Waste

• [New] Total biomass capacity is expected to fall to 6,397 MW by the end of 2022, including 790 MW of waste biomass capacity and 5,607 MW of wood biomass capacity. EPA
• [New] In the electric power sector, total biomass generating capacity is expected to be at 6,439 megawatts (MW) by the end of 2021, including 3,885 MW of waste biomass capacity and 2,554 MW of wood biomass capacity. EPA
• [New] The electric power sector is expected to consume 0.276 quadrillion Btu of waste biomass in 2021, falling to 0.271 quad in 2022, compared to 0.238 quad in 2020. EPA
• [New] The electric power sector is expected to generate 33.5 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity from biomass in 2021, including 18.7 billion kWh from waste biomass and 14.9 billion kWh from wood biomass. EPA
• [New] The enormous amounts of waste will end up in landfills, and even fibre corrugated recycling uses 1.075 billion litres of water per year in the US only. Packaging Europe
• [New] The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12.3 aims to halve per capita global food waste at both the retail and consumer levels as well as lower food losses throughout production and supply chains by 2030. FoodNavigator.com
• [New] The highest and best use of organics waste is to divert it from landfills by at least 75% by 2025 and make organic compost and RNG. California Air Resources Board
• [New] Currently 1.3 billion tonnes of food are wasted every year around the globe - around a third of all food produced - and tackling food waste offers the opportunity to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by up to 10%. princes-foundation.org
• [New] Soda giant PepsiCo will cut back on the use of virgin plastic and expand its SodaStream sparkling-water business to more markets amid growing calls from consumers, clients and climate change advocates to combat plastic waste. The Globe and Mail
• [New] If applied to the 270 million dairy cows across the globe, it could put a serious dent in the toxic chemicals and greenhouse gases produced by bovine waste. Australian Academy of Science
• [New] The resource and waste sector will sit at the heart of a post-pandemic green recovery and will play a critical role in helping to achieve the UK government's ambitious environmental targets in years to come. wamitab.org.uk
• [New] In the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals, under the goal on sustainable production and consumption, SDG 12, a target has been set to 'halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reducing food losses along production and supply chains by 2030'. aaphce.com
• [New] LG is increasing its target amount of electronic waste take-back from its 4.5 million metric tons in 2006 to more than 8 million metric tons by 2030; LG is implementing initiatives to take back and recycle electronic waste in 52 countries. Global Citizen
• [New] The reduction of waste generation is linked with SDG Target 12.5 (by 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse). Food and Agriculture Organisation
• [New] Transporting food safely to communities worldwide requires complex supply chains that can be vulnerable to extreme heat, given the increased need for cold storage, which threatens to increase food waste. Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center
• [New] The current study follows a 2015 study in Nature which estimated that a third of oil reserves, half of gas reserves and over 80% of coal reserves should remain unused by 2050 to have a good chance of capping global warming at 2 °C. The Independent
• Preventing plastic pollution will require a dedicated global framework, a Convention on Plastic Pollution, that addresses the full lifecycle of plastics from production and design to waste prevention and management. EIA International
• Plastics industry representative PlasticsEurope says it endorses revisions to the EU's Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive, while calling for a new recycled content target of 30% by 2030. Packaging Europe
• The use of plastic waste in new building materials could contribute to achieving Australia's target of recovering 80% of its waste by 2030, with the project seeking funding for its next phase, which will focus on large-scale testing ahead of commercialising the new eco-products. Resource Magazine
• Other decisions include improving separation rates of food waste from other wastes (Prague has set itself a goal of 70% by 2035, while it is now at 30%) in order to convert food waste into biogas or fertilizer. I by IMD
• Among the new sustainability goals for O-I, recycled content, water reduction, renewable energy and zero waste have been added to the ambitious and aspirational goals to achieve by 2030. OI
• In 2021 Nikola has announced two separate plans to source hydrogen that it will make from surplus electricity in Arizona and industrial waste in Indiana. Forbes

Last updated: 19 September 2021