Green Business News - Week Ending September 2nd
Waste Management going for 'black gold'
Houston-based trash and recycling company Waste Management is expanding their organic recycling services to include sales of mulch, compost and playground turf made from recycled organic materials.
To facilitate the expansion, Waste Management acquired Garick, which is a manufacturer of organic gardening products. Garick has the capacity to compost in excess of one million tons of material every year, and Waste Management plans to expand its food and organic waste removal services to accomodate their newfound capacity.
The acquisition brings Waste Management one step closer to a goal of increasing the amount of recyclables processed, increasing production of renewable energy, and investing in new waste-management technologies.
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The price of cheap Walmart eggs? Mummified hens and tainted eggs
Tom Philpott of Grist explores the root of food safety issues like the recent egg recall -- primarily, consumer demand for impossibly cheap eggs:
“The current egg recall, which grew out of filthy conditions on factory-scale Iowa egg facilities (detailed in my last post), can only be fully understood within this context. Profit margins on eggs that retail for 8 cents apiece are nano-thin; in order to make money, producers have no choice but to think in terms of massive volume. And they have to be ruthless about controlling costs.
In a market predicated on cost cutting, the winners aren't the players that produce the highest-quality eggs or maintain the best production standards. Instead, the spoils go to the ones that produce the most eggs at the cheapest price. And that means severe pressure to cut corners on food safety, building maintenance, working conditions, etc. As the career of Wright County Egg Owner Jack DeCoster shows, fines from violations of worker-safety, sanitation, and water-quality laws become a mere cost of doing business.”
As more consumers make buying decisions based on quality, animal welfare and sustainability, the market will shift to reward producers who adopt friendlier practices. Let’s hope this happens sooner, rather than later.
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Philly subway to capture energy from braking trains
Viridity Energey has been awarded a $900,000 grant to build a system to capture energy from braking trains as they slow down to enter stations throughout Philadelphia. The energy will be stored in a giant battery, and be used to power trains when they leave the station. Excess power will be sold back to the grid. The project is slated for operation by spring of 2011.
Viridity’s system includes hosted software that analyzes energy needs and optimizes usage accordingly. The project is estimated to save $500,000 a year using the new system. Viridity makes its money by getting a percentage of the revenue earned by its customers.
BP Tripled Ad Spending After Spill
Oil giant BP spent $93.4 million on advertising in the three months after the Deepwater Horizon disaster, three times what it spent in the same three months last year. According to a report made to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, BP bought fewer ads, but the ads it bought were longer and ran nationwide. The heaviest concentration was in the states directly affected by the spill. In addition to the ad spending, BP gave $89.5 million in grants to promote tourism along the Gulf Coast.
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Fresh Air for Sale, in Hong Kong
The notoriously poor air quality in Hong Kong has resulted in a “revolutionary new product” claiming to let you experience breathing “like the rest of the world does.” At a cost of 2 Hong Kong dollars (25 cents, US), you get a cannister, a mask, and your choice of flavors. The product’s fall launch corresponds with some of the highest pollution levels of the year. Roadside stations in central Hong Kong have classified air pollution levels at “very high” this week.
The campaign’s tongue-in-cheek youtube video has gotten over 140,000 views, and is aimed at increasing awareness of Hong Kong’s deplorable air quality, particularly with youngsters.
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Prescription Drug Use Rose to Include Half of Americans in 2008
A new study has found nearly half of Americans used prescription drugs every month in 2008. This number marks an increase of 10% over the prior decade.
Other findings include:
- 20% of children under the age of 11 took prescription meds each month
- 37% of people aged 60 or higher used five or more prescription meds per month
- Spending for prescription drugs hit $234.1 billion
- The two biggest sellers last year were Lipitor (Pfizer Inc.) and Plavix (Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.)
- For children, the most common medications were treatments for attention-deficit disorder
- For adults aged 20 to 59, antidepressants were the most common
- For adults 60 and over, cholesterol-lowering medications were most common.
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