Table of contents for N. 129 in Topos

The credo is: zero waste. Kamikatsu is well on the way to achieving this - 80 per cent of its waste is recycled. In comparison, the figure for the whole of Japan is only 20 per cent. Japanese hygiene standards, where every single piece of fruit, vegetable or cookie is wrapped in plastic, make it difficult for the residents of Kamikatsu to separate their waste. Nevertheless, they do it, firstly because it is compulsory in Japan, and secondly to get closer to their zero waste goal. There are a total of 13 composite materials, which are divided into 45 categories. Waste paper, for example, is not just waste paper, but is divided into cardboard boxes, books, magazines and newspapers. For cost reasons, the village of around 1400 inhabitants does not…

New York is a zero waste city – on paper. In June 2023, the City Council passed the Zero Waste Act, a set of laws to recycle waste, especially organic waste, instead of sending it to landfill. The city relies on Zero Waste Design Guidelines developed by the Centre for Architecture. In April 2019, the Centre for Zero Waste Design was established to work with architects, civic associations and the city to implement best practices. ‘We had a lot of energy and optimism back then,’ recalls architect Clare Miflin from the Zero Waste Centre. Today, however, especially under Mayor Eric Adams, the city does not implement many good ideas. ‘The Department of Sanitation never had a real plan,’ says Miflin. The recycling rate has actually fallen by two per cent…

Fashion is diverse, creative and, above all, trend-orientated. The latter is the keyword for the rapidly changing fashion collections that are launched on the market every six weeks or so as fast fashion. What is now standard for the wealthier sections of the population is becoming an ever greater problem for the poorer sections. This starts with the production of clothing. Textile factories such as Rana Plaza in Bangladesh, which collapsed in 2013 and cost the lives of several thousand people. The working conditions of these people - mostly women - are characterised by miserable conditions. Poor pay, no health protection and toxic chemicals. Not to mention a twelve-hour working day. Then there is the environmental problem. A single cotton shirt consumes 2,700 litres of water during production - enough…

Dar es Salaam, the commercial center of Tanzania, is among the fastest growing cities in Africa. With a population of over 5 million, the city is facing a serious waste management problem: it produces an estimated 4,600 tons of waste daily, and less than 40 per cent of it is collected. The remaining waste is either left uncollected or improperly disposed of, causing environmental degradation and posing health hazards. The city’s only official unsanitary dumpsite, Pugu, is rapidly reaching capacity, making it obvious that Dar es Salaam’s waste management infrastructure is under immense pressure. Despite that, the city is exploring the possibilities of zero waste systems to mitigate waste generation, improve recycling rates, and lessen the burden on its overwhelmed waste disposal systems. Waste Generation and Current Status in Dar…

The issue of methane emissions from landfill sites is a serious environmental problem, as methane is a powerful greenhouse gas that contributes significantly more to global warming than carbon dioxide. Methane is mainly produced by the decomposition of organic matter under anaerobic conditions, as occurs in landfills. Alongside agriculture and the oil and gas industry, landfill sites are one of the main sources of anthropogenic methane emissions. Methane also contributes to the formation of ground-level ozone, which worsens air quality and has a negative impact on the climate. With regard to landfills, the introduction of more effective landfill systems that capture methane and utilise it to generate energy, as in modern plants, could make a significant contribution to reducing emissions. In many countries, especially in developing countries, open landfills without…

The cradle-to-cradle principle is an innovative approach to designing products and production processes that aims to avoid waste and keep materials in closed loops. Developed by chemist Michael Braungart and architect William McDonough in the 1990s, this concept represents a contrast to the traditional linear economy, often described as ‘cradle to grave’, in which resources are extracted, products are manufactured and finally disposed of as waste. In the cradle-to-cradle model, however, every raw material is designed to either biodegrade after use and be returned to nature as a nutrient or remain in a technical cycle where it can be reused without loss of quality. This means that all materials must be healthy and chemically harmless in order to ensure a sustainable circular economy. A central aim of the cradle-to-cradle approach…

Food waste often begins long before the food ends up on our plates. The food’s journey begins in the field, where farmers harvest their crops. Even here, large quantities of fruit and vegetables are rejected due to blemishes such as irregular shape or small spots. Although these products are edible, they never reach the market because they do not meet the aesthetic requirements of the trade. When the food finally ends up in the supermarket, consumers often only select the flawless products and ignore the less perfect ones. This leads to further waste, as many of these products eventually spoil and are thrown away. We also contribute to food waste in our own kitchens. We often buy more than we need and forget what we have in the fridge. Expired…

Hearing the name Kiel generally brings to mind Kieler Woche, an annual sailing regatta that has been held in Kiel since the end of the 19th century. But Kiel no longer wants to define itself solely through sailing attractions and a maritime lifestyle. Since 2020, the port city on the German Baltic coast has been actively promoting a greener future. And is playing a prominent role in Germany in this regard. In May 2021, Kiel officially became a Zero Waste Candidate City and after successfully passing the audit at the beginning of 2023, it not only became Germany’s first certified “zero waste” city - but also the only one in Germany to date. Mayor Ulf Kämpfer sees the city’s coastal location as a particular incentive for the initiative. “As a…

Radioactive waste is one of the world’s most serious environmental problems. It is produced not only by nuclear power plants, but also by research facilities, laboratories and hospitals. The disposal of highly radioactive materials, such as plutonium-239, is particularly challenging because they can remain dangerous for more than 24,000 years. Nuclear waste is divided into three categories: low, intermediate and high-level, with high-level waste, mainly from spent nuclear fuel, posing the greatest threat. The search for safe repositories for this waste is complex and requires geologically stable storage sites that will provide protection for thousands of years. Despite the development of deep geological repositories (DGR) in several countries, implementation often remains a challenge, particularly the long-term storage of radioactive waste. The majority of radioactive waste has very low or low…

The capital of Bangladesh, Dhaka, is already ranked champion several times globally for its severe air quality. It is also one of the most densely populated countries in the world. As a result, it produces huge municipal solid waste in its urban areas. About 80 per cent of the waste disposed of in the landfills or dumping areas is basically biodegradable. More than 99 per cent of waste is disposed of in the open dumping and landfills with one existing sanitary landfill in Bangladesh. This open dumping is mainly responsible for increasing environmental degradations like air, water and soil pollution, since most of the municipal solid waste is disposited at the road side, or near rivers, ponds and fields. Bloomberg News reported in 2021 that huge plumes of methane were…

Rebread Have you ever wondered what happens to all the bread that bakeries and shops can’t sell after they close in the evening? While some surplus bread is turned into breadcrumbs or used for ethanol, biogas or animal feed, a lot of it becomes waste. Katarzyna Młynarczyk and Bartłomiej Rak, founders of the Krakow-based start-up Rebread, have experienced this first-hand: When the global pandemic hit and later the war in Ukraine broke out nearby, the conditions of their own craft bakery changed – and the amount of left-over bread increased. So they started looking for solutions. Inspired by an Austrian bakery distilling alcohol from bread, they created a craft spirit of their own, aqua vitae. With more ideas for products made of surplus bread, they founded Rebread. Now, they’re developing…

Whether as packaging, in cosmetics, clothing or medical products: Plastic has become an integral part of our everyday lives. What benefits and harms us humans also harms the environment. In addition to many advantages such as flexibility, lightness, heat resistance, water resistance and break resistance, it also has serious disadvantages. What is seen as both an advantage and a disadvantage is its longevity. Previously seen as an advantage because of the conservation of resources, its long degradability is a major disadvantage. According to the WWF, it takes around 450 years for a plastic bottle to break down into its components in water. During this time, it breaks down into microplastics, tiny particles that enter the food chain and endanger both wildlife and human health. Other disadvantages are that they are…

Since the 1980s, China has experienced phenomenal economic growth accompanied by an astonishing rate of industrialization and urbanization. Today, as the global manufacturing powerhouse with about 30 per cent of the world’s manufacturing output and one of the world’s largest populations at 1.44 billion people, China leads the world not only in terms of CO2 emissions, but also in terms of its generation of solid waste. In 2022, over 300 million tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) were generated in China’s cities, rural areas and counties. This surpasses even the USA, the other leading waste producer, which reported MSW generation of around 290 million tons. China’s strategy of importing waste to address the shortage in domestic resources for its economic growth further exacerbated its growing waste challenge, with waste imports…

Marine pollution is a pressing global problem caused by various factors such as plastic waste, oil and other waste. Every year, an estimated 9 to 14 million tonnes of plastic enter the oceans, the equivalent of a rubbish truck every minute. These plastics make up at least 85 per cent of all marine litter and pose a significant threat to marine biodiversity. Animals such as seabirds, marine mammals and fish ingest plastic with their food or become entangled in it, which often leads to an agonising death. Microplastics, which are formed from decomposed plastic, enter the food chain and can also jeopardise human health. In addition to plastic, oil pollution is another serious threat to the oceans. Oil enters the water not only through accidents involving tankers or oil rigs,…

From the sky to the park After the rotor blades of a wind turbine have completed their last rotation, their next stop could be an urban park: GP Reblade – part of GP Renewables Group which operates in the field of wind farm foundations –, in collaboration with the firm Anmet, has developed a variety of urban architecture reusing wind turbine blades. These blades are made of glass or carbon fibers combined with epoxy resin. GP Reblade converts parts of cut rotor blades into planters, benches, or loungers, for example. These can be used both outdoors and indoors. gp-renewables.energy Planter handles irrigation The ClimateBoxx can bring greenery to city centers, regardless of whether infrastructure exists underground. Manufacturer ACO has integrated an irrigation system into the planter. A time-controlled pump supplies…