Cascade Alliance

Five Headline Friday (3/23/18)

It’s Friday and time for some headlines!  This week we’re featuring two stories about response to the China plastic recyclable ban, an ICYMI- Starbucks is responding to pressure and spending big to make greener coffee cups (but why not just bring your own re-useable one, we say!), a story of online resale going to bricks and mortar, and a program linking business students with non-profits to mutual benefit.  So here they are…

How China Changed Our Recycling

This public radio interview goes in-depth with panelists on the local effects of the China recycling ban and explores the barriers we face in the US to doing our own plastics recycling.  Saint Vincent de Paul’s styrofoam compression operation is mentioned near the 36:30 minute mark!

Major Northeast plastics processing plant in the works

The China ban has enabled this plastics plant in New Jersey to move ahead with its production, processing recovered PET and HDPE, and possibly PP caps, sourcing from local communities as well as overseas.

Starbucks commits $10M for greener coffee cup

ICYMI, Starbucks announced its NextGen Cup Challenge initiative, a $10 million grant for inventors to develop a greener coffee cup that is fully recyclable and compostable.

Depop Is Yet Another Resale App Opening Physical Stores

Digital secondhand stores are seeing value in providing a physical space to both shop for unique items, and make space for community connections with other travelers in the secondhand universe…

An Experiment in Placing Young MBAs on Nonprofit Boards

Women in Leadership Club at the University of California, Davis’s business school, a program to benefit both non-profits and MBA students, reports on successes and learnings.