Smart Recycling; A Greener Planet

Twenty-one percent of all waste produced in the United States consists of food. However, this does not mean that this waste is just banana peels and expired milk. In the same country, 40 percent of produced food ends up in landfills untouched. The massive scale of this food waste, while many regions of the world suffer from hunger, has prompted the younger generation in the U.S. to take action to reduce food waste, recycle food waste, and reuse it. Every year, a huge amount of food that has passed its expiration date is thrown away. One of the main sources of this waste, especially vegetables and fruits, is grocery stores. Recently, a startup named California Safe Soil has developed a method in this western U.S. state that can convert these vegetables and fruits— which are no longer fresh enough to be sold in large grocery stores— into plant fertilizer to enhance soil productivity on farms. The conversion of food waste into fertilizer has been done for years at both household and industrial levels, but the method developed by this company completes this conversion— which is usually time-consuming— in just three hours. Currently, the company is sending samples of the fertilizers produced by this method to various farms to encourage their use. Waste To Energy is another startup that helps its clients (which can include grocery stores, farms, or municipalities) minimize waste production and also produces fuel energy with the least air pollution by sorting waste. Companies like this aim to change the traditional, costly, inefficient, and polluting waste collection model in cities and industries. Another company that has recently attracted the attention of American investors regarding waste recycling is Rubican Global. Rubican helps its clients, chain companies or municipalities, to first identify their waste. This means knowing what enters the waste world on their behalf. For example, what percentage of their waste consists of coffee cups and soda bottles or how much of their waste is paper and cardboard. Next, Rubican provides actionable solutions to these companies to reduce their waste. The company has designed smart waste bins that are only emptied by waste collection companies when they are full. Established in 2008, this company believes that such methods can help companies save on waste transportation costs, reduce waste volume, and achieve the best recycling of waste. The appearance of smart waste bins— which can connect to Wi-Fi to receive information from a central source— is expanding. The startup Enevo hopes to develop a model in the coming years that, in an urban or industrial area, maximizes the efficiency of the waste collection system— at the lowest possible cost— by collecting data from waste bins and creating an algorithm for their collection times. Another interesting idea that has led to the establishment of a successful company in educating for less waste production and recycling is that by participating in online classes and implementing strategies at home and in the neighborhood, you can receive discount coupons from many stores. Recyclebank, established in 2007 in New York City and having attracted nearly twenty million in investments, believes that having a healthier and better life in the future requires actions we take today. With this idea, and by attracting various companies (from food to cosmetics and hygiene), this company has managed to attract a large audience. The method works such that you report how you recycle food, paper, clothing, etc., at home to this site, and they score/reward you based on your success. With these rewards, you can receive special discounts from companies partnered with this site.