Norwegian Nudge
Countries Learn from Recycling Strategy In Norway, up to 97 percent of the country’s plastic bottles are recycled, and other countries are taking note. The government’s environmental taxes reward compa- nies that are eco-friendly. If a company recycles more than 95 percent of its plastic, then its tax is dropped. Customers pay a deposit on each bottled product they buy. To get back their money, they must return their used bottles to one of the 3,700 machines found in the country’s supermarkets and con- venience stores. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation esti- mates that if current global trends continue, plastic trash in the ocean will outweigh fish by 2050.
Revamping
Recycling China Forces U.S. Cities to Change Specs
China, one of the world’s main im- porters of recyclable waste, is
rejecting ship- ments that are more than 0.5 percent impure, so loads contaminated by
a greasy pizza box, disposable coffee cups and the odd plastic bag could end up in the local landfill instead. Most single-use cups, for instance, are lined with a fine film of polyethylene, which makes the cups liquid-proof, but also difficult and expensive to reprocess. Most waste management facilities will treat the cups as trash. Since China banned impure plastics, many U.S. municipalities no longer accept plastics numbered 3 to 7, which can include yogurt cups, butter tubs and vegetable oil bottles. Another contamination culprit is food residue. Washing out food scraps from recyclables can be just as important as putting the appropriate item in the recycling bin.
Action Alert
Banish Toxic Air in Plane Cabins Flying safety is more than making it to our destination; it’s about the air we have to breathe while in the skies. Toxic fume events can occur when air, contaminated by engine exhaust, fuel fumes, de-icing fluids and/or ozone, enters the aircraft cabin through the jet engine intake. Exposure to even low levels of these contaminants can incapacitate passengers and crew, and long-term exposure could lead to debilitating health issues.
In April, U.S. Representative John Garamendi (D- CA) and U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) intro- duced the Cabin Air Safety Act (H.R. 2208) to protect commercial airline passengers and crew from toxic cabin air. Follow its progress at
GovTrack.US.
The bill would require training on toxic fumes for all pilots, crew members and flight attendants; make sure the Federal Aviation Administration maintains a record of all reports of and conducts investigations into all toxic fume occurrences; and direct the airline industry to install detectors in the air supply system of planes to locate sources of contamination.
Contact a congressional representative, listed on
GovTrack.US, to support the bill.
Hopper Stopper Endangered Frogs Keep Millions of Acres as Habitat
A federal court has dismissed a lawsuit challenging the protected status of 1.8 million acres of critical California mountain habitat for the Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frogs and the mountain yellow-legged frogs, species that have declined by 90 percent, and Yosemite toads. In 2017, a year after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designated the land as protected under the Endangered Species Act, the California Cattlemen’s Association chal- lenged the decision. U.S. District Court Judge Trevor McFadden stated the group had failed to establish that any of its members suffered injury from the designation.
June 2019 15
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Shutterstock.com
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