Tag: Fun Facts

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Recover More Uncategorized

Top Five Fun Facts: Recover More Edition

This is the final of three Fun Fact entries focusing on GreenBlue’s mission alignment to Sustainable Materials Management, a robust framework with three main foci 1) Use Wisely  looks at material sourcing; 2) Eliminate Toxicity from products and packaging, and 3) and Recover More value from the waste stream.
Eric DesRoberts continues his series of facts and tidbits he’s uncovered during his research to better understand materials used in products and packaging. You can check out his past Fun Facts here.

  1. Paper and paperboard accounts for over half of the total weight of materials recovered in the municipal solid waste (MSW) stream. In 2012, roughly 86.6 million tons of MSW was recovered and about 44.3 of this was attributable to paper or paperboard.
  2. U.S. food production uses roughly 10 percent of the country’s total energy budget, 50 percent of its land, and 80 percent of the freshwater consumed in the United States. Even more shocking is that roughly 40 percent of this food goes uneaten which equates to about $165 billion in waste. The toll is much greater when one accounts for the 4 percent of the U.S energy wasted, the unnecessary use of inputs used to farm 20 percent of the land, and the overuse of water for irrigation by 32 percent to produce the discarded food.
  3. From Thanksgiving to Christmas, household waste increases by more than 25%. We now know the true meaning of “Black Friday.”
  4. In 2013, 648,000 Ocean Conservancy volunteers collected over 12 million pounds of trash, covering nearly 13,000 miles of shoreline.
  5. If 50 percent of the food waste generated each year in the U.S. was anaerobically digested, enough electricity would be generated to power 2.5 million homes for a year.

 
 

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Eliminate Toxicity

October Fun Facts: Eliminate Toxicity

This is the second of three Fun Fact entries focusing on GreenBlue’s mission alignment to Sustainable Materials Management, a robust framework with three main foci 1) Use Wisely looks at material sourcing; 2) Eliminate Toxicity from products and packaging, and 3) and Recover More value from the waste stream.
Eric DesRoberts continues his series of facts and tidbits he’s uncovered during his research to better understand materials used in products and packaging. You can check out his past Fun Facts here.

        1. The list within the list -The NRDC lists Five Dangerous Pollutants in the Air You Breathe Everyday:
          1. Diesel exhaust is a mix of more than 40 toxic air contaminants and has been linked to cancer, asthma, and premature death. Many Americans live or work near diesel hotspots such as bus terminals, truck depots, and busy intersections, and some studies have found that kids riding inside diesel buses can be exposed to higher levels of harmful diesel emissions than people in nearby cars.
          2. Formaldehyde has been linked to lung cancer, and may also cause leukemia and asthma attacks. It is used in the manufacturing of insulation, pesticides, and disinfectants, but a significant piece of the industrial emissions comes from the lumber industry and the production of plywood. Proper treatment and applications of indoor construction materials should be employed to reduce potential exposure to formaldehyde.
          3. Benzene is a carcinogen that causes leukemia and a number of other illnesses. It is used in motor fuels, solvents, detergents, and many other substances. Common exposure points include gas stations, cigarette smoke, and diesel exhaust.
          4. Particulate matter are fine particles that become embedded in your lungs and impair their ability to function. Most particulate matter comes from burning fossil fuels or wood.
          5. Ground-level ozone forms when nitrogen oxides and other pollutants emitted by cars, trucks, buses, coal-fired power plants and other fossil-fuel burners react with sunlight to form the principal ingredient in smog.
        2. A recent Harvard study found that sub-lethal exposure to the neonicotinoid class of pesticides (widely used in corn, soybeans, cotton, apples, and many other crops) may be a key driver of Colony Collapse Disorder. It is suspected that the collapse is partially due to the impairment of neurological functions. Bee pollination is responsible for more than $15 billion in increased crop value. As we transition into bio-based materials, we need to work to better understand the effects of using chemical treatments for higher yields.

bee

  1. Though the actual number is unknown, it is estimated that there are 115 million animals used in laboratory testing worldwide. The cosmetics industry is an often cited as employing animal testing, where some practices include skin and eye irritation tests (chemicals are rubbed onto the shaved skin or dripped into the eyes of restrained rabbits), repeated force-feeding studies (looking for signs of general illness or specific health hazards such as cancer or birth defects), and “lethal dose” tests (animals are forced to swallow large amounts of a test chemical to determine the dose that causes death).
  2. Top ten polluted waterways lists:
    Watersheds Receiving Toxic Releases by Volume (lbs)

    • Lower Ohio-Little Pigeon Rivers (IN, IL, KY) – 14,727,205
    • Upper New River (NC, VA) – 7,338,166
    • Middle Savannah River (GA, SC) – 5,025,161
    • Muskingum River (OH) – 4,414,602
    • Blackbird-Soldier Rivers (IA, NE) – 4,372,706
    • Lower Platte-Shell Rivers (NE) – 3,726,866
    • Buffalo River-San Jacinto (TX) – 3,557,254
    • Brandywine Creek-Christina River (DE, PA) – 3,416,615
    • Lower Des Moines River (IA) – 2,902,489

    Watersheds Receiving Toxic Releases By Toxicity (based on EPA Toxic Weighting Factors – see source above)

    • Lower Brazos River (TX) – 33,474,792
    • Lower Grand River (LA) – 1,926,751
    • North Fork Humboldt River (NV) – 1,042,622
    • Nooksack River (WA) – 1,028,364
    • Noxubee River (AL, MS) – 593,695
    • Lower Cape Fear River (NC) – 550,152
    • Lower Sulphur River (AR, TX) – 508,181
    • Lower Tennessee River (KY) – 474,284
    • Bayou Sara-Thompson Creek (LA) – 341,414
    • Middle Pearl River-Silver River (MS) – 328,186
  3. A study from Columbia University’s School of Public Health found that prenatal exposure to pollution correlated with developmental delays at age 3, fewer IQ points at age 5, and behavior problems at age 7. If New York City reduced its pollution from sources like diesel fumes by a 25%, affected children could expect to earn an additional $215 million in their lifetime.
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GreenBlue

Top Five Fun Facts: August – Use Wisely Edition

The next three issues of Fun Facts will focus on GreenBlue’s mission alignment to Sustainable Materials Management, a robust lifecycle framework with three main focuses: 1) Use Wisely looks at material sourcing; 2) Eliminate Toxicity from products and packaging, and 3) and Recover More value from the waste stream.
Eric DesRoberts continues his series of facts and tidbits he’s uncovered during his research to better understand materials used in products and packaging. You can check out his past Fun Facts here.

Use Wisely: Material sourcing and using less material inputs.
Use Wisely is shorthand to explain that at each step of the production life cycle, we must seek to conserve material resources and to keep the embedded energy investment in circulation. The concept of dematerialization means combining various conservation strategies such as reducing the amount of materials needed to provide the function required, extending the service life of products, and eliminating the concept of waste by ensuring that there are robust markets to reutilize post-industrial and post-consumer materials.
 

    1. Material input can be defined as the total quantity of material “stuff” moved from nature to create a product or service. Many common materials in today’s society have incredible amounts of inputs from nature, not to mention energy, water, fuel and other demands. Here is how much raw stuff it takes to make these common materials:
      MATERIAL kg of stuff / kg of material
      Virgin Aluminum 85
      Recycled Aluminum 3.5
      Copper Virgin 500
      Copper recycled 10
      Cotton 22
      Glass 2
      Gold 540,000
      Plywood 2
      Diamonds 5,300,000
      EPS-foam 11
      Polyethylene 5.4
      Paper 15

      Table source:

    2. Research found an average of 17,000 bits of tiny plastic particles per square kilometer in Lake Michigan. One of the primary sources is believed to be microbeads used in personal care items such as exfoliants. It’s been shown that fish mistake the microbeads for food, demonstrating that these microbeads are polluting the water ecosystem and disrupting the food chain.microbeads
    3. Of the 751 million acres of forestland in the US, 56% is privately owned. Nearly ⅔ of this land is owned by families and individuals. When considering fiber sourcing or land development, the family forest owners are key players in forest sustainability.
    4. In 2012, there were roughly 6.3 billion mobile phones in use worldwide. For every 41,600 phones recycled, 1 kg of gold is obtained and kept out of landfill. In the US, only 11-14% of all e-waste is recycled, which if applied to the global setting would mean that 5.4 billion phones are not being recycled, and roughly 131,374 kg of gold ($5.3 billion assuming $1,263 per ounce) is not being collected.
      pile-of-cellphones
    5. Magnets are the single largest application of rare earths, taking up 21% of the total rare earth production by volume and generating 37% of the total value of the rare earth market. Rare earth metals are used in electronics making e-waste recycling an imperative.
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GreenBlue

Top Five Fun Facts: April

Eric DesRoberts continues his monthly series of facts and tidbits he’s uncovered during his research to better understand products and packaging. You can also check out his past Fun Facts here.

1. A typical American is sedentary for 21 hours a day. An estimated 86% of Americans sit all day at work. Research shows that if people sat 3 hours less a day, it would add 2 years to the average life expectancy.

2. One gram of protein from bovine meat requires about 112 litres (~30 gal) of water. This figure increases to about 139 litres (37 gal) of water per gram of protein from nuts, and down to about 19 litres (5 gal) of water per gram of protein from pulses (grain legumes). Pair these foods with the options below and start to see your water footprint soar.

3. Microorganisms surround us. In the relatively desolate atmosphere at 1,000 feet, every cubic meter of air contains about a thousand microbes. Closer to the ground, that number increases to about 100,000, and on every square centimeter of human skin, its about 10 million. A teaspoon of dirt contains 50 billion microbes..

4. World Health Organization’s (WHO) new findings show that poor air quality is responsible for 7 million deaths a year – one in eight total deaths worldwide. The Western Pacific and South East Asian regions bear most of the burden.


 5. The Center for Science in the Public Interest found that foodborne illnesses have decreased by over 40% from 2002. Among the outbreaks that were traceable, restaurants accounted for nearly twice as many as outbreaks as private homes. Outbreaks with the largest average numbers of illness were found to occur in group settings such as prisons, catered events, and schools.
*Earth Day Bonus: August 20 was Earth Overshoot Day in 2013. It marked the approximate date our resource consumption for 2013 exceeded the planet’s ability to replenish it. It happened on about August 22 in 2012, September 22 in 2003, and on October 21 in 1993 (about a month earlier every decade). If we continue at this rate, Earth Day 2052 could also be Earth Overshoot Day.

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GreenBlue

Top Five Fun Facts: November

Eric DesRoberts continues his monthly series of facts and tidbits he’s uncovered during his research to better understand products and packaging. You can also check out his past Fun Facts here.

  1. In a survey conducted by the Bradley Corporation, 70% of respondents admitted to rinsing hands with water without the use of soap after using a public restroom. Roughly 75% of women participants claimed that they always washed their hands after using a public restroom compared to only 60% of men.

  2. An estimated 46 million turkeys will be cooked this holiday season. While many Thanksgiving feasters enjoy their turkey fried, every year, deep-fryer fires are Photo of wild turkey from New Hampshire Fish and Gameresponsible for around five deaths, 60 injuries, the destruction of roughly 900 homes, and more than $15 million in property damage.

  3. According to a recent post from The Economist, Singapore is the best place to do business and new companies can be formed in as little as 2 ½ days. The post also notes that wealthier parts of the world shoulder the lightest regulatory burden when it comes to conducting business.

  4. Over 60,000 Veterans are homeless on any given night. Pay tribute to the Veterans that served their country, and consider helping end veteran homelessness by 2015.

  5. We are in the thick of No-Shave-November, a month long cancer awareness event that encourages participants to put down our razors, embrace our hair, and donate the money typically spent on shaving to cancer research and awareness. The teams registered with the American Cancer Society have a total of 515 participants, and have raised over $996,000. There is still time to get involved!

Mustache Movember from The Telegraph

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GreenBlue

Top Five Fun Facts: August

Eric DesRoberts continues his monthly series of facts and tidbits he’s uncovered during his research to better understand products and packaging. You can also check out his past Fun Facts here.

1. A recent Bureau of Labor Statistics finding showed that in 2011, the average US household spent more on pets ($502) annually than they did on alcohol ($456), landline phone bills ($381), or men and boys clothing ($404). Households comprised of only a husband and wife spent the highest amounts (just below $700).
2. Federal campaign rules allow Americans to make political candidates or committees the beneficiaries of their estates. Since Jan. 1, 2009, thirty-two people listed on federal campaign records as “deceased” have contributed more than $586,000 to congressional and presidential candidates and political parties.
3. August 12 marked the second annual World Elephant Day.  The street value of a single elephant tusk is approximately US$15,000 with the main market for illegal ivory being China. Poaching and habitat loss are two significant threats to Asian and African Elephants.

4. 100 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute. Almost 6 billion hours of YouTube are watched each month.
5. Earth Overshoot Day—the approximate date our resource consumption for a given year exceeds the planet’s ability to replenish – was believed to occur on August 22, 2012.  Since 2001, Earth Overshoot Day has occurred an average of three days earlier each year. Today, August 20, is Earth Overshoot Day 2013 and we have now consumed our annual resource allotment for 2013.

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GreenBlue

Top Five Fun Facts: June

Eric DesRoberts continues his monthly series of facts and tidbits he’s uncovered during his research to better understand products and packaging. You can also check out his past Fun Facts.
1. The Environmental Working Group analyzed pesticide tests on 48 popular conventional produce items and found that apples, strawberries, and grapes had the highest pesticide levels and pineapples, onions, and sweet corn had the lowest. The group goes on to say that the health benefits of eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables outweigh the risk of exposure.

2. According to a USGS report, the historical average rate of groundwater depletion in the U.S. was about 9 cubic kilometers per year from 1900-2008. From 2000-2008 the rate of depletion averaged almost 25 cubic kilometers. The full report goes on to state that oceans represent the ultimate sink for essentially all depleted groundwater – US groundwater depletion alone accounts for up to 2.3% of the sea level rise from 2000-2008.
3. Over 40,000 projects have been successfully funded through Kickstarter, raising roughly $536 million. In 2012 alone, 2.2 million people (from 177 countries) contributed over $300 million to fund 18,109 projects.
4. On average, a US family consumes about 5kg of food per day that has cumulatively traveled over 4,000 miles throughout its lifecycle. This ranges from about 700 miles for some beverages to about 13,000 miles for some meats. However, the majority of food impacts still occur in the production stages. Accordingly, a dietary shift away from red meat towards a more fruit and vegetable based diet is one of the most effective ways of reducing a household’s food related climate footprint.
5. June 5 marked the 41st annual United Nations World Environment Day. This year’s theme was Think.Eat.Save – an anti-food waste and food loss campaign to combat the 1.3 billion tonnes of food lost or wasted annually.

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GreenBlue Sustainable Packaging Coalition

Top Five Fun Facts – April

Eric DesRoberts continues his monthly series of facts and tidbits he’s uncovered during his research to better understand products and packaging. You can also check out his past Fun Facts here.
1. The 2012 Urban Mobility Report found that traffic congestion costs Americans over $120 billion in delay time and wasted fuel. The report highlights that congestion caused urban Americans to travel an additional 5.5 billion hours and purchase an extra 2.9 billion gallons of fuel over the course of the year. Washington DC, Los Angeles, and San Francisco experienced the longest delays.

2. Exposure to Radon in the home is responsible for an estimated 20,000 lung cancer deaths each year. Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers and is produced by the decay of naturally occurring uranium in soil and water. Check your detectors!
3. According to the Global Language Monitor, Global Warming/Climate Change was the top phrase of the first decade of the 21st century. For the year 2012, Climate Change/Global Warming claimed the number 2 spot behind Gangnam Style.
4. March 31st marked the opening day for Major League Baseball. Over the course of the 2013 season, the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council estimates baseball fans will consume over 20 million hot dogs. Estimates for the top selling ball parks include:

Hot Dog

  • LA Dodgers (2.4 million)
  • Boston Red Sox (1.5 m)
  • Texas Rangers (1.3 m)
  • Detroit Tigers (1.3)
  • NY Yankees (1 m)
Sausage

  • Boston Red Sox (421k)
  • NY Mets (405k)
  • Giants (400k)
  • Nationals (400k)
  • Brewers (400k)

5. The first Earth Day was celebrated on April 22, 1970. The success of that day helped increase awareness of environmental issues and helped gain support for the development of organizations like the US EPA. The Earth Day Network is a good resource to help you plan and contribute to Earth Day events

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GreenBlue

Top Five Fun Facts: December

Eric DesRoberts continues his monthly series of facts and tidbits he’s uncovered during his research to better understand products and packaging. You can also check out his past Fun Facts here.
1. According to the National Christmas Tree Association, there are nearly 15,000 Christmas tree farms, and over 100,000 full or part-time jobs are created by the industry. The average growing time for a Christmas tree is seven years.
2. Switching over to a $1 coin piece could save the government more than $4 billion over a 30-year period. The Government Accountability Office reports that this is directly a result of the difference between the cost of producing coins or notes and their face values. A $1 note is expected to last about 4.7 years, while $1 coin is expected to be in circulation for 30 years.

Figure 1: Discounted Net Benefit to the Government of Replacing the $1 note with a $1 coin (Source: US Government Accountability Office)
3. About 91% of long distance (100+ miles round trip) holiday travel in the US is by personal vehicle. Air counts for nearly 6%, and bus, train, and other modes account for the remainder.  In 2001, when Christmas and New Year’s Day fell on Tuesday, the Saturday and Sunday preceding Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were generally the busiest travel days of the entire 17-day holiday travel period.
4. In 1996, the US made up over 66% of the world’s online population. Today, it only accounts for about 12%.
5. The 2012 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree (an 80 year-old Norway Spruce) is 80 feet tall, wrapped with 45,000 LED lights spanning about five miles, if strung end-to-end, and is topped with a 550 pound Swarovski crystal studded star. The estimated cost of the tree and ornaments comes in at around $75,000.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

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GreenBlue

Top Five Fun Facts: November

Eric DesRoberts continues his monthly series of facts and tidbits he’s uncovered during his research to better understand products and packaging. You can also check out his past Fun Facts here.
1. Roughly 35 million pounds of candy corn will be produced in 2012. This equates to roughly 9 billion individual pieces.

2. In 2011, the federal government provided $4.1 billion to Homeless Assistant Programs to provide for the more than 600,000 homeless people identified in the United States.
3. Forty eight million Americans get sick from eating tainted food each year. From January 2011 to September 2012, these illnesses led to 37 deaths and over $200 million in health related costs (including hospitalization, pain and suffering, and lost productivity).
4. The average shopper spent nearly $400 on Black Friday last year. Computers and electronics, clothing and shoes, and video games were the most popular items
5. Roughly 250 million turkeys were produced in 2011. This equates to roughly 7.3 billion pounds of turkey meat, or 16 pounds consumed per person. With Thanksgiving right around the corner, here is an interesting infographic illustrating the holiday.