Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) is a form of polyester that is used in the production of plastic bottles and containers for food, beverages, and cosmetics. It was patented in 1973 by chemist Nathaniel Wyeth by combining modified ethylene glycol and purified terephthalic acid. It is popular among manufacturers for its ease of production, transparency, lightweight, and the fact that is easily recyclable.

Because of its versatility, PET is used in not only the production of containers and packaging but also in the creation of polyester clothing. Despite being easily recyclable and versatile, many PET products have found their way into landfills, meaning more resources have to be collected for the production of PET and less space in landfills.

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Other Sources

American Chemistry Council. “The Safety of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET).” Plasticsinfo.org. https://plasticsinfo.org/Main-Menu/MicrowaveFood/Need-to-Know/Plastic-Bev-Bottles/The-Safety-of-Polyethylene-Terephthalate-PET.html. Accessed May 26, 2016.

PET Resin Association. “FAQs.” PETRA. http://www.petresin.org/faq.asp#Re. Accessed May 26, 2016.

The Planet Bottle. “What is PET.” The Planet Bottle. http://www.theplanetbottle.net/what-is-pet.html. Accessed May 26, 2016.

Program Divisions are used to split your Recycling & Waste program into as many groups as you need. Some may use this function to track different floors, buildings, or even whole cities separately. Just remember that smaller divisions are more flexible, but more work to maintain.

The Resource Center allows you to create multiple divisions within an organization. Modelling your program this way allows you to:

1. Drilldown on specific areas within your organization to individually improve those divisions

2. Create competition between divisions (i.e the Dorm Building #1 on campus vs. Dorm Building #2)

3. Segment out areas that heavily skew data (i.e Accounting department’s paper output)

4. Separate the collection of Recycling and Waste indoors vs. outdoors—if you choose.

5. Dedicate and invite a representative to manage each division, just remember more divisions = more work!

Post-Consumer recycled content is content created by consumers after a product has reached the end of its use. This material is diverted from the landfill and utilized in the production of other commodities. It is much different from pre-consumer content, which is generated by companies during the manufacturing process that is reused in production. The benefit of using post-consumer content is it reuses refuse in the manufacture of goods, preventing items from ending up in the landfill or needing to rely on raw materials.

An example of post-consumer content is aluminum cans. After a can has been bought at the store and has served its use, it is put in a recycling bin for collection. Once the can has been separated from the refuse along with other aluminum materials, it is then sent to a manufacturer where it is melted down and used in the creation of other aluminum products.

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Other Sources

“What is Post Consumer Recycled Content.” Green-Buildings.com. https://www.green-buildings.com/articles/what-is-post-consumer-recycled-content/#. Accessed June 14, 2016.

Dunn, Collin. “Post-Consumer Recycled Goods: Recycling Waste into Stuff.” Treehugger. November 8, 2007. http://www.treehugger.com/sustainable-product-design/post-consumer-recycled-goods-recycling-waste-into-stuff.html. Accessed May 26, 2016.

Hickman, Matt. “What's the difference between pre- and post-consumer recycled content?” Earth Matters. April 26, 2010. http://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/recycling/questions/whats-the-difference-between-pre-and-post-consumer-recycled-content. Accessed May, 26, 2016.

Paper Pollution is refuse created in pulp and paper mills and paper that is discarded into landfills. In Canada and the United States, paper and pulp are the third largest industrial pollutants, paper making up 35 percent of municipal solid waste that goes to the landfills. Once used as a communication tool, the paper has become material for packaging, consuming 42 percent of the world’s harvested wood.

The production of paper today has been leaving a strain on the Earth. Tree removal practices like deforestation destroy animal habitats and allow for substantial erosion in areas that rely on tree roots for support. At the same time, the production of paper products releases greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere and the use of large amounts of chlorine for bleaching, releasing large quantities of dioxins.

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Other Sources

The World Counts. “Paper Waste Facts.” The World Counts. http://www.theworldcounts.com/stories/Paper-Waste-Facts. Accessed August 16, 2016.

World Wildlife Fund. “Pulp and Paper Industry.” WWF. http://www.worldwildlife.org/industries/pulp-and-paper. Accessed August 16, 2016.

Pay-as-You-Throw/Unit-Based Pricing is a system of waste management where residents pay for the removal of refuse based on its weight rather than at a fixed fee. In most communities that use this system, pay-as-you-throw programs allow for an increase in recyclable and organic refuse items by only placing a small fee on waste items, promoting a more sustainable form of refuse removal.

Pay-as-you-throw programs support sustainable living by providing a benefit to recycling and composting refuse. Because there is only a fee based on the weight of waste, meaning households who recycle more will only pay for the amount of waste they dispose of. This also means that the life cycle of landfills will be extended because less waste is being disposed.

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Other Sources

“Pay-As-You-Throw.” National League of Cities. http://www.sustainablecitiesinstitute.org/topics/materials-management/recycling/pay-as-you-throw-programs. Accessed August 16, 2016.

Grover, Sami. “‘Pay-As-You-Throw’ Trash Metering Cuts Landfill Waste by 50% in a Month.” Treehugger. http://www.treehugger.com/corporate-responsibility/pay-as-you-throw-trash-metering-cuts-landfill-waste-by-50-in-a-month.html. Accessed August 16, 2016.

A plastic granulator is a machine used for breaking down plastic products for recycling. These machines come in a variety of types for industries and workshops and the various sizes of plastic products. Most often, granulators will deal with consumer plastics like polyethylene and polypropylene as they are much easier to granulate than tougher plastics like ABS, Nylon, or PC..

In the process, plastics are separated and washed to remove any contaminants. Once the plastic is fed into the granulator, a series of cutting knives within the rotor is powered by an electric motor to break the plastic into smaller pieces. The processed content is then supplied to companies who manufacture plastic products.

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Other Sources

“Plastic Granulator.” Plastic Recycling Machine. http://www.plasticrecyclingmachine.net/plastic-granulator/. Accessed August 16, 2016.

Pyle, Richard. “What’s the difference between Shredding, Grinding, and Granulating?” Jordon Reduction Solutions. http://www.jordanreductionsolutions.com/blog/the-difference-between-shredding-grinding-and-granulating/. Accessed August 16. 2016.

A plastic shredder is a machine used to cut plastic into smaller pieces for granulation. Unlike plastic granulators, shredders are designed specifically for larger plastic waste, like car bumpers, pipes, drums, and other items too big for granulators.

In the process, large plastic items are fed into the shredder. Moving at a slower speed than a granulator, blades break the plastic down into smaller chunks. These pieces are then collected and washed and treated in washing and recycling plants before being granulated and sent to manufacturers.

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Other Sources

Pyle, Richard. “What’s the difference between Shredding, Grinding, and Granulating?” Jordon Reduction Solutions. http://www.jordanreductionsolutions.com/blog/the-difference-between-shredding-grinding-and-granulating/. Accessed August 16. 2016.

Point source pollution is anything that emits pollution directly into the environment like factories, ships, or farms. This is because the pollutants produced can be traced back to that particular point. One example of point source pollution is scale farms. The livestock of these farms produces waste that can find its way into nearby water sources if it is not treated properly.

One side effect of point source pollution can be what is known as nonpoint source pollution. This is usually caused by runoff from rain or snow or moving water that has absorbed those pollutants. Because Nonpoint is derived from runoff from numerous sources, it is hard to determine the origin of the contaminants.

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Other Sources

National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration. “Categories of Pollution: Nonpoint Source.” Ocean Service Education. http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/kits/pollution/04nonpointsource.html. Accessed August 17, 2016.

National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration. “Categories of Pollution: Point Source.” Ocean Service Education. http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/kits/pollution/03pointsource.html. Accessed August 16, 2016.

The polar ice caps are ice sheets that cover the north and south poles and provide ice to other glacial formations. They remain frozen year round and feed ice into the polar seas. At the same time, ice caps are major stores of the Earth’s water supply with estimates of three-quarters of global freshwater. Due to the growing impact of climate change, the polar ice caps have been receding at an alarming rate. Throughout the twentieth century, sea levels have slowly risen due to the melting of polar ice caps.

The development of climate change is having a severe effect on the ice caps. The Arctic has felt the worse of this with temperatures in the region increasing by approximately five degrees over the past century with polar scientists concluding that there will be no summer ice within the next few decades. While the Antarctic’s temperatures are low enough to withstand some of the effects of climate change and global warming, some melting ice will still have a significant impact if more than the seasonal levels of ice melts. If continual ice melting goes on at the current rate, we could see an acceleration of climate change and water acidification in the ocean.

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Other Sources

NASA. “Global Warming and Land Ice.” Earth Observatory. http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/PolarIce/polar_ice2.php. Accessed August 16, 2016.

World Wildlife Fund. “Climate Change and Polar Bears.” WWF-UK. http://www.wwf.org.uk/what_we_do/tackling_climate_change/impacts_of_climate_change/climate_change_and_polar_regions/#. Accessed August 16, 2016.

Post-combustion carbon capture is a method of collecting carbon dioxide emissions that are produced from the burning of fossil fuels. This method can be used on large-scale emission points like coal and gas-powered plants or the manufacturing of industrial materials like cement. Post-combustion carbon capture systems serve to prevent carbon from entering the atmosphere and are often retrofitted onto older carbon exhaust systems.

In the process, exhaust gases from burning fossil fuels are channelled into a capturing container. Through the use of a liquid solvent as a filter, carbon is separated and absorbed from the other gases as they make their way up and out of the chimney. Typically this method can prevent 80 to 90 percent of carbon from being emitted into the atmosphere.

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Other Sources

“Capture.” Global CCS Institute. https://www.globalccsinstitute.com/content/capture. Accessed August 18, 2016.

Government of Canada. “Post Combustion CO2 Capture.” Ministry of Natural Resources. http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/energy/coal/carbon-capture-storage/4321. Accessed August 17, 2016.

Poultry litter is organic waste produced from chickens and turkeys like manure, spilled feed, feathers, and bedding materials. This material is enriched with plant nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, though the overall composition will depend on the type of poultry, littler used, and collection and storage of the litter.

Poultry litter has some uses which prevent it from having to be sent to the landfill. First, it can be utilized as a source of fertilizer for plants due to its high amount of plant nutrients. It can serve as animal feed for livestock and fish once it has been correctly prepared to remove foreign materials and contaminants. Also, due to its less than 15 percent moisture content, poultry litter can be burned as a source of heat or energy and can be stored in an anaerobic digester to be made into biofuel.

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Other Sources

Reza, Shamim. “Poultry Litter – A Great Resource to Utilize.” Permaculture Research Institute. http://permaculturenews.org/2016/03/11/poultry-litter-a-great-resource-to-utilize/. Accessed August 17, 2016.

Pre-cycling is eliminating the need to recycle or dispose of waste by not creating waste. This is a step that should be taken before you have to recycle.

Ways to Pre-cycle:

• Packing meals in reusable containers instead of buying food in takeout container or packing meals in plastic bags
• Avoid using paper by reading on a screen instead of printing
• Purchasing items in bulk to reduce the amount of individual packaging
• Using reusable bags while shopping to avoid using plastic bags

All of these are examples of pre-cycling because they eliminate waste from the source, never even giving it a chance to enter a landfill. Pre-cycling is making a conscious effort to do things in a certain way that does not create waste. This may be difficult to remember at first but the more often it is done, the more likely it will become a habit.

Pre-cycling should be used whenever possible. When pre-cycling is not an option the next best option is to recycle.

Program composition is the makeup of the streams within your recycling & waste collection program.

For example, the program composition of the Demo Organization in your available organizations is broken down into four streams, as follows:

• 21.9% Organics
• 10.4% Paper
• 39.7% Waste
• 28.1% Cans & Bottles

The makeup of your program’s composition is a key indicator of the overall success of your collection program. The goal of your program should be to reduce the percentage of your Waste stream as much as possible. By reducing the percentage of your Waste stream from your program’s overall composition, you’ll inevitably increase your diversion rate.

Definition

The Paris Agreement brings together 185 nations to combat climate change and adapt to the effects of climate change. At the same time, developed countries will help developing countries achieve these same goals.

Want to know more?

The Paris Agreement came into force on November 4, 2016, and currently, 185 of 197 parties have ratified. The agreement’s main goal is to keep the temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Plus, learning how to handle the effects that climate change, for example, extreme weather conditions.

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United Nations Climate Change. “What is the Paris Agreement.”https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/what-is-the-paris-agreement. A ccessed August 13, 2019