Paris, Tokyo, New York and others pledge to slash waste

Yahoo – AFP, August 28, 2018

A reclaimer wades through the waste at Robinson Deep landfill, Johannesburg's
largest landfill on June 29, 2018. (AFP Photo/GULSHAN KHAN)

New York (AFP) - By slashing food waste and improving waste management and recycling, 23 global cities and regions representing 150 million people pledged Tuesday to significantly cut the pollution-causing garbage they generate by 2030.

Places like New York, Tokyo, London, Paris and Sydney vowed to "cut the amount of waste generated by each citizen 15 percent by 2030," said a statement from C40 Cities, a global network dedicated to fighting climate change.

They will also "reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills and incineration by 50 percent and increase the diversion rate to 70 percent by 2030," according to the declaration.

The goal of the "Advancing Towards Zero Waste Declaration" is to avoid the disposal of at least 87 million tons of waste by 2030.

Waste is becoming one of the leading threats to the environment, increasing faster than any other pollutant.

Each year, 1.3 billion tons of wasted food is sent to landfills where rotting scraps send the potent heat-trapping greenhouse gas methane into the atmosphere.

Improving waste and material management around the world globally could reduce global emissions by 20 percent, and are "essential" to delivering on the goals of the 2015 Paris climate accords and keeping global temperature rise below 1.5 Celsius, said the C40 Cities statement.

The announcement was released ahead of the Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco in mid-September.

Signatories include Auckland, Copenhagen, Dubai, London, Milan, Montreal, New York City, Newburyport, Paris, Philadelphia, Portland, Rotterdam, San Jose, San Francisco, Santa Monica, Sydney, Tel Aviv, Tokyo, Toronto, Vancouver Washington DC, and the regions of Navarra and Catalonia.

Specific steps include reducing food waste and facilitating safe food donation.

Participating areas may encourage separate collection of food scraps that could be used for compost, and supporting local policies like sustainable procurement and boosting awareness and use of recycling for construction and demolition materials.

Areas may also support reductions or bans on single-use and non-recyclable plastics.

The signatories pledged to publicly report their progress every two years.

"Dramatically reducing waste will help curb carbon emissions while helping us build a fairer, cleaner and more livable city for all New Yorkers," said New York Mayor Bill de Blasio.

"We're proud to stand alongside other leading cities worldwide in taking ambitious steps to cut down on waste."

'Trash is gold' as Benin community turns waste into biogas

Yahoo – AFP, Josué MEHOUENOU, August 22, 2018

The facility processes around six tonnes of organic waste every week, turning it
into 200 cubic metres of biogas (AFP Photo/Yanick FOLLY)

Houegbo (Bénin) (AFP) - Garbage has never smelled so sweet for a small village in southern Benin since it opened a pilot waste treatment centre to turn household rubbish into gas -- and cash.

"Our trash has become gold. We no longer throw it into the bush. We use it to make money," beams Alphonse Ago, who lives next to the centre in Houegbo village.

ReBin, a Swiss foundation for sustainable development, built the 1.3-hectare (3.2-acre) facility, which every week turns around six tonnes of organic waste into 200 cubic metres of biogas -- saving some 164 tonnes of wood from being used to make charcoal.

The centre, which opened late last year, also plans to produce around 400 tonnes of organic fertiliser per year.

So far, around 100 households in the area have signed up to the scheme to deposit their waste at the centre on a daily basis.

Every 10 kilogrammes (22 pounds) of waste fetches 250 CFA francs (around 50 euro cents, 57 US cents), paid either in cash or credit -- to buy biogas.

The fuel is a precious commodity in a rural region where electricity remains scarce.

Agnes Avoce, a shopkeeper and mother of five, proudly straps a large plastic bag of the gas onto her back.

So far, around 100 households in the area have signed up to the scheme. Every 

10 kilogrammes of waste fetches 250 CFA francs (around 50 euro cents), paid 

either in cash or credit -- to buy biogas (AFP Photo/Yanick FOLLY)

Biogas, she says, is much cleaner and more efficient for cooking than charcoal -- which "darkens the pots and makes me sick" -- and she is more than happy to make the switch.

Avoce is not alone; five other women are waiting to pick up gas.

"There are queues here since we opted for biogas," another customer says.

'Goldmine'

Symphorien Adonon, 35, drops off a week's worth of carefully sorted waste, smiling as he pockets his cash payment.

"Now I have enough to do the shopping for dinner," says Adonon, who drives a motorcycle taxi.

ReBin Benin Foundation chief Mark Giannelli was inspired to launch the project 

after noticing mountains of discarded pineapple skins in Benin, Africa's fourth-biggest 

exporter of the fruit (AFP Photo/Yanick FOLLY)

The centre has treated more than 20 tonnes of waste since it began operations late last year.

In addition to the customers' household waste, there is also rubbish collected by a local non-government organisation, Astome.

The NGO's chief, Florent Gbegnon, says he used to collect it on a push cart, but he now uses a tricycle provided by the centre.

"It's a huge relief," he says as he dumps a load of pineapple skins. "Pushing the cart was a real burden."

It was the massive amounts of waste such as pineapple skins that originally caught the attention of ReBin's founder, Mark Giannelli, and inspired him to set up the treatment centre in Houegbo.

"I saw this not as a problem, but as an opportunity, and I thought it was a goldmine," Giannelli told AFP.

Benin is Africa's fourth-biggest exporter of pineapples. And in Houegbo, which has one of the busiest markets in the region, local sources estimate that more than a tonne of waste is generated every day from that fruit alone.

Giannelli told AFP that he had been searching for a potential site for his project in Benin's West African neighbours Ghana and Togo.

Sewai Mardochee, director of the Toffo facility, says it should be duplicated across 

Benin. 'We can then create jobs and clean up our living environment by reducing

the use of firewood and coal' (AFP Photo/Yanick FOLLY)

But it was the enthusiasm with which the locals embraced his idea that finally convinced him to set up the waste treatment centre here, he said.

'Source of happiness'

The goal is to establish "a real economy that serves the population and protects the environment," he says. "We have to take the problems locally and adapt them to local solutions."

Once the necessary expertise has become more firmly established in Houegbo, Giannelli hopes to extend the project to larger municipalities and let local entrepreneurs run it.

The centre's director, Sewai Mardochee, suggests duplicating it in all of Benin's 77 municipalities.

"We can then create jobs and clean up our living environment by reducing the use of firewood and coal," he said.

Nicolas Hounje, a retired official, has put himself forward to take over the company.

"We did not know here that garbage can become a source of happiness," he says.

VIDEO: Garbage has never smelled so sweet for a small village in southern Benin since it opened a pilot waste treatment centre to turn household rubbish into gas -- and cash pic.twitter.com/HqvKadsl6w

— AFP news agency (@AFP) August 22, 2018

New Zealand to ban single-use plastic bags

Yahoo – AFP, August 10, 2018

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said New Zealand uses "hundreds of millions" of
single-use plastic bags each year, many of which end up harming marine life
 (AFP Photo/Marty MELVILLE)

Wellington (AFP) - New Zealand became the latest country Friday to outlaw single-use plastic shopping bags, with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern saying they will be phased out over the next year as a "meaningful step" towards reducing pollution.

New Zealand uses "hundreds of millions" of single-use plastic bags each year, many of which end up harming marine life, Ardern said.

"We need to be far smarter in the way we manage waste and this is a good start," she said.

"We're phasing-out single-use plastic bags so we can better look after our environment and safeguard New Zealand's clean, green reputation."

Ardern said her coalition government, which includes the Green Party, was facing up to environmental challenges and "just like climate change, we're taking meaningful steps to reduce plastics pollution so we don't pass this problem to future generations."

Single-use plastic bags are among the most common items found in coastal litter in New Zealand and the environmental group Greenpeace welcomed the decision to outlaw them.

"This could be a major leap forward in turning the tide on ocean plastic pollution and an important first step in protecting marine life such as sea turtles and whales, from the growing plastic waste epidemic," Greenpeace Oceans Campaigner Emily Hunter said.

A United Nations report in June said up to five trillion grocery bags are used globally each year, which is nearly 10 million plastic bags per minute.

"If tied together, all these plastic bags could be wrapped around the world seven times every hour" and like most plastic garbage barely any is recycled, said Erik Solheim, head of UN Environment.

The UN said more than 60 countries had introduced bans and levies on single-use plastic items like bags.

But better waste management, financial incentives to change consumers' buying habits and research into alternative materials were needed to make any real change, it added.

Europe sizzles in heatwave as wildfire hits Portugal

Yahoo – AFP, August 5, 2018

Saturday was the hottest day in France since the infamous heatwave of 2003
(AFP Photo/CHARLY TRIBALLEAU)

Madrid (AFP) - Europe sweltered through an intense heatwave on Sunday, with soaring temperatures contributing to forest fires, the closure of nuclear plants and even a threat to the Netherlands' supply of potato fries, although some countries experienced a slight respite.

Here is a roundup:

Spain: Fire under control

A top temperature of 42 degrees Celsius (107 degrees Fahrenheit) was forecast in the southwest region of Extremadura on Sunday, where a wildfire in San Vicente de Alcantara has been brought under control by firefighters, the local fire service said.

The mercury had reached 44 C in the country's south on Saturday, the Spanish Meteorological Agency said.

The rise in temperatures has already claimed the lives of three people who died of heatstroke this week.

A female orangutan hides from the blazing sun in Madrid, Spain 

(AFP Photo/PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU)

Portugal: 45 C forecast

The mercury was expected to hit 45 C in some parts of Portugal on Sunday, a day after weather records in several cities were broken on Saturday, the hottest day for 18 years according to the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA)

A temperature of 46.8 C was recorded north of Lisbon on Saturday, although nowhere reached the nationwide record of 47.3 C registered in the southern village of Amareleja in 2003.

Faced with the heatwave the national rail company admitted that there had been air conditioning problems on some trains and halted the sale of tickets for certain routes, especially those which cross areas where the temperatures are most ferocious.

A forest fire continued to rage on two fronts in Monchique in the country's south on Sunday, with 800 firefighters, supported by 12 water-dropping planes and helicopters were working to put it out.

Another forest fire, in central Estremoz, has left six people wounded, two in serious condition.

A woman pulls two horses as smoke columns rise from a wildfire raging in 

Alvega, Portugal (AFP Photo/CARLOS COSTA)

France: 'Recklessness' warning

In France, 67 out of 101 departments were on heatwave alert with temperatures in the south of the country expected to again peak near 40 C.

Saturday was the hottest day in the country since the infamous heatwave of 2003, in which thousands of mainly elderly people died.

The emergency services complained that, despite public health warnings about keeping cool and hydrated, there was "still quite a lot of recklessness" -- citing the example of an elderly man in Lyon who suffered heart problems while mowing his lawn under the merciless afternoon sun.

The heat has also caused air pollution levels to soar. To try to clear the air, the city of Paris has banned owners of the most polluting categories of vehicles from using their cars on Monday. In the east of the country, authorities have lowered the speed limit by 20 kilometres/hour to try dispel the smog.

French emergency services complained that, despite public health warnings about 

keeping cool and hydrated, there was "still quite a lot of recklessness" (AFP Photo/

CHARLY TRIBALLEAU)

Italy: Tornado spotted

Several thunderstorms flooded streets in Sicily and Sardinia in the south of Italy on Sunday, cooling down a the heatwave that has caused traffic problems on the country's busiest summer weekend on the roads.

Tourists on the Italian island of Pantelleria, near Tunisia, said they had seen a tornado off the coast on Saturday.

Media had previously reported on Saturday that a woman had died from apparent heatstroke on a beach in the northwestern Liguria region.

A woman cools herself in a fountain near the Ara Pacis monument in central
Rome (AFP Photo/Andreas SOLARO)

Germany: Rain brings relief

Isolated showers and thunderstorms brought some relief from the heat in parts of Germany this weekend, particularly in the south. However temperatures are expected to climb again to as high as 39 C in the east on Wednesday.

Sweltering Germans have been flocking to open air swimming pools across the country, and many pools are expecting record visitor numbers this summer, DPA news agency reported.

People walk in a fountain in front of the Berlin Cathedral as the heatwave in Europe 

continues (AFP Photo/John MACDOUGALL)

Britain: Hot until Tuesday

The heat also slightly abated in Britain on Sunday, with the high of just over 30 degrees expected in the south of England, according to the Met Office, which predicted the heatwave would continue until Tuesday.

Public Health England told those in the southeast to stay in the shade and drink lots of water.

Netherlands: Shortage of fries?

While the temperature was down to a near-seasonal 25 C in the Netherlands on Sunday, the country's drought continues to wreak havoc on crops.

Farmers are working night and day to save what they can, the Dutch broadcaster NOS reported, with potato and corn yields hit particularly hard.

Producers have warned that a potato shortage could affect the supply of fries, a Dutch favourite.

Europe swelters with intense heat as temperatures hit near-record highs of 46 degrees Celsius in Portugal, while elsewhere the high temperatures exacerbate fires and melt the asphalt on highwayshttps://t.co/1kxcPnk2ZS pic.twitter.com/nB5qkKUZpG

— AFP news agency (@AFP) August 5, 2018

Related Articles:

"A Summary" – Apr 2, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll)

(Subjects: Religion, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Intelligent/Benevolent Design, EU, South America, 5 Currencies, Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Middle East, Internet, Israel, Dictators, Palestine, US, Japan (Quake/Tsunami Disasters , People, Society ...), Nuclear Power Revealed, Hydro Power, Geothermal Power, Moon, Financial Institutes (Recession, Realign integrity values ..) , China, North Korea, Global Unity,..... etc.) - (Text version)

“… The Weather

Let's talk about the weather. We retreat to exactly what we told you before in this very chair. The water cycle is a cooling cycle, not a heating cycle. You're going to have more severe winters and storms. It's going to get colder. But it gets warmer before it gets colder. That is the cycle, and it has always been the cycle. You can see it in the rings of the trees and the cores of the ice. Don't let your scientists pull the political wool over your eyes for their own purposes. Start seeing these things for what they are. It's a recurring cycle based on four Earth alignment attributes, including the wobble (the precession). You're in this cycle. Prepare.

The beginnings of it will be with you from now at least until the end of the 2012 36-year window, and you can watch it work. The first thing that happens is that the ice melts at the poles, but not completely. It's the way it has happened before. As the redistribution of weight from the poles to the oceans of the earth takes place, the weight is redistributed to the crust, and that creates earthquakes. And the earthquakes that will be the most powerful are the ones that are closest to the poles. We told you that some time ago. So it's not a mystery that suddenly you have some of the most powerful earthquakes that you've ever had. Not only that, but a cooling ocean creates larger storms.

What do the conspiracists do with all this? "See? We're doomed. Here it comes," they say. "Here it comes! The end is here!" Twenty-two years ago, we gave you the information that is happening today. We told you about the weather. We told you to get ready for it, but we still haven't told you why the water cycle is needed. We've hinted at it since it is very controversial, and we'll lose many readers right here and now. Here's the prediction: The scientists are going to laugh and biologists are going to scratch their heads and roll their eyes.

The Refreshing of the Cycle of Life

When you change the temperature of the waters of the planet, it changes the life cycle of the ocean and it eventually renews itself. The life cycle of the planet has a limit to its viability over time. There has to be a refreshing of the very cycle of life, and this is what the water cycle does. Are there any places you've seen too many fish lately? Yes. Millions of salmon in the north. Odd that it was in Alaska, isn't it? Alaska is very close to the poles where the water temperature is being felt first. Oh, again the experts will tell you that this is not the reason. It's about hatcheries and rivers. But nobody predicted this, did they? Science is fast to give you reasons, but slow to give you logic in advance. They always seem to be surprised.

We are saying things we haven't said before. Again, watch for this, an actual change in the life cycle of the planet's oceans because of the water temperature shift. Biologists are going to have to start redesigning the paradigm of how everything works, including reefs, ocean bottoms, and how plankton survive and reproduce. Listen, this is not the first time that the life cycle has been refreshed! But again, this may take generations of humanity to complete. In the process, you may again lose species. This is normal. Gaia is slow, and Humans are impatient. Your textbooks may someday tell of how naive humanity was back in 2011 when they tried to blame weather changes on everything but a natural cycle. Now you know why there is a water cycle.

So what does that tell you about Gaia? Gaia is beginning the cycle of refreshing life on over-fished oceans. It tells you that in the cracks, there is love and caring about the Humans who live on the earth. There's a reason you're here. There's a plan here, and a benevolent Universe and quantum energy with intelligent design. All is there for you, precious, sacred Human Being. …”