31 August) that it is now fully operational.

The Dutch business now has 13 fully operational offshore wind farms in the UK that it either fully or partly owned, with a combined capacity of 6.2GW. Its other British projects include Hornsea 1, Walney and the Walney Extension, and Burbo Bank and the Burbo Bank Extension.

“The UK is truly a world leader in offshore wind and the completion of Hornsea 2 is a tremendous milestone for the offshore wind industry, not just in the UK but globally,” said Ørsted,’s head of region for the UK Duncan Clark.

“Current global events highlight more than ever the importance of landmark renewable energy projects like Hornsea 2, helping the UK increase the security and resilience of its energy supply and drive down costs for consumers by reducing dependence on expensive fossil fuels.”

To Clark’s point on cost, the Government is currently consulting on what it describes as the broadest plans for electricity market reform in a generation. Among the measures proposed in the Review of Electricity Market Agreements (REMA) are interventions to de-couple global gas prices from electricity prices. Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke out in favour of change at last month’s G7 Summit in Germany.

In the UK, wholesale electricity prices are informed by gas prices, partly due to the historic and present extent of gas-fired generation in the energy mix. It has been pointed out that this is not fair on domestic and business customers who purchase 100% renewable energy. Under the latest CfD round, offshore wind operators will sell power for as little as £37.35 per MWh.

Offshore wind expansion

The UK is aiming to host 50GW of offshore wind by 2030 in contribution to its ambitions on net-zero emissions and energy security. This target was announced in April’s Energy Security Strategy, increasing the previous 40GW target set by Johnson through the Ten-Point Plan. The Strategy envisions 95% of the UK’s electricity mix being low-carbon by 2030, rising to 100% by 2035.

A further extension in the Hornsea zone is set to help deliver on the 50MW by 2030 goal. Last year, Ørsted received allocation through the Contracts for Difference (CfD) auction scheme for Hornsea 3, after the project received consent for development in December 2020. Up to 231 turbines will be installed for Hornsea 3 and Ørsted expects to commission the project in 2027. In total, the three Hornsea projects will have a combined capacity exceeding 5GW.

In the UK government’s latest CfD auction round in July, 11GW of renewable energy was commissioned in total. The lion’s share, as usual, went to offshore wind developers.

Source edie

Crab and lobster shells could be used to make renewable batteries

Posted on September 5, 2022September 6, 2022 by dishanth

Scientists want to use a chemical found in crab and lobster shells to make batteries more sustainable, according to research.

“We think both biodegradability of material, or environmental impact, and the performance of the batteries are important for a product, which has the potential to be commercialised,” said Liangbing Hu, the director of the University of Maryland’s Center for Materials Innovation and lead author of the paper, published in the journal Matter.

As the world transitions towards deploying green energy solutions and electric vehicles, the batteries being used for such technology also need to be eco-friendly.

But the chemicals used in conventional batteries such as lithium-ion can take hundreds or thousands of years to break down. These chemicals are also often corrosive and flammable. In some cases consumer-gadget batteries have caught fire on aircrafts, or caused fires in waste and recycling sites.

The researchers in Maryland have developed batteries that use a product derived from crustacean shells to store energy.

Crustaceans such as crabs, shrimps and lobsters have exoskeletons made of cells that contain chitin, a polysaccharide that makes their shells hard and resistant. Photograph: Eric Risberg/AP

Crustaceans such as crabs, shrimps and lobsters have exoskeletons made of cells that contain chitin, a kind of polysaccharide that makes their shells hard and resistant. This valuable material is abundant in nature and can also be found in fungi and insects, but is usually thrown away as food waste from restaurants and a byproduct of the food industry. Scientists have long been researching its various applications – in biomedical engineering, for example, for wound dressing as well as anti-inflammatory treatments – and now, electrical engineering.

Through chemical processing and adding acetic acid aqueous solution, chitin can ultimately be synthesized into a firm gel membrane and used as an electrolyte for a battery. An electrolyte is the liquid, paste, or gel inside a battery that helps ions – charged molecules – travel between one end and the other of a battery, allowing it to store energy.

By combining this chitosan electrolyte with zinc, a naturally occurring metal increasingly used to make batteries that are cheap and safe, Hu’s team was able to create a renewable battery.

The battery is 99.7% energy efficient even after 1,000 battery cycles, which is about 400 hours. This means they can be quickly charged and discharged without significantly affecting their performance. “It is not an easy thing for batteries to operate at high current density. The displayed performance suggests the merit of chitosan-based material in this work,” said Hu.

The batteries are not flammable and the two-thirds of the battery made of chitosan can break down in soil thanks to microbial degradation in just five months, leaving behind recyclable zinc. Antonio J Fernández Romero, a professor of material sciences for energy production at the University of Cartagena in Spain, who was not involved in the study, said these were “outstanding properties”.

He said: “The design of new batteries that are respectful of the environment, cheap and producing high discharge capacity, is one of the more important items that must be developed in the coming years.” He added that biodegradability was key, and at this level the system seemed to work very well but it would have to be tested on a larger scale and under commercial use conditions.

The design may pave the way for developing high-performance and sustainable batteries for green energy storage, according to Hu and the study authors.

“When you develop new materials for battery technologies there tends to be a significant gap between promising lab results and a demonstrable and scalable technology,” said Graham Newton, a professor of materials chemistry at the University of Nottingham, who was not involved in the study. He is an expert in sustainable batteries and researches how they can be improved.

So far, according to Newton, the chitosan-zinc battery results are promising. “There are some examples of batteries like this that have been commercialized and are being trialed as stationary energy storage systems,” said Newton. “There are still quite a few challenges to be met in the development of zinc ion batteries, but fundamental studies such as this are hugely important.”

Source The Guardian News