This country recycles 90% of its food waste
And converts it into fertilizer and animal feed
Today’s eco snapshot👇🏽
No landfilling: recycling food waste
Startup of the week: Fox Fold
5 sustainable apparel brands
Some good news from around the world
3 ways I can help you on your sustainability journey
♻️ This country recycles 90% of its food waste
Food waste is one of the biggest contributors to climate change. When we throw away food, it mostly ends up in landfills where it releases methane, one of the most potent greenhouse gases.
Also, when food is wasted, all the energy and resources used to produce and transport it gets wasted.
South Korea keeps about 90 percent of discarded food out of landfills.
Individuals and businesses pay a small fee to discard food waste and it costs the government around $600 million a year to keep the food waste away from incinerators and landfills.
The apartment complexes in the country have designated bins for food waste. The residents are issued cards which they have to scan every time they drop food waste into a designated bin. The bin weighs what they’ve dropped in. At the end of the month, they get a bill.
The government has built a vast network of processing facilities that clean and convert this waste into a feed supplement for chickens and ducks. Other byproducts are biogas and fertilizers.
Of course, the model has some drawbacks but this sets a benchmark for other countries and cities to follow.
Time for the quiz of the week ⌛
Answer at the end of the newsletter. No one (including me) can see your response so feel free to vote 😉
✨ Startup of the week: Fox Fold
Flushed Funds…The hotel industry has a waste problem. Hotels discard millions of partially used paper products, such as toilet rolls and facial tissue boxes, to provide a better experience for guests. This results in significant losses for both the industry and the planet.
Sheet Shift…Fox Fold has a sustainable tissue solution for this problem. It has built a wall-mounted toilet paper dispenser. It contains flat sheets stacked on top of each other.
It dispenses one extra-large sheet at a time.
This replaces the traditional toilet paper.
Everytime a new guest arrives, the dispenser can be refilled.
Bam-Boom Savings…These sheets are made from bamboo, a plant that grows 15 times faster than trees and requires less land and fewer fertilizers. Bamboo's carbon emission is 30% less compared to trees. The flat paper product also takes up less space compared to toilet rolls, which can save on storage costs for hotels. This also reduces both transportation costs and emissions.
Refill Revolution…Fox Fold has also built a refillable facial tissue dispenser. This can be filled with facial tissues. Instead of replacing the entire box. This reduces plastic and paper waste. A perfect way to wipe away waste and flush down costs!
✅ 5 sustainable apparel brands
Beni: A browser extension and an app that’s making secondhand shopping easier
Feelou: A comfortable bra for mothers that grows and shrinks along with the rhythm of the female body
Iron Roots: Plastic-free sportswear brand
Petit Pli: Clothes that grow with your children, so that you don’t have to keep buying new ones as they grow
Sojo: Makes clothing alterations and repairs as easy as ordering food from an app
Curating these stories for the newsletter takes me about 8-10 hours each week. If you've been a subscriber for a while and find this newsletter valuable, please consider upgrading to the paid version :)
😹 Some Good News
Eternal Light: Cemetery Powers Up with Solar
Saint-Joachim, a French town, is installing a solar canopy over its cemetery, transforming it into a communal source of energy. The innovative project, involving residents in its creation, will distribute solar electricity equally among the townsfolk, potentially saving households €150 to €250 annually on their electricity bills.
Nun Shall Freeze: Solar Power Heats Water Supply at Monastery
At Pangmo Monastery in Himachal Pradesh, winters no longer mean frozen water sources, thanks to newly installed solar-powered water pumps. These pumps, along with large storage tanks and a solar passive design, have made water fetching less burdensome, enhancing the quality of life for the resident nuns and locals.
Concrete Jungle's Green Makeover
Urban spaces worldwide are ditching concrete for greener alternatives. This 'depaving' movement boosts water absorption, curbs flooding, supports wildlife and uplifts urban mental health. Acknowledging its climate adaptation potential, several cities are now incorporating it into their official urban planning.
🌎 3 ways I can help you
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Enjoy your weekend, and see you next week😊