Waste and recycling

Greenpeace puts HP in top spot in greener-electronics guide

HP is now the top-ranked tech company, according to Greenpeace's latest guide to greener electronics.

The guide's criteria has been updated to take into greater account energy use, conflict minerals, green products, and supply chain energy use.

Greenpeace released its latest rankings today, showing HP moving ahead three to the top spot. It's a big leap considering that just six years ago HP was targeted by Greenpeace as one of the worst tech companies for using fire retardant materials suspected of being hazardous. At the time, Greenpeace members stood outside of HP's headquarters and handed out … Read more

Producing recycled foil uses 95 percent less energy (video)

If you are looking for little ways to get greener in the kitchen, but want to keep using aluminum foil, recycled foil might be one answer.

The makers of one brand of recycled aluminum foil say that making recycled foil uses just 5 percent of the energy required to make regular foil. In this SmartPlanet Smart Picks video, correspondent Sumi Das talks about how recycled foil stands up to traditional foil.

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USDA awards $44.6 million for biofuel projects

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced this week it has set aside $44.6 million to fund a variety of advanced biofuel production projects in over 38 states.

The 156 projects, it should be noted, are not aimed at achieving research breakthroughs. Instead, the money will help expand existing facilities using established technologies to produce fuel from renewable biomass.

The funding is coming via the USDA's Bioenergy Program for Advanced Biofuels and includes projects of all types, producing things like ethanol and biodiesel, and even harnessing landfill and sewage waste treatment gas. The projects include biomass resources like … Read more

Waste to energy: Green or greenwash?

HAVERHILL, Mass.--There's a good amount of energy tied up in people's trash cans. But does it make sense to burn it?

I took a tour of Covanta Energy's waste-to-energy site here yesterday to delve a little deeper into that question. I learned that modern plants like this one are far less polluting than they used to be and that "reduce, reuse, recycle" is clearly the preferred route. For what's left over after recyling, though, waste-to-energy plants can fill a role as an alternative to landfills, assuming air quality standards remain in force.

This … Read more

Quench laps up $30 million in funding

Philadelphia-based Quench has garnered $30 million in funding for expansion, the company announced Thursday.

Quench makes water coolers with built-in filtration systems that tap into a building's existing water supply instead of using water in five-gallon plastic jugs that need to be regularly delivered and replaced. The company makes free-standing and countertop water coolers and ice makers.

The coolers use a reverse osmosis water filtration system that includes a sediment filter, an antimicrobial filter for killing microorganisms, a carbon filter that removes things like chlorine that might change water flavor, and a lead filter for reducing heavy metal content. … Read more

U.S. missing out on energy from trash, study says

Columbia University researchers assert that tech breakthroughs in recent years now make sending trash to landfills a waste of energy.

While recycling and energy recovery from plastics is on the rise, about 86 percent of used plastics are still sent to landfills. It's a big waste considering its energy potential, according to the 33-page report, "Energy and Economic Value of Non-recycled Plastics and Municipal Solid Wastes that are Currently Landfilled in Fifty States" (PDF).

About 28.8 million tons of non-recycled plastics were sent to landfills in 2008, the energy potential equivalent of 36.7 million tons … Read more

Ford looks to reduce carbon footprint in supply chain

Using post-consumer materials and finding more energy-efficient ways to produce vehicles are just part of Ford Motor Co.'s strategy to reduce the company's global carbon footprint.

Ford is looking at the energy use and carbon emissions of 128 global suppliers. These suppliers account for nearly 60 percent of the company's $65 billion in annual purchases.

In 2010, the automaker surveyed 35 top suppliers that make seats, steering systems, tires, and metal components. What Ford discovered was how much the companies varied in their readiness to measure and report greenhouse gas emissions.

According to the 2010 survey results, … Read more

How Apple and Greenpeace made peace

Steve Jobs had a hand in another lesser-known Apple achievement: more environmentally friendly electronics.

Apple and environmental watchdog group Greenpeace waged a public battle over how "green" Apple's products were over several years while Jobs was CEO. Environmental groups continue to pressure Apple to improve on some issues, but Apple's products today do not have the toxic chemicals that were there before regulations and environmental groups prodded the electronics industry to change.

In 2005, Apple was slammed by environmental watchdog groups over product recycling policies, and in 2006, Greenpeace targeted Apple over concerns regarding the use of toxic substances … Read more

Gazelle predicts price drop for used iPhones today

If the pace of used iPhone buybacks is any indication, many gadget lovers have already made their minds up about upgrading.

Buyback service Gazelle is seeing a used iPhone being turned in every 15 seconds today, according to company representative Michael Schneider. Last week, the company received about 5,000 used iPhones for buyback and reselling. On Friday alone, it received 1,000, he said.

The rapid volume is most likely due to people trying to lock into buyback prices before today's iPhone announcement. By later this afternoon, prices, which have been volatile, will likely fall significantly, he said. … Read more