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A second life for cigarette butts?

Current situation

By now, it’s no secret that plastic waste suffocates our planet. Little is known and discussed, though, about the plastic-filtered cigarette butts. Almost 99% of all smokers worldwide smoke filtered cigarettes, and 76%–84% of them litter their cigarettes. A lot is being done worldwide to encourage people to stop smoking or to avoid smoking inside buildings, for health reasons. In the Netherlands, smoking is becoming less and less popular. During the last decade, the share of people smoking decreased from nearly 28% to just under 22%. The share of heavy smokers even halved in this period. Policies that ban smoking, however, lead to increased numbers of cigarette butts, and, consequently, to greater environmental risks and clean-up costs. So, what lies ahead? Where do all these flickered cigarettes go? Can they be recycled?

   Scientific Alternatives

A series of solutions have already been proposed by scientists. The first one is the incorporation of cigarette butts – less than 5% content – into construction bricks. Bricks with cigarette butt content higher than 5% are also acceptable, but for other purposes, such as facades and internal walls. A brick with 1% content contains about 32 g of cigarette butts. 1500 billion bricks are produced worldwide per year. So, after brief calculations, an estimated 48 million tons of cigarette butts could be recycled each year. Furthermore, if 2.5% of the global brick production contained bricks with 1% butts, all cigarette butts produced worldwide could theoretically be recycled.

The second solution involves biodegradable filters as an alternative to the planet-polluting acetate filter. Greenbutts is a company that has developed and patented technology that provides such an alternative. Their filter can only biodegrade in 3 days in compost. Another solution that already exists is a method, with which cellulose is extracted from the filter, and then paper is recycled. Finally, Terracycle, a New Jersey-based firm, has partnered with businesses, cities, and consumers around the world to collect used filters so they can be ‘upcycled’ into something useful, like park benches and shipping pallets.

  What’s next?

Are these alternatives going to yield results? Is it indeed useful to recycle and upcycle the cigarette butts? So many unanswered questions.

“The cigarette filter is a marketing tool, not a health device,” Novotny says. “There really is no health benefit from filters at all.”

And that is the ugly truth! A separate collection of cigarette butts, for recycling and upcycling, is indeed one of the first steps towards a cleaner planet. Raising awareness through public education could also help. In more practical solutions at a societal level, distribution of individual metal portable ashtrays by the municipalities and the companies is a measure suggested by CITIES Foundation. Governments could raise cigarette tax further. Last but not least, development of NGOs that aim to combat cigarette butt pollution specifically seems rather important. Can you also think of other possibilities? Then, you are more than welcome to contact us at [email protected]. As we have already said, the health of our planet is equally important to our health!

  Sources

Rebischung, F., Chabot, L., Biaudet, H., & Pandard, P. (2018). Cigarette butts: A small but hazardous waste, according to European regulation. Waste management, 82, 9-14.

Greenbutts (March, 2020). Dedicated to solving the global problem of cigarette butt pollution. Retrieved from: https://www.green-butts.com/.

The Revelator (2019, June 24). Cigarette Waste: New Solutions for the World’s Most-littered Trash. Retrieved from: https://therevelator.org/cigarette-butt-litter-solutions/.

Good News Network (2018, March 18). Company Recycles Cigarette Butts and Turns Them into Useful Things Instead. Retrieved from: https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/terracycle-cigarette-butt-program/.

Pacific Standard (2017, June 14). Can Cigarette butts be recycled?. Retrieved from: https://psmag.com/environment/can-cigarette-butts-be-recycled-32091.

Araújo, M. C. B., & Costa, M. F. (2019). A critical review of the issue of cigarette butt pollution in coastal environments. Environmental research.

Torkashvand, J., Sobhi, H. R., & Esrafili, A. (2019). Littered cigarette butt as a well-known hazardous waste: A comprehensive systematic review. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 121242.

Mohajerani, A., Kadir, A. A., & Larobina, L. (2016). A practical proposal for solving the world’s cigarette butt problem: Recycling in fired clay bricks. Waste management, 52, 228-244.

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Cigarettes : our butting legacy!

  A silent killer for the environment

Every day, millions of smokers around the world have to look at prominent, graphic pictures on their cigarette packs. Pictures showing people dying from smoking-related diseases. However, apart from health issues, cigarettes pose a very serious threat to the environment as well. Over 5.6 trillion cigarette butts are found in nature each year. By 2025, this amount is predicted to reach up to 9 trillion cigarettes. Cigarette butts have only recently been classified as hazardous waste by the European Commission.

“Two processes are mainly responsible for cigarette impacts in natural environments: the leaching of cigarette butts compounds by rainwater and its transference to water bodies through urban runoff.”

  Components of cigarette butts

In the previous article, we talked about the parts of cigarette butts. This second article will inform you about the chemical components. With the exceptions of Japan, South Korea, Venezuela and Hungary, in the rest of the countries worldwide almost 90% of filters consist of plastic-like cellulose acetate. Cellulose acetate “is a synthetic polymer made from cellulose, a natural polymer of vegetable origin, through a process known as acetylation. At the end of the process, plasticizers are added”. Furthermore, burned cigarette tobacco contains up to 4000 chemical compounds. Some of them include: polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, N-nitrosamines, aromatic amines, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, benzene, and toxic metals (Cd, As, Ni, Cu, Pb and Zn) . A big amount of these chemicals are carcinogenic. At least 150 are highly toxic. In the picture below, you can get an idea of how dangerous a cigarette is…

    Environmental consequences

As it is already mentioned, cigarette butts are an extremely complicated waste, due to the fact that they accommodate an abundance of organic and inorganic compounds. Public beaches are the places that suffer the most from cigarette butts. The amount of butts is affected by a number of factors, which include: solar intensity, wind, currents, rivers, frequency of beachgoers, smokers’ behavior, efficiency of cleaning services, distance to urban centers. Studies have shown that cigarette chemicals are responsible for high mortality rates, biochemical damage, embryotoxicity, genotoxicity, neurotoxicity, weight and body composition change, as well as behavioral changes to a plethora of organisms, such as fish, amphibians, birds and mammals.

In addition, the filters of cigarettes, even unsmoked, remain toxic, because nicotine is extremely soluble in water. 1 cigarette butt can contaminate 1000 liters of water. Urban areas also suffer from the adverse consequences of cigarette butts pollution, although in a more aesthetic way. Locations with high potential for cigarette butts existence are those around shopping malls, restaurants, bars, grocery stores, gas stations, cafes, liquor stores, convenience stores, and traffic signals.

    Situation in the Netherlands

Of the 10 million kilograms of cigarette butts per year that end up on the street in the Netherlands, only 80% of them are being cleaned up. The remaining 20% can take 2-12 years to totally decompose. In 2018, during the World Cleanup Day, volunteers collected more than 35,000 pieces of litter in The Netherlands. 60% of it was plastic, followed by paper and metal. Cigarette butts topped the list of “Top 5” items, thus confirming the fact that cigarette butts are the most common type of litter, personal or not.

  Afterword

One cigarette butt is not capable of causing great environmental damage. The accumulation, though, of huge amounts of cigarette filters is a whole different thing.The extent of pollution is also directly related to the amount of time they remain in the environment. Cities Foundation holds the opinion that cigarette butts pollution must be addressed at the same level of importance as lung cancer or other smoking-related illnesses, and that the tobacco industry must assume its share of responsibility. Do you still care about the environment? Perhaps, then, this is the most important reason to quit smoking!

  Sources

Araújo, M. C. B., & Costa, M. F. (2019). A critical review of the issue of cigarette butt pollution in coastal environments. Environmental research.

Torkashvand, J., Sobhi, H. R., & Esrafili, A. (2019). Littered cigarette butt as a well-known hazardous waste: A comprehensive systematic review. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 121242.

RTL Nieuws (2019, August 15). ‘Stop straatvervuiling door statiegeld op sigarettenfilter’. Retrieved from: https://ift.tt/2yWAgwu.

Mohajerani, A., Kadir, A. A., & Larobina, L. (2016). A practical proposal for solving the world’s cigarette butt problem: Recycling in fired clay bricks. Waste management, 52, 228-244.

Chevalier, Q., El Hadri, H., Petitjean, P., Bouhnik-Le Coz, M., Reynaud, S., Grassl, B., & Gigault, J. (2018). Nano-litter from cigarette butts: Environmental implications and urgent consideration. Chemosphere, 194, 125-130.

Rebischung, F., Chabot, L., Biaudet, H., & Pandard, P. (2018). Cigarette butts: A small but hazardous waste, according to European regulation. Waste management, 82, 9-14.

Montalvão, M. F., Chagas, T. Q., da Silva Alvarez, T. G., Mesak, C., da Costa Araújo, A. P., Gomes, A. R., … & Malafaia, G. (2019). How leachates from wasted cigarette butts influence aquatic life? A case study on freshwater mussel Anodontites trapesiali. Science of The Total Environment, 689, 381-389.

Gill, H., Rogers, K., Rehman, B., Moynihan, J., & Bergey, E. A. (2018). Cigarette butts may have low toxicity to soil-dwelling invertebrates: Evidence from a land snail. Science of The Total Environment, 628, 556-561.

Plastic Soup Foundation (2018, September 16). Tens of thousands of pieces of litter cleared up in the Netherlands on World Cleanup Day. Retrieved from: https://ift.tt/2vmjn08.

Desideri, D., Meli, M. A., & Roselli, C. (2019). Leaching tests to assess the release of 210Po from discarded cigarette butts. Microchemical Journal, 145, 42-46.

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A National week without meat?

This year, the “National Week without meat” takes place from the 9th to the 15th of March in the Netherlands. This initiative of Isabel Boerdam – founder of De Hippe Vegetariër – aims to promote a flexitarian diet in which meat and fish are interspersed with vegetarian dishes. As a matter of fact, the world’s consumption of meat is huge and is responsible for a lot of environmental issues. The causes of this overconsumption are the following: 1) constant human population growth – we are more than 7 billion people at this very moment, and 2) better living standards and quality of life. Hence, the growing demand pushes towards a generalisation of factory farming; a system in which the animal density is high and the production of meat is speeded up, irregardless of the negative effects it causes on the environment, the animals, and the local communities.

  The effects of meat production on the environment 

Massive meat production negatively affects the environment. CO2 release in the atmosphere, extensive land use and water consumption are the three main downsides. First of all, meat production is a major contributor to climate change, as livestock feeding, slaughtering, meat processing, food, livestock and meat transportation, as well as meat storing require a lot of energy. Consequently, our food system is responsible for ¼ of all greenhouse gas emissions. According to the “less is more” programme initiated by Greenpeace, “if we reduce meat and dairy consumption and production 50% by 2050, we could reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions by 64% compared to business-as-usual.”

Cattle in the brazilian amazon (photograph : Rodrigo Baleia)

Secondly, the extensive land use. Livestock need space to stand and graze and need to be fed. As a result, 30% of the world’s land is solely reserved for meat production. Comparatively, it is equal to the size of Asia. Plus, humans tear down forests to feed and graze livestock. As a consequence, biodiversity, the natural environment and indigenous communities are affected.

Lastly, the consumption of water is another huge issue caused by meat production. To produce 1kg of meat, you need 15.400L of water. The “less is more” programme said that, “by 2025, half of the world’s population will be living in water-stressed areas. Industrialized livestock farming is draining and polluting water, threatening our planet’s most precious resource.”

  Ethical issues

In addition to what is mentioned above, industrialized livestock farming raises ethical issues as well. To begin with, animal welfare is really not a central issue at all in the current food system. Actually, the main purpose of companies is to raise and slaughter animals as quickly as possible in order to make profit. As a result, many animals are confined in small and unsanitary places and suffer from a lack of open space. Plus, meat industries pump them with antibiotics to achieve greater profit.

Last but not least, the meat industry clearly tends to put profit first at the expense of farmers, workers and communities. In the Amazon area, cattle farming is based on the theft and exploitation of Indigenous land, slave labor and deforestation.

Long story short, it becomes urgent to reduce or even stop our meat consumption. Over the course of a year, eating once a week beans rather than beef enables us to not burn 144 liters of petrol. Adopting vegetarian recipes several times per week and re-organising your favorite meal to reduce meat consumption is the best solution to reduce the effects of the meat industry. If you need inspiration, just have a look at the website of this weekly challenge here. They share some truly inspiring recipes. Together, let’s take advantage of this “National week without meat” and change our consumption habits!

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Love your city? Bin your butts!

The problem

Plastic straws and bags gain more and more public attention as environmental pollutants. But there is another, certainly more extensive, underlying problem that stays off the radar- cigarette butts. Cigarette butts are an enormous trash issue. Approximately 6 trillion cigarettes are fabricated each year and more than 90% of them contain plastic filters. About 2/3 of cigarette butts are tossed irresponsibly into the environment, “where they leach nicotine and heavy metals before turning into microplastic pollution”.

  Composition of cigarette butts

Cigarette butts consist of four parts: i) the cigarette filter, ii) burned and unburned tobacco, iii) ash, and iv) paper. The most dangerous ingredients are found in tobacco, but also remain in the filter after smoking. Only the paper wrap can be degraded fast. Filters only started being part of cigarettes in the 1950s, after the scientific community proved that smoking caused cancer and other serious diseases. Almost 99% of all smokers nowadays smoke filtered cigarettes. In the image below, you can have a clear look of the compounds described above.

  Urban consequences

Since Cities Foundation is dealing with urban issues, it is only fair to mention that urban environments are the places who suffer most from cigarette litter. Cigarette butts are the most common type of litter in urban areas, forming 22–46% of litter. Ιn cities, 76% of cigarettes smoked in public are littered. According to studies, “most cigarette butt litter is located on parking places along highways, at stations and public transport stops, and at shopping centers and shopping streets in urban areas. The cleanest are recreational areas, as well as residential and shopping areas in villages”.

  Other factors of cigarette littering

Cigarette litter is also related to other factors, such as age and sex. Young people more often throw their cigarettes in the street than older people, and men litter cigarette butts more often than women. Ignorance and lack of knowledge also play their part.  While most people today understand that cigarette litter is an environmental problem, a minority of them still don’t recognize tossed butts as a type of waste. Another contributing factor is policies that prohibit smoking, which lead to higher numbers of cigarette butts, and, subsequently, to greater environmental risks and clean-up costs. Cigarette butts are, in this way, commonly discarded at places of transition from an outdoor to an indoor environment where smoking is not tolerated, i.e. buildings entrances.

  Situation in the Netherlands

Around 10 billion butts are thrown to the ground in the Netherlands every year, which is equal to almost 6 cigarette butts per smoker each day, almost 2500 each year. Many butts are found in a radius of 5 meters from the waste bin. Smokers often tend to believe that throwing a cigarette in a waste bin will cause a fire. But, there is more to it. For the majority of people, throwing a cigarette on the street is a mere habit.

   “There’s something about flicking that cigarette butt,” says Cindy Zipf, executive director of Clean Ocean Action. “It’s so automatic.” 

  How disposal and clean-up actions affect cigarette pollution

What’s more, disposal and clean-up inadequate solutions add up to this trend. Worldwide, the disposal of cigarette waste in landfills and their incineration are neither sustainable nor practicable solutions. Recycling is also not an easy task due to the absence of proper separation and treatment mechanisms. Collection is expensive and challenging due to their small size. Litter clean-up cost is increased due to the big amount and high dispersion of cigarette butts. The clean-up costs of cigarette butts are generally borne by municipalities. In the Netherlands, the municipalities, the Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management and the managers of nature areas are responsible for cleaning the public spaces, but that costs a lot of money. In 2010 only, keeping public areas clean cost 250 million euros. That amounts to 15 euros per inhabitant of the Netherlands.

  Epilogue

Cigarette butts are the most common form of personal litter in the world. Does the previous sentence also apply to you? This forgotten plastic pollution hides many dangers. If we examine it socially, the impacts are numerous and they are all mentioned in the paragraphs above. In a series of articles, Cities Foundation will inform you about the very many other aspects of this “plague”. For now, don’t forget to be a thoughtful conscious citizen and think twice about leaving a trail of cigarette litter behind you! Planet Earth owes you.

  Sources

CNN (2019, January 25). Cigarette filters are the No.1 plastic pollutant … and don’t prevent cancer. Retrieved from: https://edition.cnn.com/2019/01/24/health/dirty-truth-about-cigarette-filters/index.html.

Araújo, M. C. B., & Costa, M. F. (2019). A critical review of the issue of cigarette butt pollution in coastal environments. Environmental research.

Green, A. L. R., Putschew, A., & Nehls, T. (2014). Littered cigarette butts as a source of nicotine in urban waters. Journal of hydrology, 519, 3466-3474.

Torkashvand, J., Sobhi, H. R., & Esrafili, A. (2019). Littered cigarette butt as a well-known hazardous waste: A comprehensive systematic review. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 121242.

Rath, J. M., Rubenstein, R. A., Curry, L. E., Shank, S. E., & Cartwright, J. C. (2012). Cigarette litter: smokers’ attitudes and behaviors. International journal of environmental research and public health, 9(6), 2189-2203.

RTL Nieuws (2019, August 15). ‘Stop straatvervuiling door statiegeld op sigarettenfilter’. Retrieved from: https://www.rtlnieuws.nl/editienl/artikel/4814931/statiegeld-sigaretten-peuken-milieu-zwerfvuil-duitsland-nederland.

Mohajerani, A., Kadir, A. A., & Larobina, L. (2016). A practical proposal for solving the world’s cigarette butt problem: Recycling in fired clay bricks. Waste management, 52, 228-244.

Tobacco, WHO its environmental impact: an overview, 2017.

National Geographic (2019, August 9). Cigarette butts are toxic plastic pollution. Should they be banned?. Retrieved from: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/08/cigarettes-story-of-plastic/.

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Fast-fashion has a toll on the environment

Sales, Black Friday, low prices! Textile companies always encourage us to buy more and more clothes. As a result, around 80 billion items of clothes are produced each year. And this number is only growing up… By 2050, global clothing sales could more than triple. The term “fast-fashion” refers to clothes that are inspired by recent style trends seen on celebrities and on the runway for an affordable price for the average consumer. To go faster and keep prices as low as possible, retailers often cut costs, an action that increases their carbon footprint. Consequently, these clothes are responsible for ecological damage and social issues. Cities Foundation is here to shed light on what is truly happening when you buy a 5$ T-shirt!

  The textile industry as the second largest industrial polluter worldwide

From production to recycling, the textile industry performs highly in destroying the planet. First of all, the production of raw materials – mainly cotton and polyester – is responsible for multiple ecological disasters. In 2017, 25 million tons of cotton were produced – mostly in India, the United States and China. The cotton production consumes most of the world’s freshwater resources, leading to their drying out. The case of Aral sea, in Uzbekistan, is significant: this lake used to be the fourth biggest lake on the planet. But, as the country slowly became the second biggest cotton producer, nowadays, there is almost no water left.

Step number 2: transforming raw materials into clothes. For that, textile industries use, most of the time, chemicals and toxic substances – such as chrome, mercury, lead or copper – to tint, wash-out or soften textile. In Europe, since 2007, the regulation REACH has been forcing producers and importers of chemicals to prove that their products do not put the consumer’s life in danger. However, that is not the case in the developing countries, where most production processes take place.

Thirdly, combined with transportation issues, clothes are responsible for 1,2 billion tons of greenhouse gas every year. For instance, a pair of jeans sold in France travels around 65000 kilometers before being sold : the cotton is produced in Uzbekistan, the pair of jeans is spined in India and tinted in Morocco and then sold in France.

Finally, once the clothes end up in your wardrobe, the pollution doesn’t stop. Actually, clothes in polyester are made from microfibers which come off in the washing machine. Yet, they are too small to be filtered by the water treatment plant, thus directly ending up in the oceans: about 500.000 tons of microplastics from polyester end in the oceans each year. As for the recycling part? Each year 4 million tons of clothes end up in landfills around Europe, with only 20% of these clothes being recycled.

  Behind the veil : social and health issues 

The exploitation of workers in developing countries is part of the fast-fashion system. Most clothes are produced in Bangladesh. In Dhaka, price rates for production and manufacturing are low: workers – mainly women and children – earn only 2-3$ a day. Apart from that, owners of textile fabrics have to cut down costs, thus ignoring security rules to meet the demands of big industries. This causes a lot of accidents, such as the collapse of a building of 8 floors in April 2013, when more than 1000 workers died.

« Each day we woke up early in the morning, we go to the factory, and we work very hard all day long. And we do all the hard work for clothes. People have no idea how hard it is for us to do the laundry. They only buy and use it. I think these clothes are produced with our blood. Many textile workers die in separate accidents.” Shima Akhter, garment worker (quote from the documentary The true cost)

In addition, a lot of people die due to chemicals and toxic substances used by the textile industry. In Texas, 80% of cotton production is produced with GMO cotton plants, which are proven to cause cancer. In developing countries, the rivers next to fabrics are also polluted by the chemicals. The case of the Ganges river next to Kanpur is a good illustration: each day, 50 million litres of residual toxic water are released into the river. Subsequently, the population living near textile factories suffers from diseases directly connected to the chemicals found in the water.

  Why should we keep sustaining the current textile system, since only the owners of the big textile industries gain something out of it? 

Advertisements about fast-fashion are nothing less than pure propaganda. In fact, they make us believe that the only way to solve problems in life is over-consumption. But the truth is that, according to multiple studies, people who are actually addicted to fashion and excessive buying of clothes are not happy at all. On the contrary, they have a higher stress level and are not satisfied with their life.

“But also from the consumer point of view, is it really democratic to buy a tee-shirt for 5$, a pair of jeans for 20$? Because they [the big fashion industries] are making us believe that we are rich or wealthy because we can buy a lot. But in fact they are making us poorer, and the only person who is getting richer is the owner of the fast-fashion brand.” Livia Firth (quote from the documentary The true cost)

So what can we do? Do we keep buying stuff we don’t even like or need, knowing that, in this way, we contribute to the destruction of the planet and exploitation of workers in developing countries? The answer is a big NO! At Cities foundation, we think that global issues can be tackled by local solutions.

  Alternatives to fast-fashion 

At the moment, there are a lot of alternatives and inspiring initiatives, which can help you turn into more sustainable ways of dressing. First of all, we could limit the amount of clothes in our wardrobe. Most of them are not even worn twice. A simple tip for this would be to go for casual clothes that you can mix with everything and wear in different circumstances. Original pieces are also cool but you will only wear them a few times. Secondly, we could choose the materials we mostly like: materials such as organic cotton and linen are natural and biodegradable, while polyester and cotton pollute the planet a lot.

An important effort is currently being made by some brands in order to minimize their effects on the environment (non-harmful dyes, natural fibres, protection of their workers interests). We should definitely support these brands, instead of buying from big textile companies. Speaking of which, Reformation is a brand you should keep an eye on! They follow sustainable practices, such as using recyclable and biodegradable packaging, and 100% compostable bags for instore purchases. Reformation also produces their clothes in green building infrastructures and tries to minimize their waste, water, and energy consumption.

Last but not least, not buying new clothes at all is another, though a bit extreme, solution. You can be part of the above-mentioned trend via some challenges, such as #noshoppingfor2020, where people assume that they have enough clothes in their wardrobe and they don’t need new ones. What’s more, if you really need something during the year, you still can buy from second-hand shops. Plus, second-hand clothes are usually cheaper! Oh, it is also possible to use a filter for your washing machine to filter out microplastics which come off from polyester clothes.

At a local scale, creative initiatives are flourishing too. If you live in Amsterdam, there are more and more alternatives to fast-fashion. Here are some few local initiatives to feel inspired!

The Lena fashion library is the place to borrow your wardrobe in Amsterdam. Renting your clothes is fun and you don’t hurt the planet each time you wear a new dress.

At Repaircafe, you can repair your damaged clothes in a good atmosphere and make connections with your neighbors.

Genaaid and De steek are offering sewing courses: learning how to sew could be the solution to change your wardrobe sustainably.

Long story short, as the fashion designer Vivienne Westwood said, “buy less, choose well, make it last”. We should think about our clothing as an investment and not as a consumption product that we use and then we just get rid of a few months later. As individuals, we have to turn into solutions that boycott big textile industries and force the end of this destructive circle.  Just find the alternative that suits you best! After all, there is no planet B!

  Sources :

The Economist. (2018, November 28). The true cost of fast-fashion. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLfNUD0-8ts&feature=youtu.be

Neelis Koly, “What is fast fashion and how does it impact the environment?”, https://www.greenmatters.com/, Greenmaters, May 2019, Web, 11 February 2020

Skus-Wah-Chung, “Fast-fashion is drowning the world. We need a Fashion revolution!”, https://www.greenpeace.org/, Greenpeace, 21 April 2016, Web, 11 February 2020

Michael Ross (producer), & Andrew Morgan (Director). (2015). The true cost, [documentary]. Retrieved from : https://truecostmovie.com/watch-now/

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Happy New plastic free Year!

New year means new resolution: adopting a plastic-free lifestyle will be your 2020 resolution! Let us guide you to transform your consumption habits towards a plastic conscious lifestyle.

Refusing to use virgin plastic must be one of the global issues we should take into consideration. Indeed, the UK organization Surfers against Sewage affirmed that “in 1950, the world’s population of 2,5 billion produced 1,5 million tons of plastic; in 2016, a global population of more that 7 billion people produced over 320 million tons of plastic. This is set to double by 2034.” This way of consumption causes the destruction of nature and disasters for humanity : “every day, approximately 8 million pieces of plastic pollution find their way into our oceans” stated SAS. Consequently, it becomes more than ever necessary to change our consumption habits.

At CITIES foundation, we believe that we can make a difference by empowering local communities to tackle global problems. Your step can change a lot. This new year is the perfect opportunity to adopt a new plastic-free resolution. Don’t wait a minute to try it!

  Get inspired by the wasted rewarders’ products 

Some brands, just as the WASTED rewarders did, decide to concept alternatives to daily virgin-plastic products. The WASTED community has a lots of choice and even more now that it is possible to spend their discounts online, on the website of our rewarders. From reusable straws from RietjesFabriek to unique bags by Fenix circular, all the products prove that it’s possible to associate style, fashion and plastic conscious lifestyle.

If you’re not convinced yet, check here all the products of the WASTED rewarders. You will definitely want to start your plastic reduction now!

  #Change 1 : Transform your bathroom 

To make your beginning in the “plastic-free lifestyle” easier, we propose you to start with transforming your bathroom. Body cares, toothbrushes, cosmetics, menstrual pads,… we use a lot of plastic in our bathroom. Yet, there is a lot of alternatives products. You could rather fall in love with the reusable cotton pads from Zozero or adopt your Bamboovement toothbrush, much more fashionable than your old plastic one. You have a lots of choice, make yours!

In short, there is no reason for not taking this opportunity to start the year on the right foot! Change your consumption habits with us. This new resolution, you will hold it.

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Let’s celebrate a conscious Christmas

Christmas is undoubtedly one of the happiest times of the year. Along with the holiday season, come the gifts for young and old ones. A side effect of this period, however, is consumerism. Christmas is the peak of consumerism in western cultures. In common use, consumerism refers to a tendency of people living in a capitalist economy to engage in a lifestyle of excessive materialism that revolves around reflexive, wasteful, or conspicuous overconsumption.

In the Netherlands, most Christmas purchases are done in November or the first half of December. Dutch consumers spend a lot less during the holiday season than consumers in other countries (33% less than average). According to an analysis made by Statista, in 2017 in the Netherlands, the most desirable gifts for men are: 1) books, 2) chocolates, food/drink, 3) games, and 4) cash. Respectively, the most desired gifts for women are: 1) chocolates, 2) books and cosmetics/perfumes, 3) gift vouchers, and 4) beauty care, massage, spa treatment.

Vast amounts of clothing, electronic items and plastic products which we consume contribute to a throwaway culture, wherein too much waste is generated and too little is recycled. Last year, Dutch municipalities collected 8.5 billion kilograms of household waste. That is 494 kilograms of garbage per inhabitant of the Netherlands. It’s time for change! After all, there is no planet B.

At CITIES FOUNDATION, we believe we can make a difference by empowering local communities to tackle global problems. The same applies to Christmas overconsumption, so we are encouraging people to celebrate a conscious Christmas. We provide our community members with information about the impact of conventional Christmas presents and give them discounts on sustainable alternatives. Take a look below to see some of our tips and findings.

We wish you a merry Christmas and a plastic-free year!

  COSMETICS Cosmetics come swathed in plastic, often not readily recyclable. They also contain chemical substances, which are potentially harmful to the environment. And let’s not forget that a high percentage of them is still being tested on animals. However, some companies are trying to change this. Take a look at the products of Flow Cosmetics and Loofy’s.

CLOTHES One of the negative environmental impacts of fast fashion is water pollution, due to the use of toxic chemicals and growing levels of textile waste. The fashion industry is the second most polluting industry globally. So how can we reduce our fashion footprint? Choosing eco-friendly brands is the first step. For example, take a look at Granny’s finest.

SUNGLASSES We all want to look fashionable and stylish with a new pair of sunglasses, while also protecting our eyes. But there’s a catch: conventional sunglasses contribute to environmental pollution. They are made of non-biodegradable plastic, and a combination of other materials, such as metal and paint. In this way, they are not recyclable and frequently end up in landfills. You can find sustainable alternatives at The Bamboovement.

PHONE CASES Most conventional cases are made from polycarbonate or polypropylene plastics, both harmful to the environment. POPSICASE has eco-friendly cases made from fishing nets, check it out!

TOOTHBRUSHES (not a conventional gift, but maybe the bamboo brush can be an exception) For centuries, the basic toothbrush was made from natural materials. Maybe, it’s about time we returned to that again. Most of us will use around 300 toothbrushes during our lifetime. Modern plastic and electric toothbrushes are not recyclable because small parts get stuck in the machinery. Furthermore, they often end up in oceans, effectively endangering marine life. The Bamboovement has sustainable bamboo brushes.

WRAPPING Wrapping paper is often dyed, laminated, or contains non-paper additives such as gold and silver coloured shapes or glitter. When this is the case, it cannot be recycled. Furthermore, some wrapping paper is very thin and therefore contains a very limited amount of good quality fibres for recycling. Why not use a reusable gift wrap from Made by Minke, which looks even nicer than its paper counterparts.

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We are presenting at WasteBuild

WasteBuild is the first and only international event dedicated to accelerating the transition towards a circular built environment. During this event, architects, engineers, developers and policymakers will exchange circular initiatives and solutions for sustainable buildings, share best practice, and explore the commercial benefits of the circular economy. WasteBuild will also highlight the need for the construction industry to take collective action to tackle the climate emergency, by moving towards circular business models.

“For countries such as the Netherlands and the UK to achieve the circular-economy targets needed to reduce carbon emissions, a major shift in the way we resource construction projects is needed now,” said Frazer Stokes, event director of WasteBuild.

The transition towards circularity will not be driven by technology. Our societal and economic system needs to change fundamentally, towards a focus on long-term prosperity rather than short-term profits. This needs to be facilitated by commercial, economic and regulatory factors. WasteBuild examines all these angles, highlighting the need for systematic change. Moreover, it offers stakeholders commercially viable solutions and strategies to implement circular initiatives.

The event includes a free-to-attend exhibition, in which architects, engineers, designers and technologists will present circular solutions, with sponsors and exhibitors including Forbo, Kloeckners, ByFusion, Interface, SUPERLOCAL, Peikko and Ecor. Besides that, a paid conference will explore opportunities and challenges for using “waste” as a resource.

We are thrilled to be part of this amazing event! Would you like to come explore, network and be inspired? And meet us? Register at https://ift.tt/34DTuEV

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Joining World Cleanup Day

September 21st was World Cleanup Day and 20 million people in 179 countries joined forces to make their beaches, streets, forests and parks a little cleaner. This annual day is organized by NGO Let’s Do It World and aims to raise awareness of waste polluting our planet and give everyone a chance to help create a better, healthier and safer environment. We participated early this year, on September 19, as we organized a post-work cleanup session in our neighbourhood. With equipment provided by the municipality of Amsterdam, we felt well prepared for this cleanup adventure!

We managed to fill quite a few bags and gained insight into the type of garbage that ends up in our environment. Especially around the restaurants and supermarket, we found many cigarette butts, candy wrappers and cans. We also collected some mysterious types of garbage around a construction site and discussed its impact with a neighbouring restaurant owner. It wasn’t all serious reflection though, we also had fun coming up with theories on how the socks and police ribbons ended up in the bushes!

As reported by Let’s Do It World, there were also interesting findings in other countries. In Sri Lanka, 250 kg of plastic and 15 kg of flip-flops were cleaned from just one beach. And several toilets, fridges and other household appliances were discovered in the waters of Cyprus, Curaçao and Maldives, where underwater cleanups took place. Some people took part through plogging – picking up trash while jogging, including crown Princess Victoria of Sweden. And cleanups continued despite earthquakes in Albania and wildfires in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.

The cleanup for next year has already been planned on the 19th of September 2020. We’re planning to join in even bigger numbers! Will you join too?

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Recycling for collective rewards: the worm hotel!

Since 2015, the residents of Amsterdam Noord can receive WASTED coins in return for their recycling efforts. They take pictures of their garbage bags at the associated recycling points and receive virtual or physical coins. Up to this point, these coins could only be used for personal rewards, such as discounts on bread, cinema tickets or a haircut. However, our community expressed an interest in using the coins for collective rewards, such as a picnic table, playground equipment or… a worm hotel.

A worm hotel is a community box in which up to thirty households can dispose of their organic waste which will be composted by worms. This compost is used to feed plants in the box, but can also be harvested by the community members for other purposes. We thought this would be a particularly interesting community reward because separate organic waste disposal is not yet possible in Amsterdam Noord. Worm hotels not only facilitate recycling, but also create circular systems, reduce the amount of household waste, green the neighbourhood and serve as a meeting point to strengthen the social cohesion.

From October 1st, residents can sign up in groups of four and start donating their WASTED coins for a collective worm hotel. Besides the group members, other WASTED members can also donate their coins and the group members can campaign for their cause. The first groups that reach 500 coins will win a worm hotel, instruction workshop and container to separate organic waste at home. The group members will be the owner of the worm hotel and get to decide its location (together with the municipality) and are responsible for its upkeep.

Besides being a project with a variety of benefits in itself, this is also a pilot for a new direction WASTED, one of CITIES’ projects, is heading in. Therefore, we aim to answer a series of questions. Do residents recycle more waste when they are saving up for a collective reward? Do they come together more? Does this improve social cohesion and solidarity in the neighbourhood? And how can this collective reward system be replicated in other neighbourhoods? Hopefully, in the future, a large selection of collective rewards will be available to residents far beyond Amsterdam Noord.

Would you like to learn more about this project? Follow WASTEDlab on Facebook or Instagram or send us an email ([email protected])

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Co-designing a plastic conscious lifestyle app

We are currently working hard on developing a plastic conscious lifestyle app. This app will guide you through a number of challenges which help you reduce your plastic footprint in various parts of everyday life, such as bathroom routine, grocery shopping or wrapping food. We are determined to pack this APP with useful insights, tips and tricks, but at the same time make it as easy to use as possible.

As in our current WASTED programme (https://ift.tt/2unElpa), the app will provide rewards in the form of discounts for completing certain challenges, i.e. for using a bamboo toothbrush, using your own cloth bags for grocery shopping, etc. In order to test the plastic-free challenges, we have asked our community members to participate in a trial and try to reduce their plastic footprint for a while.

The trial started out with a survey in the inbox of the community members, where they were introduced to how the trial would work. The community members were also able to choose the category (bathroom, kitchen, commuting, grocery shopping) of which they wanted to reduce their plastic footprint. After receiving the survey answers, we created different WhatsApp group chats for participants based on the category they chose. And that‘s how the plastic-free trial begun!

Depending on the category chosen, the participants received a list of five challenges (use a bamboo toothbrush, buy loose fruits and vegetables, wrap your food in beeswax wraps, etc.) and picked two or three to try out for a month. After that, all they had to do was send us a picture once per week to show us how they were doing the challenge.

We are now in week six of the trial and we have received quite some photos from the participants already! They showed us their plastic-free bathrooms with soap bars, shampoo and conditioner bars, wooden toothbrushes and reusable makeup wipes. They showed us how they are buying loose fruit and veg, grocery shopping using their own cloth and tote bags and growing their own herbs and vegetables. It is very inspiring to see how people are making little changes in their lives in order to better for the environment!

As we have successfully tested this model with WhatsApp group chats and learned from our mistakes, we hope to reach more people and reduce our plastic consumption even more once the app is launched. Follow us to hear all the new developments and be the first one to download the app once it’s out there!

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Plastic Conscious Lifestyle App

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Researcher plastic conscious lifestyle

WASTED is a project of CITIES FOUNDATION (https://ift.tt/2gCz6Q7 ), an independent urban research organization evolved  into catalyst and incubator of sustainable solutions. Since 2015, WASTED  (www.wastedlab.nl )invented and experimented on developing a reward system with a growing community of 5000 people (1800 families) in Amsterdam Noord.  Confident in the potential of the initiative, and keen on growing our impact towards a great plastic transition, we now aim to reward as many people as possible to live a plastic conscious lifestyle.

This internship is composed by three lines of work.

From one side, the applicant will work on researching which are the paths towards a plastic conscious lifestyle, from the easiest steps to the most radical choices. This is purely desk research (publications & media) and first level interview with zero plastic lifestyle representative from NL, US and UK and Europe in general. What are the first steps? What is needed? How difficult is it?

The second part of the research is focused on creating a matrix, a model to help a possible citizen to go through a plastic conscious lifestyle. The goal is to create a programme which provides coins to access rewards. We need to calculate the amount of effort made for each action and quantify it in terms of coins.

The third line of work is focused more on users experiences. We seek to develop a series of whatzapp groups with volunteers and test, co-create, co-elaborate and co-criticize and learn from their transition

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The next WASTED

  This 2018, WASTED successfully implemented the bulky waste to their system, promoting second life to items through reusing, repairing, and recycling. Relying on innovation, an online reward option was activated and the possibility to redeem wastedcoins on sustainable web shops. Our rewards organizations network gets bigger, we welcome new actors from all Amsterdam, those brands who want to bepart of this sustainable chain.

As year end approaches, we face a new period. PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers), on a pro bono basis, partnered with us to develop a future business plan. PwC helps organizations and individuals to create successful operation and business strategy. They are committed with the environment and communities to make impact to society thought their clients supports.

“With PwC’s help, we built a business model that is impact oriented AND profit driven, without compromising the mission of WASTED. Building on a successful local experiment, we are creating a company to infuse systemic change, going beyond the traditional ‘lean & mean’ start-up model.”                  Francesca Miazzo WASTED Founder

  For years to come, we project a different scenario but our deep-rooted beliefs and mission are and will be the same. We expect to implement WASTED system in five dutch cities, being the whole Amsterdam the first, in the coming two years. From year three, a further expansion to the US considerably growing our members. The deployment of our plastic fight campaigns estimates that members will refuse 6 million kg of plastic and separate 8,5 million kg. At present, we are looking for investor that share our future vision.

  Awaiting to have the same success as Foodlogica nowadays that, in 2016, had the opportunity to benefit from business guidance from PwC. Foodlogica won PwC’s  SOCIAL IMPACT LAB 2016, a challenge for start-ups with a social purpose. Today is a registered commercial activity that links local food, consumers and businesses in Amsterdam’s city center through transport that reduces emissions, congestion and pollution, cleaning the last mile.

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