Though a desirable environmental prospect, many wonder if zero waste is a realistic goal or merely a pipe dream. Starting from an analysis of the laws of thermodynamics, this article argues that it is an impossible ideal; however, along with the principles of the circular economy and reform of modern economic systems, the idea of zero waste can provide valuable insights into how we can establish a future ecological civilization.
This essay examines practices in socialist Hungary in the 1950s that can be considered a historical antecedent to contemporary zero-waste programs. The experiences and challenges of implementing waste collection and reuse programs can offer lessons for us today.
The history of aluminum not only illustrates how upcycling has helped producers increase profitability since the 1950s by turning low value materials into high value products; it also shows how the transformation processes involved in a circular system of reuse can challenge its environmental sustainability.
Society’s approach to environmental protection has so far relied on certain prevailing, but perhaps specious, beliefs—that we cannot impact the environment positively, or that environmental protection is incompatible with economic growth. Braungart explores how, rather than making ineffective changes to an already broken system, it would be more beneficial to rethink that system entirely.
In case studies ranging from the Early Modern secondhand trade to utopian visions of human-powered vehicles, the contributions gathered here explore the historical fortunes of bicycling and waste recycling—tracing their development over time and providing valuable context for the policy successes and failures of today.
Urban mining—reclaiming valuable metals from discarded electronic devices—has become an important economic activity in the informal sector in places such as Agbogbloshie, a slum in Accra, Ghana. This article examines the material flows linking Ghana with the rest of the world, the politics of waste recycling, and the hazards faced by those processing e-waste.
Jeremy Irons leads the viewer around the world as he explores the worst effects of the amount of waste humans produce, and what can be done about it.
This film examines life in the Chittagong ship demolition yard, where workers risk their lives for two dollars a day to provide for their families.
The UAE has appointed a company named Masdar to create the most environmentally sustainable city in the world that may serve as a model for future generations.
