Beyond Recycling

Beyond Recycling PDF Author: Paul Micklethwaite
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000381854
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 169

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Book Description
Beyond Recycling critically explores unasked questions around recycling and its prominent position in contemporary thinking about sustainability. It examines and challenges assumptions about why we appear to have so wholeheartedly committed to recycling as a cultural project. Recycling has become a commonplace notion and widespread practice. Yet its social, cultural and even environmental value has not been considered carefully enough. This book considers recycling as a contemporary cultural idea related to – but not wholly defined by – our response to material waste. It seeks to reclaim recycling from the environmentalists and waste management specialists, to explore the role it plays in wider contemporary discourse. As we become increasingly satiated, and in many cases sickened, by the excesses of modern consumerism, we are rethinking our relationship with the physical stuff that fills our lives. Dissatisfied with empty materialism, we seek new ways to reuse our material culture. Recycling, turning something considered to be waste into something with renewed value, is our primary collective response to the problems arising from consumption; and it is ripe for critical examination. Beyond Recycling is a fascinating read for conscious consumers and students in the creative arts, design, cultural studies, sustainability and environmental studies.

Beyond Recycling

Beyond Recycling PDF Author: Paul Micklethwaite
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000381854
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 169

Get Book Here

Book Description
Beyond Recycling critically explores unasked questions around recycling and its prominent position in contemporary thinking about sustainability. It examines and challenges assumptions about why we appear to have so wholeheartedly committed to recycling as a cultural project. Recycling has become a commonplace notion and widespread practice. Yet its social, cultural and even environmental value has not been considered carefully enough. This book considers recycling as a contemporary cultural idea related to – but not wholly defined by – our response to material waste. It seeks to reclaim recycling from the environmentalists and waste management specialists, to explore the role it plays in wider contemporary discourse. As we become increasingly satiated, and in many cases sickened, by the excesses of modern consumerism, we are rethinking our relationship with the physical stuff that fills our lives. Dissatisfied with empty materialism, we seek new ways to reuse our material culture. Recycling, turning something considered to be waste into something with renewed value, is our primary collective response to the problems arising from consumption; and it is ripe for critical examination. Beyond Recycling is a fascinating read for conscious consumers and students in the creative arts, design, cultural studies, sustainability and environmental studies.

Recycling Reconsidered

Recycling Reconsidered PDF Author: Samantha Macbride
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262297663
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
How the success and popularity of recycling has diverted attention from the steep environmental costs of manufacturing the goods we consume and discard. Recycling is widely celebrated as an environmental success story. The accomplishments of the recycling movement can be seen in municipal practice, a thriving private recycling industry, and widespread public support and participation. In the United States, more people recycle than vote. But, as Samantha MacBride points out in this book, the goals of recycling—saving the earth (and trees), conserving resources, and greening the economy—are still far from being realized. The vast majority of solid wastes are still burned or buried. MacBride argues that, since the emergence of the recycling movement in 1970, manufacturers of products that end up in waste have successfully prevented the implementation of more onerous, yet far more effective, forms of sustainable waste policy. Recycling as we know it today generates the illusion of progress while allowing industry to maintain the status quo and place responsibility on consumers and local government. MacBride offers a series of case studies in recycling that pose provocative questions about whether the current ways we deal with waste are really the best ways to bring about real sustainability and environmental justice. She does not aim to debunk or discourage recycling but to help us think beyond recycling as it is today.

The Upcycle

The Upcycle PDF Author: William McDonough
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 0865477485
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 258

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Book Description
From the authors "Cradle to Cradle," the next step, in how society must change the way it uses resources. Drawing on the lessons gained from 10 years of using the cradle-to-cradle concept, McDonough and Braungart envision the next step in the solution to our ecological crisis.

Why Do We Recycle?

Why Do We Recycle? PDF Author: Frank Ackerman
Publisher: Island Press
ISBN: 1597267880
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 223

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Book Description
The earnest warnings of an impending "solid waste crisis" that permeated the 1980s provided the impetus for the widespread adoption of municipal recycling programs. Since that time America has witnessed a remarkable rise in public participation in recycling activities, including curbside collection, drop-off centers, and commercial and office programs. Recently, however, a backlash against these programs has developed. A vocal group of "anti-recyclers" has appeared, arguing that recycling is not an economically efficient strategy for addressing waste management problems. In Why Do We Recycle? Frank Ackerman examines the arguments for and against recycling, focusing on the debate surrounding the use of economic mechanisms to determine the value of recycling. Based on previously unpublished research conducted by the Tellus Institute, a nonprofit environmental research group in Boston, Massachusetts, Ackerman presents an alternative view of the theory of market incentives, challenging the notion that setting appropriate prices and allowing unfettered competition will result in the most efficient level of recycling. Among the topics he considers are: externality issues -- unit pricing for waste disposal, effluent taxes, virgin materials subsidies, advance disposal fees the landfill crisis and disposal facility siting container deposit ("bottle bill") legislation environmental issues that fall outside of market theory calculating costs and benefits of municipal recycling programs life-cycle analysis and packaging policy -- Germany's "Green Dot" packaging system and producer responsibility the impacts of production in extractive and manufacturing industries composting and organic waste management economics of conservation, and material use and long-term sustainability Ackerman explains why purely economic approaches to recycling are incomplete and argues for a different kind of decisionmaking, one that addresses social issues, future as well as present resource needs, and non-economic values that cannot be translated into dollars and cents. Backed by empirical data and replete with specific examples, the book offers valuable guidance for municipal planners, environmental managers, and policymakers responsible for establishing and implementing recycling programs. It is also an accessible introduction to the subject for faculty, students, and concerned citizens interested in the social, economic, and ethical underpinnings of recycling efforts.

Can I Recycle This?

Can I Recycle This? PDF Author: Jennie Romer
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0143135678
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 274

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Book Description
“If you’ve ever been perplexed by the byzantine rules of recycling, you’re not alone…you’ll want to read Can I Recycle This?... An extensive look at what you can and cannot chuck into your blue bin.” —The Washington Post The first illustrated guidebook that answers the age-old question: Can I Recycle This? Since the dawn of the recycling system, men and women the world over have stood by their bins, holding an everyday object, wondering, "can I recycle this?" This simple question reaches into our concern for the environment, the care we take to keep our homes and our communities clean, and how we interact with our local government. Recycling rules seem to differ in every municipality, with exceptions and caveats at every turn, leaving the average American scratching her head at the simple act of throwing something away. Taking readers on a quick but informative tour of how recycling actually works (setting aside the propaganda we were all taught as kids), Can I Recycle This gives straightforward answers to whether dozens of common household objects can or cannot be recycled, as well as the information you need to make that decision for anything else you encounter. Jennie Romer has been working for years to help cities and states across America better deal with the waste we produce, helping draft meaningful legislation to help communities better process their waste and produce less of it in the first place. She has distilled her years of experience into this non-judgmental, easy-to-use guide that will change the way you think about what you throw away and how you do it.

Beyond Environmentalism

Beyond Environmentalism PDF Author: Jeffrey E. Foss
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0470413697
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 339

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Book Description
This one-of-a-kind book provides thoughtful insight into the current relationship between humankind and the environment Beyond Environmentalism is the first book of its kind to present a timely and relevant analysis of environmentalism. The author's decades of experience as a philosopher of science allow him to critically comprehend scientific issues and to develop and explain sound, ethical policies in response to them. The result is a volume that builds a philosophy of nature and helps the reader assess humankind's relationship with and impact on the world around us. This innovative book discusses the inconsistencies, both scientific and philosophical, of popular environmentalism and sheds new perspectives on the issues, causes, and debates that embrace society today. The goal is not to settle environmental issues once and for all, but rather to provide the basis for more reasoned, scientific, and productive debates. The need for a new philosophy of nature is explored through methodological discussion of several topics, including: The rise and fall of scientific proof Nature in religion, romance, and human values Humankind's responsibility to the environment The value of freedom Kinship among species Numerous case studies throughout the book delve into global warming, the "sixth extinction," the precautionary principle, pollution, and other popular issues within environmentalism. Feature boxes guide the reader through complex topics such as eco-sabotage, the Gaia hypothesis, and the urban heat-island effect, while vivid illustrations demonstrate scientific data, theories, and philosophical arguments in a reader-friendly manner. With its balanced approach to provocative issues, Beyond Environmentalism serves as an excellent, thought-provoking supplement for courses on environmental studies at the undergraduate and graduate levels. It is also an interesting and accessible read for anyone with a general interest in environmental issues.

Beyond Imagination

Beyond Imagination PDF Author: Zamanzima Mazibuko
Publisher: African Books Collective
ISBN: 0639986692
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 278

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Book Description
Nanotechnology is sweeping the world. This science of very small particles, which includes genetic modification and the reconfiguring of the arrangement of atoms, presents possibilities beyond imagination. It also has huge implications for all South Africans, especially at home. How exactly is this new technology playing out in South Africa? In countries like India, nanotechnology is being supported as a source of income and innovation. It has the potential to improve both the human condition and a countrys productivity and competitiveness. Is South Africa doing what it should and could to foster nanotechnology and biotechnology, and to advance bioeconomies within the country? And what does the new technology mean for us as consumers? How many of us know that this technology is already being employed in substances like suntan cream and lipstick, with potential health implications for users? The application of nanotechnology poses risks as well as huge benefits, so we need to be particularly vigilant of the ethics and dangers of it. This book provokes discussion around these important topics and relays eyeopening information to those of us who thought all of this was sci-fi.

The Stuff We Buy

The Stuff We Buy PDF Author: Georgia Amson-Bradshaw
Publisher: Cavendish Square Publishing, LLC
ISBN: 1502649020
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 50

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Book Description
Readers will gain an essential understanding about the consumer buying cycle and the problems that stem from it. Students realize that the ease of online shopping, reliance on machines in manufacturing, and access to cheap labor and materials in less developed countries create a dangerous cycle where money is more important than people and the environment. However, through "Solve It!" activities, readers are encouraged to address these issues and to consider eco-friendly and more humane solutions for the future. With full-color photographs, quick spotlight facts, and relevant connections to current events, this book will captivate young readers and ignite their interest in sustainability and green living.

Sustainability Practice and Education on University Campuses and Beyond

Sustainability Practice and Education on University Campuses and Beyond PDF Author: Ashok Kumar
Publisher: Bentham Science Publishers
ISBN: 1681084716
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 276

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Book Description
Campus activities for sustainable development are an effective way of learning and implementing sustainability in surrounding communities and industry. A college campus is an ideal place to practice and test new ideas and to learn valuable lessons from the results and mistakes. Sustainability Practice and Education on University Campuses and Beyond showcases many ideas and endeavors pursued on college campuses in the form of case studies. These case studies include past, current and projected activities to green college campuses. Specific topics covered in this book include student-driven and college-driven environmental sustainability programs in undergraduate and graduate classes, issues in teaching environmental sustainability, the LEED certification of universities, issues of shrinking cities, and a comparison of sustainable military bases with college campuses. Readers will be able to clearly understand the concept of sustainable development through a textbook approach to ‘crazy’ ideas presented in the book. In addition, the pedagogical challenges in sustainability education mentioned in the book address key issues arising due to the multidisciplinary nature of sustainability curricula. Sustainability Practice and Education on University Campuses and Beyond is a good resource on sustainability in environmental science courses for college students, faculty and sustainability-related researchers. Decision makers in government and industry positions looking for ideas for promoting sustainable development can also benefit from the contents of this book.

Cycling and Recycling

Cycling and Recycling PDF Author: Ruth Oldenziel
Publisher: Berghahn Books
ISBN: 1782389717
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
Technology has long been an essential consideration in public discussions of the environment, with the focus overwhelmingly on creating new tools and techniques. In more recent years, however, activists, researchers, and policymakers have increasingly turned to mobilizing older technologies in their pursuit of sustainability. In fascinating 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 two such technologies—bicycling and waste recycling—tracing their development over time and providing valuable context for the policy successes and failures of today.