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Football may be the beautiful game, but it can make for a grisly picture environmentally. To keep football pitches and stadiums going can often end up requiring unsustainable levels of energy, water and raw materials.

But new technologies are beginning to bring about a slow greening of the game. Here we look at a handful of football's most exciting infrastructure innovations.

Footstep power

A substantial proportion of residents in Rio de Janeiro's slums power their fridges and illuminate their lights by liberally "borrowing" from the national grid. These ad-hoc connections are not only illegal, but dangerous too.

Pavegen is demonstrating the potential of an alternative, renewable option: power-storing tiles. The London-based tech firm has installed 200 of its "kinetic-harvesting" tiles into a local football pitch in the Rio's Morro da Mineira neighbourhood. The 56mm tiles sit under the pitch's Astroturf surface and flex fractionally every time a player takes a step. Each footstep generates around five watts per second. The system is supplemented by solar panels, which together help light the pitch and surrounding area for up to ten hours a night.

The pitch, which is funded by oil company Shell, marks the largest application of the innovative tiles to date. Pavegen's portfolio of projects also includes kinetic powered lighting for a pedestrian bridge at West Ham Tube Station, one of the access points to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London.

Organic pitch

Gloucestershire-based football club Forest Green Rovers recently became the proud owner of the UK's first organic football pitch. Over the last three years, the club has succeeded in eliminating all nitrogen-based fertilisers and chemicals from its ground maintenance. In their place, the club is using a range of plant-derived products, from compost tea and coconut wetting agent through to seaweed fertiliser. Charcoal is also added to the pitch to provide a carbon base for bacteria and fungus.

"Some organic treatments are more expensive, but this process saves money in the long run by having healthier soil", says the club's chief groundsman, Stewart Ward, who is dismissive of "fire-fighting with chemicals" and "quick cosmetic fixes". The additional up-front costs of going organic are offset by savings on the club's energy bills thanks to the installation of 170 photovoltaic panels, which boast a capacity of 45kW.

The club's efforts are further supported by an autonomously-driven mower, which produces organic mulch that fertilises the pitch as it mows. Off the pitch, Forest Green Rovers' commitment to reducing the use of harmful chemicals also extends to its laundry policy. The team kit is washed in phosphate-free washing powder.

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A pitch at Manchester United's Old Trafford complex made from around 2,200 recycled tyres. Photograph: Action Images

Recycled turf

Back in 2012, Real Madrid upgraded its 11 training pitches with a new generation turf produced by Dutch cradle-to-cradle pioneer, Desso. The pitch's green credentials are bolstered by the fact they never need to be watered, mown or doused with pesticides.

In addition, Desso ensured the old pitches were reused in schools and sports clubs in the area. The company also reuses components from dismantled pitches in other products. By 2020, Desso has pledged to make its artificial turf pitches - which are made from polyethylene, polypropylene or nylon - 100% cradle-to-cradle certified.

Manchester United is also experimenting with recycled materials for artificial turf pitches. In partnership with India-based Apollo Tyres, the UK club recently installed a pitch at its Old Trafford complex made from around 2,200 recycled tyres weighing about 10 tonnes. The waste rubber, which was sourced from Apollo's European subsidiary, is usually reused as a high calorific fuel in industrial ovens. The FIFA-certified recyclable pitch is open to the community around the club's home ground.

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FC Bayern Munich is installing 380,000 energy-efficient LEDs in its stadium. Photograph: Philips

LED light show

FC Bayern Munich, one of Germany's top-ranking football teams, is installing 380,000 energy-efficient LEDs to create a huge "light show" at its Allianz Arena stadium. The lights will illuminate a circular façade standing 35 meters tall around the roof of the 71,137 capacity stadium. The LEDs are set within 8,000 high-intensity ColorGraze fixtures, which promise to expand the options within the membrane outer shell from a palette of three colours to 16m.

According to Phillips, Bayern Munich's official "lighting partner", the project will be 60% more energy efficient (representing a saving of about 362 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year) than the conventional lighting currently used. The innovative illumination of the 29,000m2 façade, which will be ready for the start of the 2015 football season, forms part of a three-year partnership between Bayern Munich and Phillips. Earlier this year, the German electronics giant launched Philips ArenaVison LED, the first LED pitch lighting system to guarantee flicker-free super-slow motion for HDTV.

The San Francisco 49ers' Levi's Stadium has achived the gold standard from eco-building certifier LEED. Photograph: Tony Avelar/AP

NFL eco-stadium

Most sports teams have to wait until the end of the season to collect their medals. Not the San Francisco 49ers. Even before the 95th NFL season kicked off last month, the east coast (American) football team picked up the prestigious gold standard from eco-building certifier LEED.

Inaugurated back in July, its new $1.3bn stadium in Santa Clara is equipped with a 1,900m2, 400kW-capacity solar plant that meets all the venue's power needs. The 68,500-seat Levi's Stadium also boasts a 2,500m2 roof garden in part of the complex. Other innovations include a geothermal heat pump that transfers heat from the sun-drenched ground around the stadium to the hot water supply. The sports field itself is irrigated by a water recycling system that produces up to 1,800 gallons of grey water per minute.
This article was amended on 3 October 2014. The Pavegen tiles measure
56mm, not 5mm as previously stated - 5mm is the 'flex' when stepped on. Read more stories like this:

Unusual renewables: bacon-powered motorbikes and cars run on chocolate

Sustainability and sports: a winning behaviour change combination?

Advertisement feature: 3 tips for companies to reduce carbon in their supply chains - infographic

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Sustainability in football: greening the game

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Football may be the beautiful game, but it can make for a grisly picture environmentally. To keep football pitches and stadiums going can often end up requiring unsustainable levels of energy, water and raw materials. But new technologies are beginning to bring about a slow greening of the game.

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The environmental and social impacts of food waste have largely been under-reported and undervalued as a means to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, conserve natural resources and address global hunger. According to a groundbreaking report, Food Wastage Footprint 2013, published by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), an estimated 30% or all food produced for human consumption never makes it to our plates. This not only represents a colossal waste of food, to the tune of 1.3 billion tonnes globally or almost $1 trillion dollars in retail value, but is also a waste of all the resources that go into growing the food - farmer time, fertiliser, nutrients, water, transportation, storage, animals' lives, the list goes on...

'If food waste were a country it would be the 3rd biggest greenhouse gas emitter after the US and China.' FAO, Food Wastage Footprint report, 2013

Food Waste Infographic

ALL ABOUT FOOD WASTE

Why is food wasted?

In wealthier countries much of the wasted food comes from consumers buying too much and throwing out what they don't use, whereas in developing countries it predominately occurs on farm or as a result of poor refrigeration during transportation and storage.

Each year Australian households generate around 345kg of food waste, putting Australia amongst the top generating countries of household waste in the world. A National Waste Report in 2010 estimated that Australians throw out 4 million tonnes of food each year; enough to fill 450,000 garbage trucks. [2]

The biggest wasters of food in Australia, on the consumer level, are "young people, households with incomes more than $100,000 a year and families with children".[3] A significant amount of waste is also generated from the hospitality sector. A survey of restaurants found that 65% of food waste was lost during preparation, while 30% was the result of the customers leaving food on their plate, and only 5% was due to food spoilage.[4] To address this issue it is becoming commonplace to use "portioning" and freezing in an effort to reduce waste production, however the losses at this level are still significant.[5]

The environmental impacts of food waste

'If food waste were a country it would be the 3rd biggest greenhouse gas emitter after the US and China.' FAO, Food Wastage Footprint report, 2013

The sheer volume of food that is thrown out globally represents a criminal waste of the natural and on-farm resources that went into growing, harvesting, transporting, processing, packaging and distributing it.

It also wastes the primary nutrients - nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) - that sustain all advanced farming systems worldwide. In food production there is no substitute for these three nutrients: they are as essential to plant growth as water and light.[6] So when food gets sent to landfill we are losing the cycle of nutrients that sustain all life on earth. Composting avoids this waste as nutrients re-enter the food system in the form of nutrient-dense soil.

It is estimated that in Australia only 10% of food waste is actually composted, which means that the other 90% ends up in landfill.[7] The average household bin in Australia contains up to 40% food waste.[8]
When food is thrown out and breaks down in the oxygen-starved environment of landfill it generates methane, a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide.
Composting prevents this sort of pollution. For every tonne of food waste not sent to landfill, almost one tonne of CO2 emissions is saved.

In accordance with the NSW Government Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Strategy, if households reduced their household waste by 66 percent, the greenhouse gas savings would be equivalent to taking 117,000 cars permanently off of the road in NSW alone.[9]

In addition, the water footprint for total food wasted globally is about 250 km3, which represents almost three times the volume of Lake Geneva, or the annual water discharge of the Volga River - Europe's largest river.[10]

The total amount of land used to grow the global harvest of wasted food occupies almost 1.4 billion hectares, equal to about 28% of the world's agricultural land area.[11]

Impact of our quest for perfect produce

A significant portion of food loss occurs during farming and production. This can be the result of various factors from weather to cost of production. In the report, Fruit and Vegetable Consumption and Waste in Australia, it suggests farmers may choose not to harvest a crop in a given year because the costs of harvesting and transporting the crop will outweigh earnings.[12]

Furthermore, a Queensland Government report estimated that between 15 to 50 percent of banana production which made it to the packing sheds were "rejected" because they didn't meet supermarket standards. Those bananas became landfill or were returned back into the ground.[13]
There have been some super creative and heartening campaigns and policies introduced in recent years to tackle consumer and retailer perception around perfect produce, and we hope this continues. It would be wonderful to see a day when 'imperfect' produce wasn't discounted but instead accepted as delicious and nutritious despite being a little wonky.
Food security + population growth

The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations says "food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food which meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life".[14]
Food security can be addressed on an immediate level by all Australians reducing food waste. Australians throw $8 billion dollars worth of food each year and yet 2 million people rely on food relief.[15]
Globally 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted every year, and yet in excess of 870 million people remain under-nourished, without proper and sustained access to food. [16]

Naysan Sahba, Director of Communications of UNEP said, "In the next few years, food consumption is expected to increase by around 30 per cent due to population growth, while the effects of climate change are expected to reduce agricultural yields by up to five percent in some areas. We do know, however, that cutting the rate of food loss and waste in half by 2050 would close 20 percent of this food gap."[17]

Addressing food waste is vital in ensuring continued food security as our global population approaches 10 billion by 2050.

Organisations we love that are tackling food waste

WHAT YOU CAN DO

While there's no doubt that systemic change is needed to curb food waste, we play a vital role in driving that change, and it all starts in the home.

References

[1] Tuckerman, Robert. Packaging the Statistics. Packaging Council of Australia. 10 November 2005. Accessed 25 July 2014. http://www.pca.org.au/uploads/00207.pdf

[2] Dee, John. Australia Needs a Food Waste Strategy. ABC Environment. 5 Jun 2013. Accessed 29 Jul 2014. http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2013/06/05/3774785.htm

[3] Fast Facts on Food Waste. FoodWise. Accessed 29 Jul 2014. http://www.foodwise.com.au/foodwaste/food-waste-fast-facts/

[4] Love Food Hate Waste. Food Waste Avoidance Benchmark Study. Environment Protection Authority. June 2012. Accessed 30 Jul 2014. http://www.lovefoodhatewaste.nsw.gov.au/

[5] Morgan, Emily. Fruit and Vegetable Consumption and Waste in Australia. VicHealth and Deakin University. (2009): 1-53. Web.

[6] Cribb, J, 2010, The Coming Famine: The global food crisis and what we can do to avoid it, CSIRO Publishing 2010

[7] Morgan, Emily. Fruit and Vegetable Consumption and Waste in Australia. VicHealth and Deakin University. (2009): 1-53. Web.

[8] Dee, John. Australia Needs a Food Waste Strategy. ABC Environment. 5 Jun 2013. Accessed 29 Jul 2014. http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2013/06/05/3774785.htm

[9] Love Food Hate Waste. Food Waste Avoidance Benchmark Study. Environment Protection Authority. June 2012. Accessed 30 Jul 2014. http://www.lovefoodhatewaste.nsw.gov.au/

[10] UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, Food Wastage Footprint report, 2013, p.27, Accessed 7 Feb 2017

[11] UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, Food Wastage Footprint report, 2013, p.37, Accessed 7 Feb 2017

[12] Morgan, Emily. Fruit and Vegetable Consumption and Waste in Australia. VicHealth and Deakin University. (2009): 1-53. Web.

[13] Morgan, Emily. Fruit and Vegetable Consumption and Waste in Australia. VicHealth and Deakin University. (2009): 1-53. Web.

[14] Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. Food Security Statistics 2014. Accessed 26 Jul 2014. http://www.fao.org/economic/ess/ess-fs/en/

[15] Hannigan, Emma. Australia's top chefs serve up a Feast to tackle Food Waste. SBS. 21 Jul 2013. Accessed 24 Jul 2014. http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/07/21/australias-top-chefs-serve-feast-tackle-food-waste

[16] Hannigan, Emma. Australia's top chefs serve up a Feast to tackle Food Waste. SBS. 21 Jul 2013. Accessed 24 Jul 2014. http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/07/21/australias-top-chefs-serve-feast-tackle-food-waste

[17] Hannigan, Emma. Australia's top chefs serve up a Feast to tackle Food Waste. SBS. 21 Jul 2013. Accessed 24 Jul 2014. http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/07/21/australias-top-chefs-serve-feast-tackle-food-waste

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The environmental and social impacts of food waste have largely been under-reported and undervalued as a means to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, conserve natural resources and address global hunger. According to a groundbreaking report, Food Wastage Footprint 2013, published by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), an estimated 30% or all food produced for human consumption never makes it to our plates.

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All Things Ethical Eating - Sustainable Table

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The world's fish stocks are in trouble. Decades of mismanagement and continued over-fishing have reduced many species' populations to the brink of extinction. As consumers, our role is to be mindful of our seafood consumption, choose more sustainable species from well-managed fisheries and send a clear message up the supply chain that responsible practices are a viable and necessary part of their industry.

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Culture hardly rates a mention in the current Intergenerational Report, or those that preceded it. Mark Roy

In recent weeks, the future has been firmly on the national agenda. The release of the fourth Intergenerational Report (IGR) has encouraged us to carefully consider " how actions taken today will affect the choices of tomorrow ". Tonight's Q&A on ABC will focus on intergenerational issues.

Yet in the latest IGR, as in the previous three, culture hardly rates a mention, in economic or any other terms. Recent media and public discussions about what Australia might look like in 2055 have also largely ignored the topic of culture.

This is hardly surprising. There's a lot to worry about already: healthcare, housing, jobs, the ageing population (and could we remember climate change, Hockey?). Many things are vying for the fair use of economic resources.

But when we talk about the future of Australia, let's not let culture drop off our radar. Here's why.

Our common heritage

"Present generations should take care to preserve the cultural diversity of humankind", urged UNESCO in its 1997 Declaration on the Responsibilities of the Present Generations toward Future Generations. We should "protect and safeguard" cultures, and "transmit this common heritage to future generations".

This isn't just to be decent. UNESCO believes culture is linked with the very " fate of future generations in the face of the vital challenges of the next millennium". Cultural expressions facilitate the transfer of knowledge from past to future generations. When they disappear, options become narrower - for everyone, not only those directly implicated.

And to talk our government's language, there are significant economic benefits to supporting sustainable cultural futures. As well as enriching Australian cultural life, strong cultural traditions will boost cultural industries and heritage tourism.

Neils Photography / Flickr

A 2008 recommendation by the Australian Human Rights Commission that Australia ratify UNESCO's 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage (which fell on deaf ears) put it like this:

Maintaining Australia's cultural heritage, in all its many forms, has both a human capital and an economic capital dividend. Respecting, nurturing and supporting intangible cultural heritage has clear social benefits (happy, better functioning, more vibrant communities) as well as health benefits (freedom of cultural expression and to practice aspects of traditional life builds social and emotional well-being, which directly improves population-level health outcomes - an important economic saving to the health system).

The state of affairs

If, as UNESCO claims, keeping cultures strong is a matter of intergenerational responsibility, Australia is failing. In just the few generations since colonisation, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages and cultural expressions have been decimated. Without strong government support, that trajectory looks set to continue.

An estimated 108 Australian Indigenous languages are at imminent risk of extinction. Northern Australia, with its vastly rich language diversity, is one of the worst hotspots in the world for language loss.

And along with languages, other kinds of cultural expressions are disappearing too. More than 98% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander music and dance traditions have already been lost. In 2011, a statement endorsed by the International Council for Traditional Music urged urgent action against the "crisis" in Australian Indigenous performance traditions, "for the benefit of all Australians, and for cultural diversity worldwide".

Turning a blind eye?

That was four years ago now ... and time marches on. Australia has still conspicuously failed to ratify UNESCO's 2003 Convention. Ratification would signal the government's commitment to cultural heritage and cultural sustainability.

Wikimedia Commons

Instead, our prime minister refers to Indigenous people living on their ancestral homelands as making a " lifestyle choice", and makes plans to force them to leave.

As Shayne Neumann, Labor's spokesperson on Indigenous affairs, asked last week: "Does he not understand the connection between land, language and culture?"

In painfully real ways, government attitudes affect Indigenous people's ability to maintain their cultural practices. An article last year on The Conversation referred to "the arduous struggle to maintain ceremonial traditions in the face of unsympathetic government attitudes".

It's not all doom and gloom. Some Indigenous communities are making considerable inroads to securing viable futures for their languages and cultures. Such successes, though, are largely in spite of federal policies, not because of them.

Rusty Stewart / Flickr

Shirking responsibility

Current government policies should not compromise the choices and circumstances of future generations. So goes the principle of intergenerational equity. Our Intergenerational Reports are founded on it, and our policies should be based on it too.

With other important issues clamouring for attention, it's all too easy for culture to drop off the political radar. But we need strong policies to support cultural heritage, and we need them urgently. As UNESCO says, we must actively safeguard our cultures so we can "hand on a better world to future generations".

The alternative - political indifference - transgresses the principle of intergenerational equity. It compromises the wellbeing of future generations.

Come on Tony, cultural advocate and self-professed PM for Indigenous Affairs, can't we do better?
The author received the 2014 national Future Justice Medal for leadership and initiative in the advancement of future justice, which is concerned with what those living today leave behind for future generations.

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Speaking of future generations ... let's not forget culture

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In recent weeks, the future has been firmly on the national agenda. The release of the fourth Intergenerational Report (IGR) has encouraged us to carefully consider " how actions taken today will affect the choices of tomorrow ". Tonight's Q&A on ABC will focus on intergenerational issues.

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Transforming Abandoned Buildings into Vertical Gardens

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Transforming Abandoned Buildings into Vertical Gardens

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Aspiring interior designer Lucie Sadakova has come up with a striking concept to bring more green space and nourishment into a scruffy part of London. And, despite being in a sense all about an outdoor activity, it is in fact an interior transformation, a proposed adaptive reuse of an old building way past its prime.

One of the things I love about the ever-fascinating website is that it brings me into contact with cutting-edge ideas, frequently green ones. Yet it stimulates my environmental imagination in a radically different way than does my usual world of urbanism, which is more about perfecting pragmatic, tried-and-true concepts and bringing them to scale. Inhabitat isn't about the tried and true but the new and provocative. Its predominant aesthetic is unabashedly modernist. Many ideas it presents may never be brought to scale: but I like it that they take me away from the familiar.

In this case, Inhabitat ran a story about Sadakova's proposal, which led me to her own website and blog, where she writes:

"I have become interested and intrigued by projects that make use of neglected spaces of cities and focus on innovative design solutions that introduce new ideas to local areas in order to improve life of their residents."

For her final degree project at university, Sadakova designed a concept she calls Multileveled Vertical Urban Allotments, which in plain English means hollowing out the guts of an old warehouse, opening up its roof and (enlarged) windows to the elements, and filling the space with a sort of stacked series of green plots that could be gardened by nearby residents.

In a sense, it takes the wonderful concept we know in the US as victory gardens, where city residents cultivate small plots of land on public spaces, and tiers the plots vertically so they require less space at street level. And it saves an old building at the same time.

The site is a hardscrabble corner by the elevated tracks, on the South Bank of the Thames in the Southwark area of London. There are some pubs and eateries nearby, but it's not the sort of place one would go without a reason.

As you can see, the old building is nicely proportioned but manifestly unfriendly to the street, just kind of sitting there. Sadakova's project would bring the outdoors into the building, and the indoors outside, creating a space that really is both:

"The project aims to bring an innovative solution by designing multileveled vertical urban allotments which in turn make use of derelict or underused spaces. Eventually multiple function of the building that is open to the public, offers an interpretation centre for schools and seasonal use for those affected by S.A.D (Seasonal affective disorder) all contributes to sustainable development in London."

The building is privately owned, and there does not appear to be any certainty that the project will actually be built there. (The "Union Street Urban Orchard," only a short walk away, turned out to be very temporary.) But the important thing is that it could be. My only concern is whether the walls of the old building (which would be opened up considerably under Sadakova's plan) would allow enough light and moisture inside to facilitate growing. I suspect she has thought that through.

So, if not in this particular space, why not in another? The concept is too good not to be realized somewhere.

(For a much more ambitious - and to my eyes perhaps less accessible and neighborly - approach to vertical farming, see Lloyd Alter's article about the "Plantagon" in Sweden.)

Kaid Benfield writes (almost) daily about community, development, and the environment. For more posts, see his blog's home page. Please also visit NRDC's Sustainable Communities Video Channel.

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Transforming a derelict buildings into vertical gardens

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Aspiring interior designer Lucie Sadakova has come up with a striking concept to bring more green space and nourishment into a scruffy part of London. And, despite being in a sense all about an outdoor activity, it is in fact an interior transformation, a proposed adaptive reuse of an old building way past its prime.

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Transforming Abandoned Buildings into Viable Housing

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Transforming Abandoned Buildings into Viable Housing

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Every country's landscape is haunted by industrial ruins, abandoned factories, old mines, mills or warehouses. However, some architects see opportunity in ruins and that is precisely the story of how Spanish architect Ricardo Bofill transformed, from scratch, an abandoned cement factory in Barcelona into a remarkable fairy-tale home.
It is truly unique and inspiring to see how a grotesque sprawling structure of silos, appalling compounds, engine rooms and deserted buildings can become a livable workspace and residence and an exceptional instance of surrealist, brutalist and modernist architectures mixing together. The idea of this project should be replicated and exploited especially in areas haunted by the remains of an (over-)industrial past.

The total area, including gardens, is over 3 thousand square meters, with the house area of about 500 square meters. Despite the fact that the project was completed as early as 1975, it has only recently come to the attention of the media and the public as a viable and replicable idea. Craftsmen had to demolish certain structures, clean cement, expose concealed structured and finally plant a lot of greenery to reach this result of a uniquely livable house, comprising architectural offices, archives, laboratories, an exhibition space, gardens, guest rooms and an apartment for the architect himself.

In the attempt to maintain aspects of the original look, Bofill introduced various surrealist elements when imagining spaces and when creating the layout - paradoxical stairs that have nowhere to climb, certain elements that hang over voids, along with unusually proportioned spaces, but magical precisely thanks to their disproportion.

Also, besides various abstraction elements, the original brutality of the structures was partly preserved, as the architect tried to rather sculpt into them, than to fundamentally alter them. The abundant space has also been preserved, as the interior was not crammed with numerous decorative elements. The large windows covered by the inconceivably long curtains, the endless conference tables, the monochromatic preference and the simplicity of the furniture are part of this unique structure.

Moreover, Bofill still regards the project as continuously evolving, even after 40 years from the completion date. The architect has created a ritualized, programmed existence for himself in this complex, which he is determined to improve as the years go by. He regards the Cement Factory as a workplace, par excellence, where no major differences between work and leisure occur.

Bofill's architecture firm, "Taller de Arquitectura" has been known for its capacity for diversification, in working on many office buildings, such as the Paris Headquarters of Cartier, Christian Dior, Decaux, Axa Insurances and so on. Other European cities have also witnessed the style of this multidisciplinary international team making up "Taller de Arquitectura". For similar projects, take a look at Corso Karlin, in Prague, Lisbon's Atrium Saldanha, Tokyo's Lazona Kawasaki Plaza or JP Morgan's Headquarters in Chicago.

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Transforming Abandoned Buildings into Viable Housing Options | UrbanizeHub

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Every country's landscape is haunted by industrial ruins, abandoned factories, old mines, mills or warehouses. However, some architects see opportunity in ruins and that is precisely the story of how Spanish architect Ricardo Bofill transformed, from scratch, an abandoned cement factory in Barcelona into a remarkable fairy-tale home.

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Here at Urban Play, we're as dedicated to sustainability as we are to children's play. We believe that it's our responsibility to care for the environment today to ensure a better future for our children tomorrow. We are committed to building the highest quality, eco-friendly park, school, and destination playgrounds, and we have put together a how-to guide for creating sustainable children's play equipment.

Create a Nature Playground

Nature Playgrounds are based on the concept that children benefit from being in natural surroundings and engaging with nature. According to the Canberra Nature Play Initiative, children who are involved in nature play are physically and mentally healthier, and develop greater creativity. Nature playgrounds involve play items created from natural materials like sand and wood, which are environmentally friendly to produce.

Choose Responsibly Sourced Materials

The Organic Robina range for outdoor play equipment is great for nature and commercial playgrounds alike, Robina wood has a unique shape evocative of tree-growth in nature. If you want a sustainable playground, make sure your builders and supplies carry the FSC responsible forestry seal of approval. What better than to create a play space for our children that ensures our forests stay healthy and air stays fresh for decades to come. As a natural material, Robina is biodegradable and easily disposed of at the end of its life. It also has its own natural preservatives, eliminating the use of harsh chemical treatments.

Get Regular Maintenance

Regular maintenance is not just about keeping your playground safe, functional and looking beautiful, it also lengthens the life of your playground. With regular maintenance, you'll prevent premature breakage and reduce the need for future spending on repairs and replacements, effectively preserving resources.

...For playground maintenance tips, read our blog ' How to Maintain Playground Safety '

Use Recyclable Materials

Your playground can be built from recycled materials, it can be built with recycled materials, or it can be both. Look for play equipment that can be built from recyclable steel and aluminium, as well as 100% recycled or recyclable high density polyethylene (HDPE). Your play equipment should be built in such a way that when it's time for disposal, it can be disassembled into its constituent parts and recycled accordingly. Like the FSC certificate for sustainable forestry, you can check for green certificates from builders and suppliers such as iso 9001, iso 14001, iso 18001. Watch out for older or cheaply made industrial playground equipment that lacks these features, because it will end up in a landfill.

Urban Play is proud to partner with KOMPAN where sustainability isn't just an added benefit, it's built into all products. Our commercial playgrounds are an investment, and all our equipment is designed and built for longevity.

For more information about our sustainable practices and playground products, feel free to call up for a chat on (07) 3256 0554 or email us at

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Commercial Playground Design | How to Create Eco-Friendly and Sustainable Playgrounds | Urban Play

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Here at Urban Play, we're as dedicated to sustainability as we are to children's play. We believe that it's our responsibility to care for the environment today to ensure a better future for our children tomorrow. We are committed to building the highest quality, eco-friendly park, school, and destination playgrounds, and we have put together a how-to guide for creating sustainable children's play equipment.

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by Aruna Tirkey

Volume 7, Issue 2
A platter of traditional Indigenous dishes of the Jharkhand area. Photo: Aruna Tirkey, 2016
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I want to share with you the story of a journey I have begun. I am not on my way to a physical destination; rather, I am moving toward a goal: to revive local and Indigenous food as a means to strengthen my own Indigenous culture. To get there, I'm not counting on donated or voluntary support from an outside source. Instead, I am achieving my goal by building a for-profit business - a catering business with an educational mission. I am an Indigenous food entrepreneur. I would like to talk about the motivations behind my mission as well as the challenges that I face as an Indigenous woman entrepreneur.

I belong to the Oraon Indigenous community, whose members are mostly found in the central states of India. The government of India refuses to acknowledge us as Indigenous to the land. Instead, we are referred to as one of the "Scheduled Tribes": communities listed under a schedule of the constitution who are provided special protections and benefits, including hiring preference for government jobs. I grew up in a large family of twelve siblings; our food was locally sourced and produced, as it was affordable and provided the right nutrition for us. My village was at the periphery of the city of Ranchi, and the influence of urbanization started to be more visible as I grew up and then completed my undergraduate and graduate studies in the town. I presently live in Ranchi, the capital of the state Jharkhand, which is the center of the Indigenous heartland of India but also (in)famous for left-wing extremism fueled by the utter marginalization of Indigenous and dalit (lowest-caste) communities of the region.

I grew up in a large family of twelve siblings; our food was locally sourced and produced, as it was affordable and provided the right nutrition for us.

I have a strong attachment to traditional Oraon and other local indigenous food, as it continues to be prevalent in my family. My main work as a rural development professional, however, has taken me to several parts of India and exposed me to the growing disintegration of tribal food culture - especially in urban settings and among tribal youths, who are increasingly inclined to eat junk food.

I once had an illuminating experience that I would like to share. More than eight years ago, when I was walking around in a newly opened department store in our small town, a center of attraction at that time, a product caught my attention. It was a packet of ragi (finger millet) flour, locally known as madua, a popular staple among Indigenous communities in the region. It was surprising for me to see the product in the store at a premium price, knowing that at the same time it was fast disappearing from our diets. This was a shocking experience for me.

It was surprising for me to see the product in the store at a premium price, knowing that at the same time it was fast disappearing from our diets.

Over time, my realization that Indigenous food was gradually disappearing and thereby affecting our culture became more pronounced. This was starkly visible among the urban Indigenous populace, who were giving up traditional local food because they felt it wasn't tasty or exciting and very crude. In the rural hinterlands, traditional diets have been increasingly replaced by those based on commercially produced rice, which is widely supplied through the government's public distribution system, often free to families that are below the official poverty line. India arguably has one of the largest programs in the world for providing food security to vulnerable groups. Unfortunately, certain kind of crops, such as mass-produced rice and wheat, are being pushed by the system. This has implications for the production choices and consumption patterns of local communities. My own observations in rural areas suggest that the production of local millets that used to be the backbone of Indigenous food is declining at an increasing pace. These millets were locally available, their seeds were locally preserved for re-use, and they were grown without any chemical fertilizers, thus making them low-input-based and affordable crops. They also provided the right kind of nutritional balance.

Visiting an Indigenous market in Mangla Haat (Chaibasa District) to source organic produce. Photo: Aruna Tirkey, 2016

For me, the greatest motivation to work on Indigenous food revival came from a very personal experience I had as a mother. This happened when my younger son was detected with a mild autistic disorder. When he didn't utter a word until two and half years of age, we consulted a specialist, and our deepest fears were realized when we found out about his condition. One friend who had a similar problem with her daughter suggested that we consult a Mumbai-based homeopath, Dr. Praful Barvalia, and so we did. Apart from the medicines that he gave, a surprising prescription was dietary controls. He suggested a millet- and non-dairy-based diet. Alas, I and many other urban Indigenous people of our generation have been gradually weaned away from all those millets that were very much part of our diets growing up.

Many urban Indigenous people of our generation have been gradually weaned away from all those millets that were very much part of our diets growing up.

Believe it or not, the doctor's diet regime worked wonderfully in terms of improving our son's condition and modulating his behavior. After strictly following the diet regimen for a couple of years, he was finally able to overcome the condition and is leading a normal life now. The doctor also suggested that people with autistic conditions also have a higher level of toxic substances in their bodies and following the diet regimen helps in chelation of toxins. During our son's treatment, the Indigenous food basket also got fully integrated into our home, which was a change for my husband, who is a non-Indigenous person.

Innovating with Indigenous ingredients: The dumplings in the basket at left have dough made of finger millet flour, replacing unhealthy refined white flour. Photo: Aruna Tirkey, 2015

Based on these experiences, I realized that for Indigenous foods and cuisine to revive and survive, they need to evolve based on innovation and experimentation. Doing this - without causing them to lose their key properties - is crucial for their wider uptake in our changing society. I decided to become an entrepreneur focusing on mainstreaming Indigenous food as a healthy alternative for a cross-section of society. This led to birth of my mission, which I have named Ajam Emba. In our Kudukh language spoken by Oraon communities, Ajam Emba means "great tasting and healthy food." Ajam Emba is an enterprise that combines awareness-raising with actual catering of Indigenous foods. For the last couple of years, I have participated in food competitions, exhibitions, and fairs, and have provided Indigenous food to events and meetings organized by governmental and nongovernmental agencies. Since the start of Ajam Emba, it has gradually gained popularity, and there has been a growing demand for Indigenous food. In the past two years, I have catered to more than five thousand persons.

The former deputy chief minister of Jharkhand, Mr. Sudesh Mahto, serves guests at a public function for which Ajam Emba catered Indigenous food. Photo: Aruna Tirkey, 2017

I decided to become an entrepreneur focusing on mainstreaming Indigenous food as a healthy alternative for a cross-section of society.

To increase the capacity of Ajam Emba to reach further into our communities and become a permanent sustainable resource for Indigenous food, presently I am in the process of setting up an Indigenous eatery and training center in Ranchi. The key aims of my for-profit social enterprise model are to:

· revive and popularize local Indigenous food of Jharkhand as a means of healthy living among a cross-section of society while preserving Indigenous culture;
· introduce innovations in Indigenous food and cuisine to encourage wider societal adoption;
· create a pool of Indigenous food entrepreneurs to sustain the mission; and
· ensure fair returns to Indigenous farmers (as well as collectors of non-timber forest products.

The author giving a demonstration at a school on the importance of Indigenous foods at a school. Photo: Surabhi Sharma, 2017

While I continue to strive to strengthen and sustain my mission, the process is not without challenges, especially from the perspective of an Indigenous woman social entrepreneur. They include:

· I lack access to adequate financial resources to sustain the initiative. As an Indigenous person, governmental agencies and banks refuse to recognize me as an "entrepreneur" having "enterprising" skills, and I am thus considered "non-fundable."
· Although the government does have support programs for Indigenous people, there has been little or no effort to see them as entrepreneurs.
· My efforts to seek resources and technical help from agencies have been caught in bureaucratic red tape for the last several years.
· My access to global initiatives or platforms on the Indigenous/slow food movement has been severely hampered due to their limited adoption in India, and that being mostly controlled by non-Indigenous entities.

I understand that this is only beginning of a difficult journey and that there is a long way to go. I emphasize the need to have proper policy and structures in place that supports Indigenous leadership and entrepreneurship. I believe Indigenous vision is the need of the hour to help get us through the crisis we have created through our unsustainable ways of living, and food is an important entry point, as it is a common need for all elements of life on Earth.

I believe Indigenous vision is the need of the hour to help get us through the crisis we have created through our unsustainable ways of living, and food is an important entry point.

The author receiving First Prize from Ms. Louis Marandi, Welfare Minister, Government of Jharkhand, in a cooking competition organized on World Indigenous Day. Photo: Surabhi Sharma, 2017

Acknowledgment. I would like to extend my sincere thanks to Rana Roy, a PhD candidate with the Faculty of Forestry, University of Toronto, Canada, for his help in conceiving and shaping this article.
Aruna Tirkey is a rural development professional, a passionate advocate of Indigenous food and cuisine, and the founder of Ajam Emba.

Further Reading

Bergamini, N., Padulosi, S., Ravi, S. B., & Yenagi, N. (2013). Minor millets in India: A neglected crop goes mainstream. In J. Fanzo, D. Hunter, T. Borelli, & F. Matei (Eds.), Diversifying Food and Diets: Using Agricultural Biodiversity to Improve Nutrition and Health (pp. 313-325). New York, NY: Routledge.

Khosla, I. (2011). Is Wheat Killing You?: The Essential Cookbook and Guide to a Wheat-free Life. London, United Kingdom: Penguin.

Kuhnlein, H. V., Erasmus, B., Spigelski, D., & Burlingame, B. (2013). Indigenous peoples' food systems and well-being: Interventions and policies for healthy communities. Rome, Italy: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Ratten, V., & Dana, L. P. (2015). Indigenous food entrepreneurship in Australia: Mark Olive 'Australia's Jamie Oliver' and Indigiearth. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 26(3), 265−279.

Yenagi, N., Joshi, R., Byadgi, S., & Josna, B. (2013). Hand book for school children: Importance of millets in daily diets for food and nutrition security [appendix 11 of the joint technical final report (October 2010-March 2013)]. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10625/52750

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Volume 7, Issue 2| Editorial | Table of Contents | Subscribe | Buy | Donate

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Reviving Foods, Preserving Culture: My Journey as an Indigenous Food Entrepreneur

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I want to share with you the story of a journey I have begun. I am not on my way to a physical destination; rather, I am moving toward a goal: to revive local and Indigenous food as a means to...

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Culture shapes a society's belief system, influences its lifestyle, and takes root in its heritage. A rich culture is a result of generations of knowledge and customs relegated from one generation to another.

A young generation exposed to information and lifestyle of high contrast to the previous generation's belief systems gives birth to the 'generation gap'. The generation gap is now wider than ever, attributed to technological advancement and increased life expectancy. Generation X in comparison to generation Y carries a drastically different attitude towards life, largely as a result of the digital age which offers open access of global information in real time.

Globalisation and open economies has also re-established the need for better inter-cultural understanding where global transactions of any kind is succesful only by mutual respect of one-another's culture.

Culture In rural context

A rural area by definition is a place located on the country side; in contrast to a city, characterised with better connectivity and thus almost invariably linked to better prospects.

Culture is a strong pursuit in the rural set up and is deeply ingrained on an individual level, making it critical to construct a development strategy build around the cultural aspects for rural sustainability.

Traditionally, the rural lifestyle is more in harmony with nature and its co-habitants that belong to a pool of diverse living species. To exploit this natural, peaceful approach towards life in the name of economic development is short-sighted and would only lead to adverse ecological effects.

The rural-India context

Mahatma Gandhi's approach to development is a direct reflection of the Indian value system. Based on the two guiding principles of self-sufficiency and full-employment and gives paramount importance to guidance by a moral compass starting at the individual level.

It stems out of Gandhi's belief in uplifting the most vulnerable sections of the society for a more holistic approach to development.

The focus is on eradicating poverty, empowering woman and preserving the environment.

It also has a more humane aspect to measuring development and isn't limited to the economic development criteria. Here, individual development is society's development.

Michael Porter, an academic professional with key focus on business strategy and social causes, propagates the 'social enterprise' model.
The model is both impact driven and profit centred where social development leads to economic development. These are businesses that create products or services that lead to social impact.
Social enterprises in India focus on connecting people, goods, and services to enable rural development by adding to their existing knowledge. One of such enterprises takes help of mobile technology to create affordable last mile communication methods aimed at the grass-root audience. This makes it easier for the local audience to get access to services it would otherwise be completely cut-off from.

Financial services, and agricultural information and tools help bridge the economic gap between the rural population and its city dwelling counterparts, making basic necessities like access to clean water and healthcare not only accessible but also affordable.

There also exist social enterprises which promote local culture by organising voluntary work for skilled urban professionals to contribute to the sustainable growth of the rural society by building on the local arts and handicrafts.

Reviving culture for rural sustainability puts emphasis on working alongside local culture and encouraging most traditional best practices, introducing global knowledge aligned with the culture, and only adding to the existing knowledge and in no way aiming to replace it.

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Reviving Culture for Rural Sustainability

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Culture shapes a society's belief system, influences its lifestyle, and takes root in its heritage. A rich culture is a result of generations of knowledge and customs relegated from one generation to another. A young generation exposed to information and lifestyle of high contrast to the previous generation's belief systems gives birth to the 'generation gap'.

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How the vhaVenda People learned to create an eco cultural map of their sacred sites and territories

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How the vhaVenda People learned to create an eco cultural map of their sacred sites and territories

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A special gathering of indigenous leaders from South Africa, the Colombian Amazon, and the Russian Republic of Altai; and the story of how the vhaVenda People learned to create an eco-cultural map of their sacred sites and territory.
In November 2009, the vhaVenda People welcomed a group of Indigenous Leaders to their territory in northeastern South Africa.

The Leaders travelled from Siberia and the Colombian Amazon to help the vhaVenda create an eco-cultural map of their ancestral land.

this twelve-minute film, Reviving Our Culture, Mapping Our Future, produced by the Gaia Foundation, documents this important effort, which has helped the vhaVenda gain a clear picture of what has happened to their culture and territory from years of industrial development. It has also helped the vhaVenda to revalize their culture, and give them insight toward what they must do to maintain and restore their land for future generations.

Eco-cultural mapping of sacred sites and territory, South Africa

By the Gaia Foundation

The vhaVenda people are known as the "Rainmakers" in South Africa. They are a matriarchal tradition where the ecological knowledge which guides the governance of the community is held by women, known as makhadzis. Many of the makhadzis are also custodians of sacred natural sites and are responsible for the associated community practices and rituals to keep order in the community and the ecosystem.

The impact of colonization and the industrial process has fragmented communities, changed power relations and destroyed the rich biodiversity and forests of the extraordinary Soutpansberg mountains, in which their territory is located, in northeastern South Africa. Industrial plantations, mining and tourism are some of the major forces of destruction in the area.

The makhadzis are deeply pained by the destruction of their traditional territory and especially the sacred sites. Accompanied by Mupo Foundation, our South African partner, they began a process of reviving their knowledge and practices to protect the sacred sites and the associated tradition of seed diversity, bringing young people and the chiefs onboard.

The makhadzis began to sketch the relationship between the sacred sites, showing how these sites are critical places within the ecosystem - natural springs, forest, wetlands, river basins and waterfalls - which maintain the health and resilience of their ancestral territory.

With support from the African Biodiversity Network and the Gaia Foundation, a community exercise in ecocultural mapping was then carried out, in November 2009.

More than 70 vhaVenda people took part, mostly from Tshidzivhe community, guided by trainers in eco-cultural mapping from Colombia and accompanied by indigenous leaders from the Colombian Amazon and the Russian Republic of Altai.

Women, men and youth spent six days mapping. It was a time for deep reflection as the elders shared their knowledge of the territory, the sacred sites, the traditional practices and rituals, many of which are on the verge of being lost.

Remembering the territory, the sites of ecological and cultural importance, the role of ritual

The first map of the ancestral order of the territory, reflects how things were when the community was living traditionally. This is still in the living memory of the elders - when the territory was teaming with wild animals, forests and had abundant rain.

The second map was of the present. This, they said, is the map of disorder - where the forests are destroyed, there are no more wild animals, rivers and lakes are drying, the rainfall has radically fallen and the traditional crops have almost disappeared.

The final map is of the future - the vision of how the communities wish to regenerate the territory and rebuild their communities. They have already begun to build their future now - such as elders teaching in schools to revive traditional seed diversity, and working with Mupo Foundation to restore and strengthen their bio-cultural knowledge and practices.

As the different maps were completed the makhadzis sang and danced in celebration! They had unearthed a new capacity to express their traditional ecological knowledge so that the community can hold a collective vision. Based on this experience they are planning to develop more detailed maps around each sacred site. These will be used to negotiate with the government to recognize and protect each site and the connection between them. In the face of climate change, the health and vitality of ecosystems is critical. This is the basis of ecological and community resilience.

Eco-Cultural Mapping: building community resilience

Eco-cultural mapping involves all the community, especially the elders. Aside from local knowledge and wisdom, it requires no technology and only the bare mininum of materials - making it an exercise that is easy and for communities to continue mapping on their own. In the Colombian Amazon, for example, it has proved an exceptional tool for indigenous communities to reconnect with their territory, strengthen their culture and protect the rainforest.

African Biodiversity Network members from Kenya and Ethiopia, and indigenous people from Altai, who participated as trainees in the mapping, plan to start eco-cultural mapping in 2010.

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Reviving Our Culture, Mapping Our Future

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A special gathering of indigenous leaders from South Africa, the Colombian Amazon, and the Russian Republic of Altai; and the story of how the vhaVenda People learned to create an eco-cultural map of their sacred sites and territory. Get Rid of Ads. Support us on Patreon!

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What does the soundtrack of your childhood say about you?

Maybe you grew up listening to the "oldies" of your parents, or listening to classics from the musical traditions of your heritage. Perhaps, if you are even more musically inclined, you are a musician.

Music is one of our most remarkable cultural artifacts. Unlike language, food, or art, with technology almost anybody at any time can experience a slice of another culture in a rich way with a click of a button.

For musical traditions that have been lost or are at risk of being lost, technology is giving us a remarkable outlet to celebrate and restore these cultural gems and keep them alive for generations to come.

Today we are sharing with you a wonderful series from the YouTube channel Great Big Story, called Funk Plus One that celebrates the musicians who are keeping musical traditions alive!

We begin with a look at a traditional way of life that is, perhaps, known by only a few, Hawaii's Cowboys. A fundamental part of this culture revolves around music, with a wonderful hybrid of traditional Hawaiian and Southwestern United States sounds.

Next up, we meet, Dean Shostak, a musician who is reviving a musical genre and family of instruments that got their start in colonial America and may represent a new future for innovation in music.

Technology gives us an important opportunity to connect with, record, and dive deeply into traditions that are at risk of being lost. With it, we are afforded the opportunity to cross the barriers of time, geography, and even language to appreciate the common chords of connection that run through us all.

Stay beautiful & keep laughing!

-Liesl

Interested in seeing more of the amazing talents in the music world?
Explore our entire category by clicking the button below!
Music on EWC
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What does the soundtrack of your childhood say about you? Maybe you grew up listening to the "oldies" of your parents, or listening to classics from the musical traditions of your heritage. Perhaps, if you are even more musically inclined, you are a musician. Music is one of our most remarkable cultural artifacts.

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Dutch designer Simone Post has created a series of graphic rugs from old trainers - one of the hardest fashion products to recycle - for sportswear giant Adidas.

Post was invited to create the Stripped Back Stripes rugs for the new Adidas store in Paris after the sportswear company saw some of her previous work with recycled textiles.

Instead of working directly with offcuts from the manufacturing process, as she has done with previous collaborations, Post chose to focus on finding a way to re-use old sports shoes.

"What is very interesting about working with shoes is that it became a much bigger market recently," Post told Dezeen. "Sport shoes are not only for sports, but people just wear them all the time. Almost everybody owns a pair."

She discovered that trainers were among the hardest products to recycle because they are made from so many different components, often involving multiple types of hard and soft plastic, metals and textiles held together with very strong glue.

"It is a very hard material to work with, because it is impossible to separate the one from the other," said Post. "So we collaborated with I:CO, a German company who specialise in recycling shoes."

"They first shred the entire shoe, and after the shredding process they start to divide the material into different qualities," she explained.

"So you get a dust fraction with a lot of textile waste and also one with harder plastics and one with softer plastics. With those granules we could make the rug."

Post is known for using graphic patterns and shapes and bold colours, but settled on a limited palette for the Stripped Down Stripes mats - a decision partly driven by the limitations of the recycling process.

Initial samples of the recycled particle materials generated by shredding the shoes were a uniform grey colour, which she described as "sad".

Eventually, Post discovered that it was possible to create different colours by combining the recycled shoe granules in different ways.

From a distance, the two shades used for the rugs look like a lighter and darker grey, but up close it becomes clear that each shade contains multi-coloured granules.

For Post, the final effect offers a more interesting quality than if the same product was produced using virgin plastic to achieve a true black-and-white contrast.

Plasticiet produces terrazzo-like material from recycled plastic

"Of course this would also be very graphic," she said. "But it would lack the deepness and tactility that it has now created by the colour melanges in the granules."

"The varied colour melanges in the granules give the product a very tactile feeling - a feeling that adds a lot of value to the store interior and also is very good for the acoustics in a place," she added.

Post now hopes to develop the material further and create entire floors from it, describing the potential effect as a "modern type of terrazzo", and is also interested in finding a way to make new shoes from the recycled material.

"It is not understandable if you do not think about it as a designer," said Post. "There is already so much material out there that does not have a purpose, but is just leftover."

"If I look at these materials I don't see waste, instead I only see new possibilities of what we could make," she added.

"There is so much potential in 'waste' materials, so why not give them a second life, instead of using new resources? It is an extra challenge but it gives me much more satisfaction to use discarded material."

Post focused on material research during her studies at Design Academy Eindhoven, and was part of a group of graduates that chose to exhibit only material experiments during Dutch Design Week in 2016. After graduating in 2015, she is now based in Rotterdam.

She is just one of a growing number of designers who are focusing on using recycled materials. In The Netherlands, studios like Plasticiet are developing new surface materials made from recycled plastic for use in interior and product design.

Recycled plastic and paper products were also a big theme at last year's Design Academy Eindhoven Graduate show, with proposals including a demountable tricycle, a 3D printer that makes objects using paper pulp and building blocks made from otherwise unrecycleable paper waste.

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Simone Post makes rugs from old Adidas trainers

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Dutch designer Simone Post has created a series of graphic rugs from old trainers - one of the hardest fashion products to recycle - for sportswear giant Adidas. Post was invited to create the Stripped Back Stripes rugs for the new Adidas store in Paris after the sportswear company saw some of her previous work with recycled textiles.

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Architects Sash Scott and Tamsin Hanke created the freestanding Hachi bee house from Industriell and Verberod benches

IKEA worked with UK artists and designers to create this series of animal habitats, repurposed from the company's used furniture.

Architects Studio Weave and designer Adam Nathaniel Furman are among the creatives to have contributed installations to the Wildhomes for Wildlife project, which has seen IKEA products transformed into insect towers, bat shelters and bird boxes.

The project was masterminded by IKEA's creative partner, the advertising agency Mother, to promote the opening of IKEA Greenwich - its "most sustainable store", according to the Swedish company.

"Now all of our new neighbours can enjoy an amazing home," said IKEA. "Even our furry, feathered and flying friends."

Bold Memphis-style shapes and colours recur among the designs, including Furman's Bughattan, a totem pole-like tower with holes cut into it that invite bees and wasps to stop and rest. Furman created it from IKEA Eckbacken and Hammarp worktops.

Other bright creations come from graphic artist Supermundane. His Dom bird house and Pipi bat house are both colourful collages cut from Industriell shelving units.

Pipi has roughened surfaces on the inside to help the bats get a good grip for roosting, while Dom has a nesting box that can only be accessed by small birds like blue tits.

Architect Je Ahn, the co-founder of Studio Weave, contributed a more austere bat house design in the form of Fladdermösshus. Hanging stalactite-like from tree boughs, the structures are made from Kvistbro metal tables and are painted black to create extra warmth.

Other participating architects were Sash Scott and Tamsin Hanke, who created the freestanding Hachi House, "an eye-catching bee house fit for a queen", from Industriell and Verberod benches.

Månstråle House by architects Beep Studio is a more organic-looking design with old Stråla lamp stands repurposed into nesting pods for birds, while Honey I'm Home! by artist Hattie Newman is a "Brazilian-style" bee village that was once Burvik side tables.

Leftover cladding from the Greenwich store also makes it into one of the installations, The Bug Bed by designer Iain Talbot, where it is combined with old IKEA chairs and filled with Thanet Sand to attract insects to nest.

IKEA's ThisAbles add-ons adjust furniture for people with disabilities

IKEA and Mother have worked together since 2010, creating the "Wonderful Everyday" campaign as well as a recent rubbish-clearing boat.

For its latest store in Greenwich, which opened on 7 February, IKEA has continued the sustainability push it has become known for in recent years, with green technologies such as solar panels, rainwater harvesting, geothermal heating and 100 per cent LED lighting.

It also offers a community garden, bike courier services and lifestyle workshops.

However, Dezeen deputy editor Tom Ravenscroft has criticised the store's sustainable credentials, since its construction required the demolition of another green building, the Sainsbury's Greenwich, just 17 years after its opening.

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IKEA upcycles furniture into colourful Wildhomes for Wildlife

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IKEA worked with UK artists and designers to create this series of animal habitats called Wildhomes for Wildlife, repurposed from the company's furniture.

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Four designers from London's Royal College of Art have recycled the toxic red mud residue from aluminium production to make a series of terracotta-hued cups, bowls and teapots.

The project aims to find the value in "waste" by recycling the industrial by-product into a sustainable alternative to raw materials.

Guillermo Whittembury, Joris Olde-Rikkert, Kevin Rouff and Luis Paco Bockelmann began studying the potential of secondary resources, in a bid to realign our perception of waste.

The project, called From Wasteland to Living Room, saw the designers transform red mud into different functional ceramic tableware pieces such as cups, bowls, plates, vessels and teapots.

Red mud, also known as bauxite tailings, is a by-product of refining bauxite ore into alumina to make aluminium. The material mainly consists of iron oxide, which grants it a vibrant, rusty colour.

For every tonne of alumina produced, the process can leave behind as much as two tonnes of red mud, which is highly alkaline and hard to neutralise.

"Upwards of 150 million tonnes of red mud are produced every year, enough to stack in industrial barrels six times to the moon," the designers explained.

"Currently, it is left unused in giant pits around the world," they added. "While these make for beautiful satellite images, the environmental costs are a given."

The group wanted to find a better use for this toxic by-product, while also making people aware of the impact of materials that are taken for granted, like aluminium.

They chose to turn the red mud into ceramics to highlight the contrast between the two processes. While ceramic production is associated with "warmth, fragility, and finesse", the creation of aluminium is a "brute" and "gargantuan" industrial process, they explained.

"Having a cup of tea from industrial waste may seem odd to some," said Olde-Rikkert. "But we need to re-evaluate the stigma around the term 'waste'."

"We want to bring the material to your hands - to bring it from the backstage of wastelands into your living room," he added.

The designers worked closely with material scientists and ceramicists to explore the potential of the material as both a ceramic and as a geopolymer building material.

After sourcing the red mud from an alumina refinery in the South of France, the group carried out hundreds of tests to develop their own clay bodies, slips, glazes, and concretes.

They used a standardised slip-casting process to form the ceramics, which was made possible by a fine particle size.

Red mud was also used to make the glazes, which produced "surprising" results each time due to the abundance of metal oxides in its composition.

"Most surprising, perhaps, was the variety of body colour by firing temperature, ranging from a soft terracotta red, through to purple, and eventually black," said the designers.

"Our hope is to hint at the potential of secondary material use, and to surprise people with the redder and muddier brother of the shiny metal we are familiar with on our devices," they continued.

These RCA designers aren't the first to reveal the value in waste. Lithuanian designer Agne Kucerenkaite made a series of colourful ceramics from industrial metal waste in a bid to promote a more circular economy.

Kucerenkaite's project was shortlisted for last year's Dezeen Awards, which will be taking place again in 2019 with a panel of highly esteemed judges including Winy Maas, Marc Newson and Imogen Heap.

Agne Kucerenkaite repurposes "valueless" metal waste to create colourful ceramic glazes

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RCA designers transform toxic industrial waste into ceramic tableware

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Four designers from London's Royal College of Art have recycled the toxic red mud residue from aluminium production to make a series of terracotta-hued cups, bowls and teapots. The project aims to find the value in "waste" by recycling the industrial by-product into a sustainable alternative to raw materials.

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Our imagined futures are full of recycled trash: The trailer-park towers of Ernest Cline's video game action novel Ready Player One, Fallout 3's retro-salvage chic, the piece of junk that is the Millennium Falcon. For beautiful examples of recycled architecture a little closer to home, just check out these stellar examples of recycled architecture:
1. Nuyaka Creek Wine Cellar
The cellar for this Oklahoma winery is fashioned out of the back of a semi truck.
2. Bosque Vertical
Milan, Italy's Vertical Forest has over 900 trees in tightly-packed balconies, and recycles greywater water from washing dishes and clothes.

3. Three Trees

In Eagle Rock, California, designer Jeremy Levine built a house from recycled concrete that encapsulates three trees in open air courtyards.
4. Junk Castle
The Junk Castle (pictured below in a sketch by creator Vic Moore) was created in 1970 out of $500 worth of garbage, including part of a 1952 Oldsmobile, naturally.
5. Earthship Brighton
So-called earthships, the brainchild of architect Michael Reyonlds, are homes built out of earth and recycled tires with an emphasis on energy efficiency. The upside? Solar power and food-producing greenhouses, according to proponents, mean the cost of living is low. The downside? Locally-sourced materials sometimes mean the hand-crafted roofs leak, and that means mold.
6. Shipping Container Starbucks
It's a Starbucks, but made out of old shipping containers.
7. Pallet Shed
This tiny house was made of pallets and reclaimed doors for a total of about $400.
8. Bark House
The shingles that cover this North Carolina home are dried bark from old logging yards, and are meant to withstand the force of 30 years and two claw hammers.
9. World's Tallest Treehouse
Tennessee minster Horace Burgess has been building this divinely-inspired structure since 1993. It scrapes the sky at over 100 feet tall, and is made of scrap wood and nearly a quarter million nails.
10. Plastic Bottle House
Activists in Nigeria have created a house out of plastic bottles filled with sand. The goal is to create durable, fire-, earthquake- and bullet-proof homes while cleaning up the countryside.
11. Da Wow Shed
The roof came from a mill.

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Our imagined futures are full of recycled trash: The trailer-park towers of Ernest Cline's video game action novel Ready Player One, Fallout 3's retro-salvage chic, the piece of junk that is the Millennium Falcon. For beautiful examples of recycled architecture a little closer to home, just check out these stellar e...

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Recycled concrete, repurposed double-glazing and discarded flooring boards were all used in the construction of Upcycle Studios, a Copenhagen housing development designed by Lendager Group.

Danish architecture studio Lendager Group built the series of 20 new townhouses in the Ørestad district of Denmark's capital city.

All of the wood was sourced from Danish manufacture Dinesen, which would otherwise have discharged and burned part of the material, while windows were sourced from old buildings that had been renovated.

Plus a total of 850 tonnes of concrete was cast on site, using refuse from the construction of the Copenhagen Metro.

"To solve the climate crisis, we need to develop not only sustainable but regenerative solutions," said Lendager Group, which aims to promote a circular economy across its architecture projects.

"Upcycle Studios shows how we can decouple growth from emissions by looking at waste as a resource. We can build sustainable buildings without having to compromise on quality, aesthetics or price."

To the street, each long, thin house presents a large glazed facade with a geometric wooden frame, looking into a double-height reception space.

Fifteen tonnes of rubble used to build Rotterdam house by Architectuur Maken

A protruding first floor cuts into this to create a small mezzanine, while a second-floor bedroom space cantilevers out slightly, creating a contrasting wood-clad sawtooth profile along the run of houses.

The diagonal orientation of each home become more apparent at the rear, where the staggered formation is emphasised by thick concrete walls separating each property.

Between these dividing walls sit each house's driveway, as well as a garage, below a large window into the living spaces above.

"The houses are designed to be spacious and to help promote sustainable living, creating a good indoor climate and making sharing easier," said the architecture studio.

"Some areas can be used as offices and others as rental accommodation, or for workshops and other user-defined needs."

Roof gardens and solar panels add the potential for the houses to be self-sufficient, helping to allow for a "circular" way of life in tune with the building, which the architects hope residents will adopt.

"Upcycle Studios potentially reduces the total Co2 emissions over 50 years by about 60 per cent," Lendager Group added. "This not only makes it the circular home of tomorrow - it also becomes a pioneer housing project with a design that incentivises sustainable living."

Lendager Group recently revealed plans for a 35,000 square metre eco village in Ørestad South, also in Copenhagen, after winning a competition with Årstiderne Arkitekter.

Photography is by Rasmus Hjortshøj for COAST.
Project credits:
Partner in charge: Anders Lendager
Project manager: Jesper Højbjerg
Lendager team: Anette Orth Laybourm, Mathias Ruø Rasmussen, Nicholas Ransome, Niklas Nolsøe, Iben Nørkjær, Torben Vestergaard, Sunniva Garshol, Signe Balthazar Munk
Engineers: MOE
Client: NREP

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Lendager Group uses recycled materials to build 20 townhouses in Copenhagen

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Recycled concrete, repurposed double-glazing and discarded flooring boards were all used in the construction of Upcycle Studios, a Copenhagen housing development designed by Lendager Group. Danish architecture studio Lendager Group built the series of 20 new townhouses in the Ørestad district of Denmark's capital city.

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Micro-library made from abandoned bicycle

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Micro-library made from abandoned bicycle

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Article: 2020 Olympic medals made from recycled phones

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Article: 2020 Olympic medals made from recycled phones

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Reflective, ribbon-like rings form a border around the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic medals by Junichi Kawanishi, which are made from old electronic devices donated by the public.

With one year to go until the 2020 Olympics begin, the organising committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games has unveiled the designs for the winning athletes' bronze, silver and gold medals and their cases.

The medals were created by Japanese designer Junichi Kawanishi following an open competition, with the cases designed by Shinya Yoshida.

As rumoured back in 2017, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic medals will be manufactured using the precious metal extracted from mobile phones and other small electronic devices donated by the public.

All 5,000 Tokyo 2020 medals have been manufactured from recycled smartphones and small electronic devices that were donated by the public between April 2017 and March 2019.

More than 78,985 tonnes of used mobile phones and other gadgets were collected by municipal authorities, with a total of 6.21 million used mobile phones handed in at collection centres.

Altogether these yielded 32 kilograms (kg) of gold, 3,500 kg of silver and 2,200 kg of bronze.

As per tradition, the medals are fronted with Nike - the Greek goddess of victory - standing in front of the Panathinaikos Stadium.

The reverse side features a chiselled, choppy design around the medal's circumference, which encircles a raised, pebble-like centre. This is engraved with the chequered Tokyo 2020 "ichimatsu moyo" emblem and the Olympic five rings symbol.

Each medal measures 85 millimetres (mm) in diameter, 7.7mm at their thinnest part and 12.1mm at their thickest.

Kawanishi's proposal was selected as part of a competition that drew entries from more than 400 professional designers and design students.

Tokyo Olympics medals could be made of old smartphones

"It is a great honour that my design was selected for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Medal," said Kawanishi. "I never dreamed that the design I submitted only as a memorial to this lifetime event would be actually selected."

"With their shining rings, I hope the medals will be seen as paying tribute to the athletes' efforts, reflecting their glory, and symbolising friendship," he added.

Kawanishi designed the medals to resemble rough stones that have been newly polished, and now "shine with light and brilliance".

Set at varied angles, each layer in the medal's choppy outer composition reflects light differently, to symbolise the energy and commitment of the athletes and their supporters.

According to the designer, the bright reflections also signify the "warm glow of friendship".

Kawanishi wanted the medals to symbolise diversity, and to represent the concept that in order to achieve glory, athletes have to strive for victory on a daily basis.

The medal ribbons feature modern takes on traditional Japanese design motifs, such as the chequered "ichimatsu moyo" pattern also seen in the Tokyo 2020 emblem, and the "kasane no irome" layering technique used for kimonos.

Each one was made from chemically recycled polyester fibres, which produce less CO2 than other polyester materials during their manufacturing process, and coloured with the Tokyo 2020 core graphic palette.

Japanese cherry blossoms inform Tokyo 2020 Olympic torch design

Silicone convex lines are applied on the surface of the ribbon so that anyone can recognise the type of medal (gold, silver or bronze) by simply touching it.

According to Kawanishi, the ribbon is designed to be a reflection of Japan itself, and the way the country demonstrates "unity in diversity".

Manufactured from dyed Japanese ash wood, the medal cases have been handmade by Japanese craftsmen of manufacturer Yamagami Mokko, using a blend of traditional and modern techniques, granting each one a distinct pattern.

"The cases themselves are a reflection of the dedicated craftsmen and the attention to detail that goes into each piece and, like the athletes who will receive the medals, each one is unique," explained the organisers.

The design for the 2020 Olympic torch was also revealed earlier this year - designed by Tokujin Yoshioka to resemble a Sakura cherry blossom - the traditional flower of Japan.

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Olympic committee unveils 2020 medals made from recycled smartphones

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Reflective, ribbon-like rings form a border around the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic medals by Junichi Kawanishi, which are made from old electronic devices donated by the public. With one year to go until the 2020 Olympics begin, the organising committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games has unveiled the designs for the winning athletes' bronze, silver and gold medals and their cases.

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Article: Bioplastic tableware made from discarded eggs

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Article: Bioplastic tableware made from discarded eggs

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German designer Basse Stittgen aims to address the issue of global food waste and overconsumption with a series of tableware objects made solely from out-of-date eggs.

As part of his project, called How Do You Like Your Eggs?, Stittgen aims to explore the "extraordinary materiality" of commonplace items, such as waste food.

As a result, function and material unite as Stittgen turns discarded eggs into a series of golden-hued bioplastic egg cups and saucers, patterned with flecks of the broken shells.

"Annually, an average of 6.4 billion hens lay 1.1 trillion eggs," said Stittgen. "Simultaneously, one third of all food per year is lost or wasted, which includes eggs that have a short shelf-life and whose fragile shell is not the most suitable protection against processing and transport."

"From domestication to industrialisation, the value of chickens and their eggs has progressively decreased," he continued.

How Do You Like Your Eggs? aims to address this shift in value by generating awareness about the scale of egg waste, and more specifically about our consumption habits.

"In today's context, traditional non-degradable plastics are highly problematic, especially because of our throw-away culture," said Stittgen.

"Opposed to that, in this project a new, fully degradable bioplastic is used to create a narrative about consumption and waste," he added.

Stittgen first collects eggs leftover from local bakeries before cracking and splitting them into white, yolk and shell. The egg whites are dehydrated and ground into a powder, while the shells are crushed into small pieces.

These two elements are mixed together and placed into an aluminium mould, which is then heat-pressed at 200 degrees.

This causes the albumin protein found in egg whites to form polymers under the heat and pressure, which forms a protein-based biopolymer without any additional plasticiser.

While Stittgen sees the development of more sustainable materials as important in mitigating climate change, he also recognises that this is not getting to the root of the issue.

What must be addressed, he argues, is the behaviour of producers and consumers in their overconsumption.

"If the production of, for instance, polylactic acid (PLA) made from corn starch was to be scaled up to a point that it would replace fossil-fuel-based plastics, then the production of PLA would become a huge environmental problem in itself," explained the designer.

"I think what needs to change alongside the materials that we use is our behaviour as consumers and producers towards them," he continued.

"It's possible that there can't be any non-problematic materials until systems and our habits of consumption become non-problematic," Stittgen added. "And this is what I'm trying to address with this project."

How Do You Like Your Eggs? fundamentally aims to generate awareness around food waste by "physicalising it and placing it in the living room of the consumer".

Stittgen isn't setting out to replace ordinary plastics, but rather to remind us that resources - especially food - are precious and need to be "handled with great care", just as eggs do.

Animal blood used by Basse Stittgen to create series of small objects

One of the designer's previous projects saw him use blood leftover from the meat industry to create a collection of small objects, including a jewellery box and a record player.

In a similar process to the egg cups, Stittgen dried out the blood and created a powder, which was then heated and pressed into shape to form a protein-based biopolymer.

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Basse Stittgen gives discarded eggs new life as bioplastic tableware

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German designer Basse Stittgen aims to address the issue of global food waste and overconsumption with a series of tableware objects made solely from out-of-date eggs. As part of his project, called How Do You Like Your Eggs?, Stittgen aims to explore the "extraordinary materiality" of commonplace items, such as waste food.

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Website: Project Waste Scotland: Innovative recycling

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Website: Project Waste Scotland: Innovative recycling

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Project Beacon is lighting the way to a circular world of complete plastics recycling thanks to new technologies and an innovative integrative approach.

There's no one alive today who can remember Leo Baekeland unveiling the first fully synthetic plastic, Bakelite. But we're surrounded by the consequences of his work. Bakelite was a pioneering material that used nothing organic, was heat resistant and could be moulded into thousands of shapes. It heralded the era of modern synthetic plastics that are now everywhere in our lives - as toys, sticky tape, vacuum cleaners, plane and car interiors, chopping boards, the ubiquitous food packaging and a whole lot more.

"Plastic is a fantastically versatile and durable material, used every day, everywhere in our lives. It makes healthcare safer, travel lighter, is used widely in construction and protects our food in transit and extends shelf life. The problem is that we have not been acting responsibly in our management of plastic at the end of its life," says John Ferguson, director of Perthshire-based EcoideaM Ltd and founder of Pi Polymer Recycling Ltd.

Indeed, plastics would be mostly a good news story if we hadn't let them get so out of control. The Ellen McArthur Foundation reports that plastics production has surged over the past 50 years, from 15 million tonnes in 1964 to 311 million tonnes in 2014, and it's expected to double again over the next 20 years. Packaging has become the biggest application of plastics but globally only 14 per cent of plastic packaging is collected for recycling. And jaw-dropping 8 million tonnes of plastic is seeping into our oceans every year.

Enter Project Beacon, a big solution to a big problem which combines existing and innovative mechanical and chemical recycling to create a world-first Advanced Plastics Reprocessing facility at Binn Eco Park, Perthshire. Beacon has been supported by Zero Waste Scotland, the Circular Economy Investment Fund (backed by Scottish Government and European Regional Development Funding) has just awarded funding of £1.7million in Perthshire. By locating state-of-the-art recycling technologies together, significantly more plastic is kept in the economy and diverted from landfill and incineration, contributing towards Scotland's ambitious recycling targets.

Ferguson has done something that's smart and almost blindingly obvious. Along with Zero Waste Scotland's Project Manager Tim Baldwin, he has brought different businesses together to build something entirely new. Each business - Ferguson's PI-Polymer Recycling along with Recycling Technologies Ltd and Impact Recycling Ltd - uses new unique cutting-edge plastic recycling technologies. Their co-location enables the development of an integrated system with the power to suck all types of plastics out of the waste environment.

One of the big barriers to recycling progress is that people are confused about what they can recycle or not. Project Beacon will demonstrate a system that enables householders to recycle all household plastics at the kerbside.

"We're on a mission to have no plastics left behind," says Ferguson. "In the first phase, we'll be able to take any large rigid plastics including broken toys, crates, plastic pipe, garden furniture, drums and so on. In the second phase, we'll be accepting all types of plastics collected at the kerbside. Any that can't be sorted will become chemical feedstock for new products. No one is doing this at the moment unless they're incinerating or landfilling plastics. It could be a globally disruptive model."

Thinking different

The system uses new state-of-the-art separation systems to support mechanical recycling but fuses this with a game-changing chemical feedstock recycling process. This includes a patented process based on thermal cracking, which recycles end-of-life plastic waste that typically cannot be recycled using mechanical methods - for example, mixed, laminated, black, film and even contaminated plastic waste. This new process produces a range of chemical constituents that can be used to reform new virgin plastics, or other chemical products.

''The chemical feedstock process we're developing is particularly exciting and with great potential to transform plastics recycling on a global scale. It means the system will be capable of converting over 90 per cent of all received plastics to new value-added uses. That's been unheard of until now,'' says Will Garrard, operations director of Swindon-based Recycling Technologies Ltd, and key partner in the project.

Garrard is working alongside Ferguson to get the demonstrator facility up and running by late 2018. It will be based at the Binn Eco Park near Abernethy, south of Perth, with the Binn Group acting as supply chain partners. The facility will process between 15,000 and 25,000 tonnes of plastics per annum and create over 70 new jobs.

The beauty of Project Beacon is that, in the near future, councils would be able collect 'all plastic in one bin' at the kerbside, secure in the knowledge that the technologies and capacity exist to genuinely recycle these plastics, thus removing, the uncertainty many people feel over what plastics can and cannot be recycled at home.

''By using smaller scale decentralised systems in this way, we can create local supply chains for waste plastics. This offers great opportunities for establishing local plastics manufacturing businesses, as well as improving infrastructure for plastics recycling on a global level," says Ferguson.

This is circular economy thinking made real, where plastics can be turned into other products to extend their life and keep their value in the economy for as long as possible. The Project Beacon facility will be a drop in the current polluted sea, but will demonstrate a giant step towards a truly circular solution with incredible potential to scale up globally.

"This is a hugely exciting project," says Baldwin. "It's mind boggling to think that we could reach a point in Scotland where we recycle 90 per cent of our plastic waste. And if we manage to do it then the rest of the world can do it.

"The current circular economy investment fund opportunity in Scotland has helped us develop a world leading project on our doorstep. This will allow Scotland to demonstrate best in class to the rest of the world, and play a part in sharing and developing the technology further, taking plastics recycling to the next critical level."

It sounds so straightforward but so far the plastics problem has been as hard to crack as the toughest car bumper. With Project Beacon, the spotlight will be on Scotland as a leader in plastics reprocessing - breathing life into our economy as well as our oceans.

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Project Beacon is lighting the way to a circular world of complete plastics recycling thanks to new technologies and an innovative integrative approach. There's no one alive today who can remember Leo Baekeland unveiling the first fully synthetic plastic, Bakelite. But we're surrounded by the consequences of his work.

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To some this might seem like a no-brainer, but according to an annual report compiled by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE), seven out of the 10 "Greenest" vehicles sold in the U.S. for the 2019 model year are full-electric cars. The remaining three are fuel-frugal gas/electric-powered hybrids.

Sure, electric cars are energy efficient, and they produce zero tailpipe emissions, but the ACEEE's Greenest car awards are based on deeper data than that. The organization's detailed methodology further considers a car or truck's overall "cradle to grave" impact on the environment, including manufacturing, a model's energy source and its eventual disposal and recycling. Electric-vehicle ratings are also based on emissions associated with the production of electricity.

"Vehicles with some form of electrification, whether hybrid or battery electric, continue to take every spot on the Greenest List," says Eric Junga, senior transportation research analyst at ACEEE. "Despite a few automakers' cutting back on their car fleets to focus on crossovers and SUVs, the Greenest List shows that many consumers have a range of good eco-friendly options."

The ACEEE's Greenest vehicle in the U.S. - for the third year running - is the Hyundai Ioniq Electric, which earns a "Green Score" of 67 points. The average Green Score among all vehicles is 42, with the industry's environmentally "meanest" cars receiving rock-bottom scores as low as 25 points. Scores are based on an environmental damage index (EDX), which reflects its cost to human health from air pollution based on the aforementioned factors. A theoretical EDX of zero would warrant a Green Score of 100.

We're featuring the ACEEE's 10 Greenest rides on the road for 2019 in the accompanying slideshow. We'll look at the environmentally "meanest" cars of the year - all of which are among the biggest and quickest gas-guzzlers on the road - in a separate post.

Since not everyone necessarily wants or is able to own an electric car or a hybrid, the ACEEE identifies "greener" choices in each vehicle class. These include the Toyota Prius C, Kia Niro, Chevrolet Spark, Honda Civic, and Volvo V90 passenger cars, the Nissan Rogue Hybrid, Mazda MX-5, Toyota RAV4, and GMC Acadia crossover SUVs, the Chrysler Pacifica minivan and the Ford F150 (base payload) pickup truck.

Green Scores and other pertinent information for each of the more than 1,200 vehicles from the 2019 model year are available at the organization's greenercars.org website.

The fine print: The recent federal government shutdown kept the Environmental Protection Agency from providing a few models with the proper certification for 2019 (including the Tesla Model 3), and as such they have not yet been evaluated by the ACEEE. The organization promises to update its rankings and its database moving forward.

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To some this might seem like a no-brainer, but according to an annual report compiled by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE), seven out of the 10 "Greenest" vehicles sold in the U.S. for the 2019 model year are full-electric cars. The remaining three are fuel-frugal gas/electric-powered hybrids.

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Wind Energy Facts | Technology | Clean Energy Council

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Visit the CEC resources hub about wind power technology. Discover how wind energy works, learn about the benefits & view latest wind power statistics.

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Website: Driving to a Sustainable Future

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Website: Driving to a Sustainable Future

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W e recycle, take reusable bags to the grocery store, and conserve water. As we try to reduce our environmental impact, in the back of our mind we think about our cars. Transportation is the second largest contributor to our carbon footprint. Even leaving your car at home two days a week can reduce your GHG emissions by over 3,000 pounds a year!

Public transit, walking, or riding a bike are all great ways to get where you're going in NYC or San Francisco, but what if your city or town isn't exactly pedestrian-friendly? If you are looking for a way to minimize your carbon footprint with a new ride, consider a cleaner vehicle.

Clean(er) Power Vehicles: What are my options?

Electric Vehicles

Electric Vehicles (EVs) are powered with a plug-in electric battery motor. Simply put, EV motors are more efficient at turning electrical energy into movement than petroleum motors are at doing the same with gasoline . That efficiency translates to zero tailpipe emissions!

Think purchasing an EV is going to break the bank? Think again. These eco-friendly cars are becoming more affordable as technology advances and popularity rises. Even today, the low cost of rechargeable lead acid batteries is helping keep the overall production expenses of the car down. The real advantage of EVs is their fuel economy. A Toyota Corolla costs 11.9c/mile while the electric Nissan Leaf costs a mere 3.5c/mile. Even more economical if you charge your EV from a solar-powered home!

Just like any vehicle, an EV does have its drawbacks. The average EV runs for only 40 to 100 miles on one charge, so recharges are needed often. Charging is time consuming - it may take up to 5 minutes at a gas station or up to 20 hours from a regular plug. The good news is, fast-charging stations are becoming more widespread - charging a car to 80% in less than 30 minutes. For the average commuter, who doesn't travel more than 30 miles a day, an EV is a realistic option.

Hybrid Electric Vehicles

Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs) bridge the gap between an electric vehicle and your average passenger car. They combine the best of both worlds, with an electric motor and your typical combustion engine. The electrical motor runs on electricity generated by capturing the energy from braking or by converting gasoline into an electric charge.

Benefits of HEVs include the extended range of a gasoline engine, the ability to charge the battery to drive electric, increased efficiency, and less CO2 emissions than a traditional gasoline or diesel car. An Australian study found the Toyota Prius and other experimental hybrids produced 66% less carbon dioxide than the average Australian passenger vehicle. The drawback to HEVs is tailpipe emissions are still released. To drive sustainably, calculate and offset your remaining emissions with TerraPass Carbon Offsets.

Clean Diesel Technology

Diesel and gasoline combustion engines are most commonly used in vehicles. Diesel engines boast fuel economy of more than 30%, get better mileage, and emit fewer CO2 emissions. Before you run off to purchase a vehicle with a diesel engine, remember they also emit more nitrogen oxides (NOx). NOx helps form smog, acid rain, and particulate matter, depleting the ozone layer.

Good news: diesel technology is getting cleaner. Interest is growing in clean diesel cars that, in theory, don't suffer from the trade-off between performance and pollution. However, the recent VW Scandal involving large scale emissions test cheating raises questions about the future of clean diesel vehicles. Rigging emissions tests for 11m cars means they may be responsible for nearly 1m tons of air pollution every year.

How much CO2 emissions does your car contribute? Find out with our calculator.

Are EVs the cleanest option?

EVs appear to be the cleanest cars, but are they really the magic solution in the fight against climate change?

EVs use electricity with its own carbon footprint. EVs have to charge up somewhere. Depending on where you live, the mix of electricity sources and its corresponding carbon footprint may vary. On average, driving an EV in the US produces about the same amount of CO2 as driving an efficient hybrid (about 325g/CO2e per mile).

EVs and hybrids have higher manufacturing emissions than normal cars. When an electric car rolls off the production line, it's already been responsible for 30,000 pounds of CO2 emissions. In comparison, manufacturing a conventional car creates less: about 14,000 pounds of CO2 emissions. However, most of the carbon emissions in EV production come from manufacturing Lithium batteries, which are 97% recyclable.

Despite all of the above, on average, EVs and hybrids remain a cleaner option. You can calculate the carbon footprint of your ride with our carbon calculator, here.

Take action without changing your ride.

Our planet has finite resources. Sustainability demands using, re-using, and preserving our resources. Not in the market for a new ride? To make your trips more sustainable, follow these easy steps:

Get your car tuned up

Pack lightly and keep luggage off the roof

Don't idle

Plan your route and use cruise control

Carpool

Find out more about efficient road trips in our blog.

Perfecting Sustainable Cars

In a perfect world, what would need to happen to make cars sustainable? Turns out, we have to look much further than just sustainable vehicle designs.

Sustainable, clean power. Whether it's from an alternative fuel or a clean electricity grid, cars need clean 'juice'. Today it's possible to charge off-grid: directly from solar panels installed on a home. On a larger scale, we need a cleaner grid. This can be achieved by supporting clean power projects. Displacing your electricity use with Renewable Energy Credits is a great place to start. Find out more here.

Sustainable infrastructure. Sustainable urban planning encompasses everything from public transit systems to efficient buildings to green space, making our cities sustainable in the long-run. Let's face it: alternative transportation needs to be convenient to go mainstream. Environmental solutions such as solar roads and alternative charging/refueling stations need to gain momentum and support.

Pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods. Even with cleaner cars, with increasing population road space comes at a premium. To keep the number of cars under control both for the sake of environment and traffic flow we need to encourage alternative forms of transportation. Cities are designing neighborhoods that give cyclists and pedestrians a faster way to get around!

Are automatic parking systems (APS) the future? Locating a parking space is inconvenient, but all that driving, circling, and waiting in a multi-story car park also releases harmful airborne pollutants.With APS, a user simply leaves their cars at the entrance, and the system parks and retrieves their car. Parking facilities must also be energy-efficient and in smaller buildings to reduce the need for huge quantities of building materials and construction waste.

Thinking about a new ride? Be sure to check out its footprint with the TerraPass carbon calculator, here. Tweet us @Terrapass with your options for a carbon-balanced ride. For more eco-friendly tips and information, visit our website or like us on Facebook. Don't forget to take a look at our Pinterest boards for other awesome ideas!

Additional Sources:

http://www.brighthub.com/environment/renewable-energy/articles/128863.aspx
https://makeitbetter.net/home/3-types-of-green-cars-that-reduce-your-carbon-footprint/
http://www.vox.com/2015/9/21/9365667/volkswagen-clean-diesel-recall-passenger-cars
http://www.parking-net.com/parking-news/skyline-parking-ag/sustainable-car-parking-ideas
http://www.ebay.com/gds/How-Far-Can-an-Electric-Car-Travel-on-a-Single-Charge-/10000000177634903/g.html
http://shrinkthatfootprint.com/electric-cars-green

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We recycle, take reusable bags to the grocery store, and conserve water. As we try to reduce our environmental impact, in the back of our mind we think about our cars. Transportation is the second largest contributor to our carbon footprint.

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Film: "The value of sport, unifying a community"

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Film: "The value of sport, unifying a community"

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Setting the Stage

Explain for students that life in the remote village of Toksook Bay, Alaska, is challenging due to its isolation, the community's reliance on subsistence hunting and fishing, and extreme Alaska weather. Additionally, tell students that Alaska Natives have lost a foundation of cultural identity due to previous U.S. government policies that were focused on assimilating Native Americans into the dominant white culture.* Even as this loss continues to burden the Yup'ik community, the team sport of basketball has unified this particular community, as well as other communities across the region, giving young people a feeling of pride and belonging and community members a reason to gather together.

Ask students if they have ever experienced a sense of unity or a larger sense of self while participating in a group sport, music group, or team project. If so, ask them to describe this experience. Brainstorm with students and make a list of the causes and effects that led to this experience. What do you think can be gained from working closely with others in a group?

Engaging with the Story

Explain to students that the short film they will view is about a 16-year-old named Byron Nicholai, a basketball player who lives in a tiny village in western Alaska. Show students a map of Alaska, pointing out the village of Toksook Bay, where Byron, the main character in I am Yup'ik lives. Tell students that the population of this small town is 617, and can only be accessed by boat or a small plane.

Describe to students that life for many Alaska Natives is not easy. Alcoholism and suicide rates are high, in part because Alaska Natives-like other Native Americans-have suffered from historical U.S. government policies that sought to destroy Native American culture and assimilate Native peoples into mainstream society. Without a strong connection to traditional spiritual and cultural identity, many Native Americans and Alaska Natives remain at a high risk for social and psychological difficulties. The isolation of this small town also contributes to the challenges they face.

Ask students to observe Byron, the main character, while watching the film. What are some of the challenges that he and his family face in Toksook Bay? How has the game of basketball positively influenced his life, his family's life, and the community-at-large?

Delving Deeper
After watching the film, lead a discussion around the following questions:

Ask students to share what they observed about life in Toksook Bay, Alaska. What are their first impressions of the people and the place in this Alaskan village? List some of the qualities/characteristics of the town and its residents.

What is the name and age of the main character in the film? Make a list of his struggles and challenges. (Byron Nicholai is 16, his father left when he was 14, and he cares for his younger siblings.)

How long has basketball been played in Toksook Bay? How did it arrive in this remote community? (A Jesuit priest brought basketball to the area about 70 years ago, around the year 1945.)

According to the film, Yup'ik culture and tradition have been compromised. Using the film as evidence, what contributed to the loss of traditional Yup'ik culture? What are some consequences of the loss of culture, as described in the film? (Churches and government schools told Yup'ik Natives not to participate in traditional dancing and not to speak the language. Kids expressed that they were "missing something.")

Most Alaska Native communities value a subsistence lifestyle as a foundation of their cultural identity. A subsistence lifestyle means living off the land through hunting, gathering, and fishing. Alaska Natives have specific rights when it comes to subsistence; for example, only Alaska Natives can harvest marine animals like whale, seal, and walrus, which are otherwise protected from hunting. What subsistence activities of the Yup'ik people are depicted in the film? What animals do the Yup'ik people require for survival, as evidenced in the film? (Fish, seal.)

The basketball coach of Byron's team, The Islanders, said in the film, "Byron is special. He's the heartbeat of the team." What do you think he means by this? In what ways might Byron be the heartbeat of the team? Use the film as evidence for your answer.

The radio announcer in the film said, "Nothing unites the Yup'ik people like basketball." What evidence in the film supports this point of view? Why do you think basketball unites the Yup'ik people? (Traditionally people came together to "dance and share stories," and basketball serves the same purpose of bringing people together. Also, the coach explains that a basketball player "brings pride to the village," just like the hunter.)

Byron explains why he plays basketball: "One of the main reasons to play basketball is either because you love it or you want to forget about something - something that's hurting you inside." Do you think sports or other team/group activities can support an individual and/or a community when they are going through difficult times? If so, how? Use the film and your own experience as evidence.

Reflecting and Projecting

Give students one of the following reflective writing prompts to demonstrate their understanding of the story. (Note for teachers: Just as quotes from a book or text are used to prove an analytical thought, students use the film to justify their reasoning.)

1. At the beginning of I am Yupik, Byron Nicholai says, "Basketball is life in this village." Many communities-whether they are individual schools, towns, or regions-have a specific kind of identity or culture. Choose a community that you are part of-it could be your family, town, cultural or racial/ethnic community, etc. What makes your community unique? Fill in the blank with the following statement about your own community: "_______ is life in my community." Write a paragraph and explain what you mean by this statement. In what ways is your chosen activity or experience like basketball for Byron? In what ways it is different? (CCSS.SL.9-10.1 and SL.11-12.1)

2. One reason this story is so inspiring is that the filmmakers chose a convincing and compelling character. The filmmakers explain their decision in choosing to highlight Byron in an interview: "There is just a wisdom about him that was really appealing." Think about a person in your life that you think exhibits wisdom. The person could be a friend, teacher, parent, etc. Write a paragraph describing this person in detail. Include your own definition of wisdom and explain how this person has wisdom. Where do you think the wisdom comes from? How does this person inspire you? (C3.D2.Psy.2.9-12)

3. Byron says, "If you forget what your ancestors taught you, you're not going to survive." Write an essay, 2-3 paragraphs, and answer the following questions. Describe what you think Byron means by this statement. In what ways did Byron communicate that he needs support from his ancestors? Now, reflect on your own life. How have you learned from your elders to survive or succeed in your own life? Elders can include your grandparents, aunts, uncles, parents, or mentors, such as your teachers. Do your elders provide emotional support and give you courage or perseverance? Do they provide practical resources, such as a skill or trade? (NGSS.HS-LS2-8)

4. This film's title, I am Yup'ik, illustrates the strength of Byron's identification with his Native Yup'ik culture and with his community. Think about your own culture, place, and community and fill in the following: "I am _____." In a couple of paragraphs, describe the decision behind your word choice. How does this word illustrate your identity, culture, or place? Is your own identity tied to a community or place? If so, how? (C3.D2.Psy.2.9-12)

Resources

Matt Gilbert, " The impacts of Suicide in Native Alaska." Cultural Survival, April 18, 2016.

Sabrina Tavernise, " U.S. Suicide Rate Surges to a 30-Year High." The New York Times, April 22, 2016.

Evelyn Nieves, " Indian Reservation Reeling in Wave of Youth Suicides and Attempts." The New York Times, June 9, 2007.

" Fast Facts on Native American Youth and Indian Country." Center for Native American Youth at the Aspen Institute.

" American Indian Boarding Schools Haunt Many." NPR Morning Edition, May 12, 2008.

" Transcending Historical Trauma." Wisdom of the Elders.

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The Value of Sports: Unifying a Community

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Explain for students that life in the remote village of Toksook Bay, Alaska, is challenging due to its isolation, the community's reliance on subsistence hunting and fishing, and extreme Alaska weather. Additionally, tell students that Alaska Natives have lost a foundation of cultural identity due to previous U.S.

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