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2014 #le European Week for Waste Reduction Goodyear uses waste from rice harvest to fabricate efficient tires UNEP challenges students to reduce food waste SIGA-NOS NO s m sis ore Publication diretor Miguel Laranjo | PFree bimestral publication | ISSN 2182-0279 109 FOREWORD INDEX 03 SUSTAINABLE NEWS 1100 Eco-Schools Green Flags delivered in Gaia 16th International Industrial Environment and Sustainability Fair (FIMAI) IWA World Water Congress held in Lisbon European Week for Waste Reduction with several initiatives 06 INTERVIEW Dr Carlos Mauro 08 ARTICLE Ecomondo 2014 - Mediterranean platform for green economy 09 CURRENT EVENTS A recent study concludes that open dumps are increasing Goodyear uses waste from rice harvest to fabricate efficient tires Fusions project - for the reduction of food waste in Europe Governments, companies, civil society and indigenous leaders commit to halt the loss of forest area New edition of TerraTec at Leipzig UNEP challenges students to reduce food waste New app to help reduce food waste UN agencies together for the sake of food security 12 LAW 13 AGENDA / CREDITS 2• formatoverde.pt European Week for Waste Reduction #ewwr The European Week for Waste Reduction (EWWR) runs between 22 and 30 November. This initiative aims to promote actions for raising awareness to the problem of waste, in particular prevention, with several initiatives, such as animations, workshops, and other activities on this theme. According to the hierarchy of the 3R’s (Reduce waste, Reuse and Recycle), Waste Prevention is the first priority of the European Week for Waste Reduction. In this framework, different Thematic Days of Prevention will be implemented throughout Europe, this year focusing primarily on Food Waste, and how we can prevent it. There are also new improvements in comparison to last year’s edition, aimed at facilitating everyone’s participation, especially in what concerns registration to the event, which can now be made directly at the European website by following the link. Registrations are then validated by the regional organizers. Econews nº 109 PUB 16th International Industrial Environment and Sustainability Fair (FIMAI) FIMAI/ SIMAI SUSTAINABLE NEWS 1100 Eco-Schools Green Flags delivered in Gaia ABAE On the past October 15th, the Municipal Pavilion of Vila Nova de Gaia, in Portugal, received the Green Flags Day 2014, organized by the European Blue Flag Association (ABAE). The event was attended by over 4000 people, including students, teachers, municipalities, government entities, institutional and private 3• formatoverde.pt companies, among other guests. At the event, schools who have distinguished themselves within the various Eco-Schools projects that took place in 2014 were awarded. Of the 1236 schools in 218 municipalities that participated in the EcoSchools project during 2014, 89% received the Eco-Schools Green Flag. In the exhibition area, reserved for exhibitors, several national entities attended, offering a variety of activities in the environmental field for the enjoyment of students participating in the event. In the exhibition space, other activities were also available, such as photographs on creative sceneries, face painting, inflatables, among others. FIMAI - International Industrial Environment and Sustainability Fair - is a remarkable international event, held in São Paulo between 16th and 18th of November. Due to its international scope, its focus on industrial environment and sustainability, diversity of exhibitors, parallel events and its full program is considered the most important fair in the Industrial Environment sector in Latin America. With about six thousand visitors a day, the audience participated in more than 130 lectures, distributed in four auditoriums, seminars and exhibitions of various entities that promote sustainability in industrial processes and in the management of environmental resources. The event had representation of several countries with pavilions from France, USA, Netherlands, China, Argentina, and many others. Formato Verde was present, representing Portugal. FIMAI ABAE Econews nº 109 IWA World Water Congress held in Lisbon PUB PUB IWA The IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition was held in September, at the Lisbon Congress Centre. The event saw the participation of various entities, both national and international, of the water sector, which participated in the exhibition area with more than 200 exhibitors, as well as lectures in the congress. More than 5,000 specialists, coming from 97 countries, gathered for five days of debate to identify and define new solutions to address the global water crisis. The event was attended by personalities from the industry, such as Hans Rosling (speaker of one of the busiest sessions of the event, addressing water as a driving force for development and health), Sue Murphy (director of the Water Association Australia, and winner of the Women in Water award) and Willy Verstraete (resource recovery specialist). It was a very successful event, which allowed the exchange of ideas, experiences and knowledge for the preservation and improvement of the essential resource that is water. The next edition will take place in 2016 in Brisbane, Australia. HIGHLIGHT To promote the prevention of waste, it is essential to promote sustainable habits from their youth. To this end, Formato Verde developed the theater play “Preventão”. At the beginning of the play, Preventão is alerted by the narrator to stop his habits, and is made aware of the need to adopt new and more sustainable behaviors, in particular for the prevention of waste production through a shopping trip. Communication is simple, direct, humorous, very interactive and punctuated by information that explains what are the best practices for the prevention of waste production in everyday life. IWA 4• formatoverde.pt Econews nº 109 European Week for Waste Reduction with several initiatives EWWR #ewwr #lessismore The 6th edition of the European Week for Waste Reduction focuses on Food Waste and throughout Europe, there are several players who can participate in this initiative by submitting a number of initiatives relating to the theme. Within this event, which will take place between 22 and 30 November, Formato Verde will develop an initiative, partially focused on social networks, which will aim to raise awareness for the prevention of waste production, especially food waste. In this sense, during the EWWR, Formato Verde will develop the Less is More initiative dedicating its communication channels Facebook and Twitter to the event, placing posts on the subjects in focus and looking to foster interaction, comments and sharing of posts by followers of different accounts. Keep up with the action facebook.com/formatoverdeglobal and twitter.com/formatoverde. In parallel with the activities developed under this week, a campaign called “Let’s Clear Europe!” will take place, running from May 8th to 10th 2015. This initiative aims to promote 5• formatoverde.pt a cleaning day across Europe, involving and reaching the largest possible number of citizens. Portugal’s regional organizers are LIPOR and Valorsul. This action provides a unique opportunity to raise awareness of the public about the problem of waste, thus helping to change people’s behavior. EWWR sustainability tip #zerowaste To celebrate the European Week for Waste Reduction, start following some steps to help reduce waste in your daily life: • Choose reusable bags; • Put a “Advertising - no thank you” sticker in the mailbox; • Avoid food waste, taking into account the expiration date; • Choose to purchase products in bulk or packages of large size; • Buy rechargeable products; • Drink tap water; • Print only what you really need; “DID YOU KNOW THAT… • If possible, start making compost; #wasteprevention • Repair damaged equipment before disposing of them. Waste prevention occupies the top place in the hierarchy of waste management, as defined by the European Union, and may take two distinct forms: • quantitative prevention (reducing the amount of waste); • Donate old clothes; EWWR • qualitative prevention (reducing the hazardousness of waste). Valorsul Econews nº 109 INTERVIEW #ewwr #lessismore _________________ Dr. Carlos Mauro has a post-doctorate in Philosophy from the Institute of Philosophy of the University of Porto (2010-11), a PhD of Philosophy from the University of Porto (2009), Master’s Degree in Public Administration and Government Getúlio Vargas Foundation, FGV-SP (2003) and a degree in Economics from the Faculty of Economics, FAAP, São Paulo (1996). Dr. Carlos Mauro has experience teaching courses in management and economics in Brazil and Portugal, since 1999. He is currently director of the BEO Lab and Assistant Professor, Faculty of Economics and Management, Catholic Porto. _________________ 6• formatoverde.pt Econews spoke with Dr. Carlos Mauro, Director of BEO Lab and Assistant Professor, Faculty of Economics and Management, Catholic University of Porto, on behavioral issues related to the prevention and management of waste. Econews: From November 22 to 30 the European Week for Waste Reduction is celebrated. With your help, and based on the principles of behavioral economics, we would like to know what is available to the scientific community to promote behavior change in relation to waste prevention. Dr. Carlos Mauro: Waste prevention depends on specific, targeted and intentional behaviors that are, for example, consumption choices, the decision about what to do with the waste and the subsequent practical realization - to act. This small set of propositions contains a strong set of relationships between central elements of human behavior: thought, decision making, action and consequences. Behavioural economics can help us understand what are the processes that lead us to act, for example, in a selfish way, but not necessarily more rational, when the ideal thing, in collective terms, would be to conduct a proper management of our consumption and the consequent waste. My suggestion is that policy-makers and all those involved in the creation of policies related to waste prevention keep in mind that agents, which are the focus of these policies, are not rational and do not necessarily react in the expected way towards economic, legal and other incentives. A simple example might be the kind of campaigns that, in general, arise. Normally, they appeal to people’s empathy for collective victims, and often on the global consequences for nature and the environment. The problem is that, contrary to what we think, we feel much more empathy for unique, identified cases, rather then for collective and diffuse cases. When we are faced with a donation request for an identified child at risk, we often donate twice as much as when confronted with requests for donations for 1,000 children at risk. This bias of rationality could be taken into account by policy-makers. If we showed the consequences of poor waste prevention have for an identified person, or to a specific, identified community, would we not produce a better result? This is just one of the many examples that can be given about the possibility of using scientific knowledge for the benefit of changing environmentally damaging behavior. In the European Union, there has been the growing implementation of systems like Pay-As-You-Throw in promoting not only the prevention of waste but also the selective separation of waste produced/adherence to recycling systems. Not infrequently, some people are unhappy with the application of such rates, and in extreme cases the results are completely contrary to the goals of the initiative. How can behavioral economics help prevent this kind of situations? The incentive system described above assumes that people are always sensitive, in a way, to economic incentives. It assumes that if we increase the costs associated with mixed waste, rational, economic agents will seek to reduce such waste, reducing the burden of this cost in their budget. The problem is that economic agents are not rational and may be willing to pay more to prove themselves displeased with, for example, the way the policy is implemented, or even the public policy itself. The effect of this is clearly perverse: an increase in mixed waste and decreased availability of households to consume goods and services that, in fact, generate greater well-being. There is a very interestEconews nº 109 ing experience that shows us that we prefer to punish another for an offer that we consider unfair, even if it means that we stay in worse conditions. We call this phenomenon the “altruistic punishment.” Therefore, the direct answer to the question is as follows: behavioral economics can help prevent this type of situation by taking into consideration the nature of the economic agent that is not characterized, as we have seen, by rationality along the lines that we conceptualize it. Citizens play a key role in the promotion and achievement of sustainable development, especially as consumers. What strategies should be used to disseminate a collective spirit of sustainable consumption, ie, leading citizens to consider environmental aspects when choosing and consuming a certain product / service? There are several issues that must be considered when we think of public policy as critical as the achievement of sustainable development. However, I can say that the strategies are not limited to the strategies provided by behavioral economics. More generally, from my opinion and not from a proposal clearly linked to behavioral economics, I could suggest that 7• formatoverde.pt a cosmopolitan education, that decreases the psychological distance exists between people from distant locations could favor the collective/ planetary spirit. I mean an education that not only favors local aspects, but that strengthens our common history, the history of the planet and nature, thus increasing the sense of belonging to the planet and nature, and also raising awareness of our moral responsibility to others - whether close or distant. This change, of a more utopian nature, could lead us to a greater awareness and moral responsibility on environmental sustainability, regardless of consequences occuring near us, or not, both in time and geographically. More specifically, in the short term it would help to take into account the irrationality of the agent on behalf of a good collective action. In this case, we might think, for example, in the case cited in the identified victim. We could use this bias to produce a collective action which produced the desired results. However, if indeed we are to develop the collective spirit in a deep and intense way, we will have to look for a way to increase our empathy for collective cases. I do not see how to produce this collective spirit from a strategy directed to results of short or medium term. However, the problem is that sus- tainability can not only be treated as a long-term problem. What is the role of the BEO Lab and what is its main research and action areas? The BEO Lab is a laboratory of Behavioral Economics, Faculty of Economics and Management, Catholic University Porto. The Lab is sponsored by four companies, PwC, the NORS, Douro Azul and ASCENDI. At this time, BEO Lab is dedicated, always from behavioral economics, to the following three areas: public policy, organizational policies and business and basic research on human behavior. Those who want more information on the BEO Lab can visit our website. Econews nº 109 ARTICLE ECOMONDO 2014 MEDITERRANEAN PLATFORM FOR GREEN ECONOMY business) and R2B (research to business) relationships. The four day event was marked by the presence of the Minister of Environment Gian Luca Galletti, the Minister of Labour Giuliano Poletti, the mayor of Rimini Andrea Gnassi, the President of Rimini Fiera Lorenzo Cagnoni, and of the President of Italy Giorgio Napolitano through a statement read during the event. Ecomondo is the Mediterranean platform of excellence for sustainable development, dedicated to the presentation of strategies and technology solutions in several areas, such as management of municipal and industrial waste, protection and restoration of the environment, efficient management of water and energy, renewable energy, sustainable mobility, sustainable and intelligent cities or bioindustries. The 2014 edition, held from 5 to 8 November at Rimini Fiera Rimini, Italy, was attended by over 100,000 visitors and 1200 exhibitors. This year’s event, dedicated to green economy, paid special attention to the urban and industrial waste cycles, demonstration of equipment and technologies for identifying the producer and production quantities, selective collection, waste transport, treatment, recycling and exploitation of various types of waste: municipal, industrial, inert, noble metals, minerals, industrial and household eletronic waste. Ecomondo also proved to be an excellent stage for communication and dissemination of business opportunities and research funding, knowledge and technologies in the area of green economy, through the intervention of more than 1,000 lecturers who participated in the event. This year the European, African, Asian and American continents were widely represented through companies from 86 countries - including Portugal, which made the 2014 Ecomondo the perfect meeting point for the sharing and exchange of experiences, developing partnerships as well as B2B (business to 8• formatoverde.pt The Ecomondo extended over 100,000 m2 and 16 exhibition halls, divided into the following sections: Ecomondo - recovery and reuse of materials and energy, Key Energy - wind energy, Oro Blu - solutions for water, H2R - sustainable mobility, Cooperambiente - cooperative solutions for the environment, Condominio Eco - solutions and services for condominiums. Some environmental solutions that promote sustainable behaviors are worthy of highlight, such as equipment that promotes adherence to recycling systems through a compactor machine that, for each aluminum or plastic package deposited, offers a ticket discount for purchases; equipment for public roads that promote the consumption of tap water instead of bottled water, avoiding the production of tons of waste plastic packaging. The bioplastics industry also had a profuse representation, with a wide range of solutions for packaging and transporting products, such as the reuse of used tires to produce pavements. Econews nº 109 In the field of Refuse-derived fuel (RDF), two very interesting and innovative should be highlighted, since they present viable solutions for two types of quite common waste that are currently abundant - cigarette butts and used disposable diapers . Both projects, hosted by completely distinct entities, aimed at raising awareness of the collection and recovery of this waste while RDF - due to its high calorific value, to produce energy. The success of Ecomondo is easily discernible, and relates to the merger of commercial and cultural dimension to the technological, scientific and research dimension. CURRENT EVENTS A recent study concludes that open dumps are increasing D-WASTE #waste #ewwr Despite increasing efforts to raise awareness for waste reduction, as well as for the separation and selective disposal of waste, a recent study reveals that open dumps are currently increasing. Mbeubeuss, Senegal, is an open dump spreading throughout 175 acres, with towering mountains of waste shrouded in smoke from several fires, and its own small town of about 2,500 people, who live from separating, burning and recycling what they can. Mbeubeuss is one of 50 giant dumps identified in the new Atlas of the largest dumps in the world, developed by D-Waste, a team of experts in the field of waste management. Mbeubeuss can be compared with Agbogbloshie in Accra, Ghana, which is one of the largest dumps in Africa and receives 192.000 tons of 9• formatoverde.pt electronic waste each year; Dandora, outside Nairobi, which covers 53 hectares and receives 730.000 tons of industrial, hospital and domestic waste per year; and the huge Bantar Gebang village in Bekasi, Indonesia, with 230 thousand tons. The most significant of all dumps may be Deonar, outside of Mumbai, India, which opened in 1927. It is believed to have received about 17 million tons of waste and now has 5 million people living within it. Despite their differences, all these places have two things in common: they represent a serious threat to human health, and are located within or close to fast-growing cities in poor or low-income countries. They also cause serious environmental problems relating to surface water, groundwater and soil contamination from potentially toxic elements; air pollution resulting from the burning material to the surface and underground fires fueled by landfill gas. Antonis Mavropoulos, one of the authors of the map, emphasizes that these sites are a challenge for the international community, since they are located in countries that generally lack the financial and human resources to correctly manage the problem. D-WASTE Econews nº 109 Goodyear uses waste from rice harvest to fabricate efficient tires Goodyear #ewwr #goodpratices Residues from rice husk, previously sent to landfill, are now helping Goodyear to produce efficient tires. Goodyear will use ash left over from the burning of rice husks to produce electricity as an environmentally friendly source of silica for use in its tires. Joseph Zekoski, technical director of Goodyear, stresses that the use of rice husk ash will provide Goodyear with an alternative source of silica, while reducing the amount of rice husk sent to landfill. More than 700 million tons of rice are harvested annually worldwide, and the elimination of rice husk is an environmental challenge. As a result, the rice husk is often burned to produce electricity and reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill. The silica is mixed with rubber in the tire tracks to increase the strength of rubber and help reduce rolling resistance and therefore improve fuel efficiency. Their use may also have a positive impact on tire traction on wet roads. Goodyear 10• formatoverde.pt Fusions project - for the reduction of food waste in Europe WRAP #avoidfoodwaste Fusions (Food Use for Social Innovation by Optimising Waste Prevention Strategies) is a new project that focuses on working towards achieving a Europe with greater resource efficiency, by significantly reducing food waste. The project, to be developed by 2016, has 21 partners from 13 different countries, including universities, knowledge institutes, consumer and business organizations. Through a multilateral European platform, the project aims to create a shared vision and a strategy to avoid food loss and waste throughout the supply chain through social innovation. Social innovations are new ideas (products, services and models) that at the same time meet the social needs (more effectively than alter- natives) and create new social relationships or collaborations. Over 80 leading European organizations have pledged their support to the project Fusions. The project will help to harmonize the monitoring of food waste; improve understanding of the extent to which social innovation can reduce food waste; and develop guidelines for a policy of wastage of food common to the EU-27. Through delivery of the key objectives, FUSIONS will support the delivery of a Roadmap towards a Resource Efficient Europe; the European Commission’s target of a 50% reduction of food waste; and a 20% reduction in the food chain’s resource inputs by 2020. WRAP Governments, companies, civil society and indigenous leaders commit to halt the loss of forest area UNEP An innovative public-private partnership of multinationals, governments, civil society and indigenous peoples pledged to reduce forest loss by 50% by 2020, and end it a decade later in 2030. This will eliminate the annual emission of between 4.5 and 8.8 billion tonnes of CO2 - it’s a gesture equivalent to removing the carbon emissions produced by the billions of cars that are currently on the roads of the world. At the Climate Summit held in September, the New York Declaration on Forests was adopted by developed and developing countries of the world - including the United States, the European Union, and a large number of countries with tropical forests - as well as by multinationals of the food, paper, finance and other industries, civil society and indigenous peoples, from Peru to Nepal. For the first time, 155 of these world leaders agreed on a date to end deforestation, and the need for economic incentives to countries that reduce the loss of their forests. Cutting trees is a source of CO2 emissions and contributes sig- Econews nº 109 nificantly to climate change, since the trees, that store carbon, eventually release it when burnt during the destruction of forest areas. The Declaration aims to change politics going into next year’s Paris climate talks and accelerate action by companies to eliminate deforestation from their supply chains. The Declaration also calls for the restoration of more than 350 million hectares of forest and farmland, an area larger than the size of India, which would have significant climate benefits. environmental and energy sectors and thus offers an optimal platform for presenting the corresponding technologies and services. The high quality of the information and contacts offered by these trade fairs is reinforced by the specialized program of supporting events presented by prominent organizers and international cooperation exchanges and forums within the framework of the exhibition. TerraTec UNEP UNEP challenges students to reduce food waste New edition of TerraTec at Leipzig UNEP TerraTec Students around the world are preparing to compete for several prizes, now that the Environment Programme of the United Nations (UNEP) launched the Think.Eat.Save Student Challenge initiative. The Think.Eat.Save Student Challenge aims to encourage students from around the world, from high schools and universities, to discover and understand - through the development and implementation of practical projects - the amount of food waste produced, and the impact it has on the environment and the economy. The competition aims to TerraTec is the only international trade fair in Germany, focused on all aspects of environmental technologies and services, to take place in 2015. The event will offer outstanding solutions for the future of water, raw materials and management of closed loop recycling, as well as solutions relevant to climate change adaptation. The close connection between the TerraTec and the enertec – International Trade Fair for the Generation, Distribution and Storage of Energy – mirrors the complex interrelations existing between the 11• formatoverde.pt #avoidfoodwaste #thinkeatsave sensitize students to the subject of food waste, with the overall goal of training the next generation to think and act differently, to overcome the growing problem of food waste. Lucita Jasmin, manager of the Think. Eat.Save campaign, underlines that through the students, they hope to encourage a more conscious attitude towards the planning of meals, preparation, storage and consumption in schools, while attempting to highlight the inherent value of food. Students are also an effective entry point for their families and households, which are another major source of food waste and where there is great potential for positive change. UNEP Econews nº 109 New app to help reduce food waste oping countries, where most people are supported directly by land, seas and oceans. He adds that FAO and UNEP bring different and complementary sets of skills to the partnership, which will make the work on the restoration and sustainable management of ecosystems for improving food security is most effective. The memorandum formalizes cooperation between the two agencies, in the context of an agenda post-2015 development, including the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly with regard to food security and ecosystem services. Love Food Hate Waste Think. Eat. Save. “DID YOU KNOW THAT… #avoidfoodwaste It is estimated that each year, 89 million tons of food are wasted in the European Union. It is expected that this number rises to about 126 million tonnes by 2020, if no action is taken. EWWR #avoidfoodwaste The Love Food Hate Waste initiative was created in order to raise awareness for the importance of reducing food waste. In light of this initiative, a new mobile application was created, one that allows the user to easily keep track of food planning, shopping, cooking meals and making the most of leftovers. The Love Food Hate Waste app also has several recipe ideas and tips on using leftovers and forgotten foods to create satisfying meals. Free to download and use, the application aims to make everyone reduce food waste, saving money as well as the environment. Love Food Hate Waste 12• formatoverde.pt UN agencies together for the sake of food security Think. Eat. Save. #avoidfoodwaste #thinkeatsave In September, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that is set to ensure better support for the functioning of critical ecosystem services that underlie food security. Achim Steiner, UNEP Executive Director and UN Under-Secretary-General stresses that healthy ecosystems are the lifeblood of food security, especially in devel- LAW Green Paper on a European Strategy on Plastic Waste in the Environment Plastic is a relatively inexpensive and versatile material with many industrial applications, which led to its exponential growth over the last century, creating unique challenges in terms of waste management. The aim of the Green Paper is to promote deep reflection and debate on the strategy on plastic waste, contributing to reassess of the risks of plastics to the environment and to human health when they become waste, taking into account their correct functional design and chemistry, from an environmental point of view. On the other hand, it intends to launch a reflection on the problems of uncontrolled disposal of plastic waste and marine debris and also contribute to consider the inclusion of impacts throughout the life cycle in the cost of plastic products, from extraction of raw materials to end of life phase. European Commision Econews nº 109 AGENDA 22th to 30th of november EWWR European Week for Waste Reduction Europe CREDITS Ownership entity: Formato Verde – Communication, Training and Content Management Ltd. ewwr.eu VAT nunber: 506083357 1st and 2nd of december 17th European Forum on Eco-innovation Lyon, France Writing and editing: Formato Verde – Communication, Training and Content Management Ltd., R. São Roque da Lameira, 2129, 4350-317 Porto, Portugal europa.eu Publication director: Miguel Laranjo 11th of december IV National Meeting of Waste Management of APEMETA Lisbon, Portugal Number Registration: 126026 apemeta.pt Frequency: Bimestral Legal deposit: ISSN 2182-0279 27th to 29th oh january 2015 TerraTec Leipzig, Germany Tel. +351 229 352 321 Fax. +351 229 352 322 terratec-leipzig.com econews@formatoverde.pt 27th to 29th oh january 2015 Green Ventures Leipzig, Alemanha green-ventures.com 13• formatoverde.pt formatoverde.pt FOLLOW US ON: Co-financing Econews nº 109
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