Cascade Alliance

Five Headline Friday (4/27/18)

It’s Friday and we are here once again and to serve up some of the news of note from this week:

• Durham Magazine profiles Scrap Exchange’s Ann May Woodward in annual women’s issue.
• China extends its ban on recycling imports to include steel and other materials.
• Social innovations by Catholic groups are helping immigrants and refugees
• A critique of the “circular economy” trend in retail clothing suggests it won’t help much if we don’t slow down.
• Need and opportunity for better eco-design and product stewardship in the mattress and carpet industries.

Scrap Exchange’s Ann May Woodward Featured in Women’s Issue- Durham Magazine

Durham Magazine has featured Ann May Woodward, Executive Director of the Scrap Exchange, in it’s annual women’s issue.  This feature lauds the accomplishments of women in the Durham area involved in a variety of activities that benefit the community.  Ms. Woodward’s passion for and contributions to creative reuse through the Scrap Exchange are highlighted and we’re delighted to see her recognized!

China refuses to recycle more of the world’s trash

China announced that in addition to refusing paper and some plastic recycling imports, it is extending the ban to dozens more types of recyclable materials, including steel waste.  The global recycling ban is expected to add costs to the environment, consumers, and the waste/recycling industry.

The innovative ways Catholic groups are helping migrants and refugees

This article describes some social innovations being used by Catholic groups to benefit immigrants and refugees as they seek to find their footing in the US, and working abroad to build community and job training to reduce migration.

More Recycling Can’t Fix The Fundamental Flaws With Fast Fashion

This is a critique of the fashion industry’s embrace of circular economy practices, focusing on the impact on carbon emissions.  The article suggests that recycling clothing while still promoting cheap and frequently replaced clothing consumption, “fast fashion”, has a minimal impact on carbon emissions, and calls for slowing down the cycle of fashion production and consumption and lowering reliance on fossil fuels in clothing production.

Time for an eco-design revolution on carpets and mattresses

This opinion piece calls for numerous changes to the way bulky items are – beginning at the design process to make products more recyclable and less hazardous from the start, all the way to mandatory recycling at the end of life.  Eco-design benefits to environment, jobs, and economy are explored.