This country will pay you to bicycle to work
Belgium wants to promote cycling to and from work.
Its National Labour Council has decided that all employees would be entitled to 27 euro cents per km if they cycle to work.
Employees would be paid along with their wages and can claim an allowance of up to 40km per day.
So if you have a 5 km commute, you could pocket ~ā¬50/month.
Employees can use that to pay for bike subscriptions and parking as well.
Good for your health, the planet, and your pocket.
Moving onto this weekās content. So today, we havešš½
A startup thatās converting food waste into useable ingredients
Another startup thatās using seaweed to replace plastic
Some good news
Can I help you?
šæ Converting food waste into useable ingredients
Costly Lossesā¦1/3rd of the food produced is never consumed. Itās wasted in different steps of the food supply chain. Every time we waste food, we also waste energy and water that was used to grow it. Not to forget the nutrients that are lost in the process.
WINXā¢-ing Against Food Wasteā¦Australian startup Whole. has decided to solve two problems together- eliminate food waste and ensure that humans get all the necessary nutrients. It has built a proprietary technology called WINXā¢- Whole Ingredient Nutrient Extraction process. Itās a zero-waste, enhanced nutrient extraction technology.
Supermarkets usually reject fruits and vegetables that look ugly or low-grade but are still high in nutritional value.
With the WINXā¢ technology, this rejected or low-grade produce is processed into a superior whole-food ingredient.
This locks away the nutrition and flavor and the whole-food ingredient can be used directly by food manufacturers.
Waste-Free Techā¦WINXā¢ technology does not use any chemical processing. The process prevents low-grade food from being wasted and helps food producers earn more revenue. Also, it ensures that nutrition is not lost in the process.
šUsing seaweed to replace plastic
Plastic Pollution Perilā¦Look around yourself and you will notice that our life is surrounded by plastic. Most of it is produced using fossil fuels. Since fossil fuels are involved, the production of plastic causes emissions. Once we dispose it off, if itās not recycled (which is usually the case), it would end up in landfill or oceans.
Weeding Out Plasticā¦Macro Oceans is tackling that in a unique way. It is using seaweed to replace plastic in our cosmetics, packaging, and food. Seaweed grows using only sunlight and seawater and doesnāt need any irrigation, fertilizer, or land. It grows quickly, sucks up a lot of carbon and it can biodegrade really fast.
It can be used to make paper and packaging products.
It can replace plastic in a variety of other industries like textiles, polymers, pesticides, fertilizers, dyes.
Macro Oceans sources its seaweed from growers in Alaska which grow them sustainably in ocean farms.
Partnering for reductionā¦It is also working with innovators and startups to develop new markets and applications for seaweed. This could be in both consumer and commercial industries. This would ensure that less plastic is manufactured and dumped on our land and oceans.
š¹ Some Good News
HoloCircus- This circus is using holograms instead of live animals
CarbonCrush- Researchers develop carbon-negative concrete
Thai-ng Up Loose Ends- Thailand announces ban on plastic waste imports by 2025
š Can I help you?
Apart from sharing climate-positive stories, I also work as a freelance content writer for planet-friendly brands.
Feel free to reach out if you need help with your blogs, newsletters, or whitepapers.
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Nice to see some good news. Also glad Dash is recovering.