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A single construction site can generate a surprising amount of waste long before a building is completed. Broken concrete, steel cuts, timber formworks, plastic wrappings and other excess materials are standard byproducts of any development, often unavoidable. With plenty of developments currently underway, is Malaysia’s landfill space becoming increasingly constrained? What happens to the debris after it leaves the site is a common question and it is drawing even greater attention as the country keeps building.

A gardener s latest composting update offers a useful reality check for anyone trying to turn kitchen scraps into rich soil at home. An Instagram Reel underscored how much scale can change the pace of composting: A bin measured about 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit), while a much bigger pile reached 68 C (154.4 F). Instagram creator Justin O Brien (@urbanfarmer2570) used two composting systems to show what home gardeners can expect. After several weeks of use, the bin showed signs of gradual breakdown rather than active, hot composting. Meanwhile, the large pile was in the hot composting zone, wherein organic material decomposes much more quickly. According to the gardener, larger compost setups hold more heat because more activity is happening inside them. The warmth is created by the millions of microorganisms and fungi feeding on organic matter and giving off energy as heat. One barrier to composting is the assumption that it takes a large backyard setup to do it right. A small bin may work more slowly, but that does not mean it is failing. O Brien noted that speed is not the only thing that matters. A large, hot pile may turn inputs into finished compost faster, but the smaller system could produce compost of even better quality. A modest setup can still produce beautiful results. Compost can make home gardening cheaper and more productive. Healthier soil can help people grow more of their own fruits, vegetables, and herbs, cutting grocery bills while also yielding fresher, better tasting food. Gardening can also support physical activity and mental well-being, giving people a low-cost way to spend time outdoors and reduce stress. In the Reel, O Brien fed the bin with green and brown material such as lettuce, leaves, and cardboard. He said the mix should stay varied, much like a person s diet, because using the same material over and over can narrow the nutrient profile of the finished compost. You re not going to eat the same thing everyd...

If your compost pile seems stuck, one gardener says the fix may be surprisingly simple: add worms. In a recent TikTok, a backyard grower said a bag o worms can help kitchen scraps break down faster and turn into nutrient-rich material for the garden. The tip came from TikTok creator Suburban Dog Gardens (@suburbandoggardens), a suburban gardener in Saint Charles, who shared the quick composting suggestion in a video posted May 25. In the video and caption, the creator called adding worms the best thing you can do for a sluggish bin and said the worms turn kitchen scraps into worm castings. If your compost bin is moving slowly, worms could help speed it up. Worm castings can naturally enrich soil. The creator also pointed to a second benefit in the caption: adding compost to a garden can attract beneficial worms that continue to break down organic matter in the soil. One commenter wrote, Thank you because this has been an issue for me. Faster composting can mean less food waste sitting around and more usable soil amendment for raised beds, containers, and backyard plots. Healthy compost can help support stronger plants without relying as heavily on store-bought assistance or produce. A productive garden can help families save money on groceries, harvest fruits and vegetables at peak flavor, and spend more time outside getting light physical activity.

Egypt’s Minister of Local Development and Environment, Manal Awad, and Red Sea Governor Walid El-Barqi held an extensive meeting to review the performance of the governorate’s waste management system and discuss measures to improve environmental services and operational efficiency. The meeting, held during Awad’s visit to the Red Sea Governorate to mark World Environment Day, focused on assessing current challenges facing waste collection, sorting, recycling and disposal operations, as well as identifying priority actions to strengthen the system’s performance. Awad stressed that the government places significant importance on developing an integrated waste management system in the Red Sea Governorate, given its strategic importance as one of Egypt’s leading tourism destinations. She emphasized the need to comply with environmental and technical standards governing sanitary landfills, waste treatment facilities and environmentally sound disposal practices. During the meeting, officials reviewed the current status of waste management operations in Hurghada, including collection, transportation, sorting, recycling and final disposal activities. Discussions also covered the infrastructure upgrades required to improve system efficiency and ensure the proper operation of sanitary landfill facilities. Yasser Abdullah, head of Egypt’s Waste Management Regulatory Authority, presented updates on temporary waste collection and sorting sites and outlined measures to strengthen operational management and oversight. He highlighted the importance of improving monitoring mechanisms for waste handling activities and maximizing the recovery of recyclable materials while reducing informal and unregulated practices.

Picture a pile of trash the size of Manhattan and taller than one and a half Empire State Buildings. That’s how much plastic waste the world is predicted to be generating every year by 2050 if nothing is done to change course. It’s easy to think of recycling as the solution, but the vast majority of plastic waste now ends up in landfills, or worse. A large amount of plastic waste gets shipped overseas. In a new study, my colleague and I analyzed what happens when plastic waste is shipped to lower- and middle-income countries, where open burning is a common way of dealing with excess waste. The result, we found, is pronounced increases in toxic air pollution. Between 40% and 65% of total municipal solid waste is openly burned in low- and middle-income countries, largely as a result of 2 billion people around the world having no municipal solid waste collection. Open burning occurs both intentionally and unintentionally, the latter when open dump sites containing organic waste spontaneously combust due to heat generated as the waste degrades. When plastic burns, it releases particularly toxic air pollutants. Fine particles can penetrate deep into people’s bodies, along with gases that include carbon monoxide, styrene gas and hydrogen cyanide. It also releases persistent organic pollutants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and dioxins. These particles and gases have been linked to health risks ranging from respiratory and cardiovascular disease to cancer and reproductive and neurological disorders. The ash from open burning can also contaminate soil and groundwater with persistent organic pollutants, heavy metals and other toxicants, creating more chances for people to be exposed to them through food and water. Large amounts of plastic waste are shipped around the world – some to be recycled and much to simply be disposed of in landfills or incinerated. In 2024, 9.34 million metric tons of plastic waste imports were reported, according to the United Natio...

The UAE’s launch of Naseej, the National Initiative for Textile Circularity, will test whether a country known for malls, fast fashion, and high consumption can turn textile waste from an environmental afterthought into part of a working circular system. The initiative, launched under the directives of President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, comes as the UAE is estimated to generate 220,000 metric tons of textile waste each year. It aims to create a more organized national system for collecting, reusing, recycling, and reducing textile waste while linking government agencies, businesses, researchers, recyclers, community organizations, and consumers. Circular textile systems aim to keep garments and fibers in use for as long as possible through reuse, repair, resale, upcycling, recycling, and reduced waste. That goal is easy to state and difficult to deliver. Across the UAE’s sustainable fashion and textile recovery ecosystem, business owners and advocates broadly welcome Naseej as an important national step. But they also warn that recycling alone will not solve the problem unless the country builds accessible collection systems, supports resale and repair, reduces overconsumption, and develops local capacity to handle materials that currently have few viable end-of-life options. Still, public details released so far leave open major questions: whether Naseej will lead to permanent neighborhood collection points, binding targets, brand obligations, long-term funding, enforcement mechanisms, or large-scale recycling facilities. Naseej brings together the National Projects Office, the Ministry of Economy and Tourism, Emirates Foundation, Tadweer Group, researchers, businesses, and community partners to work on collection, recycling, consumer behavior, regulation, and circular business models. In practical terms, the initiative is expected to support national programs, improve collection and recycling infrastructure, advance pilot projects, and help creat...

Please sir, can I have less on my plate so I don t leave so much food to waste. Photo: Aci Helena. While dining at a local club a few years back, the husband ordered a small-sized version of fish and chips, as offered on the menu. Imagine his embarrassment and my mirth when the meal arrived in a cute little paper pirate boat that would appeal to any child diner but certainly not to his child within. I was equally embarrassed at another club when I ordered a seniors’ meal (long before I was “officially” a senior) because it offered a smaller size and I didn’t want a huge lunch. The thing is, neither of us are big eaters and we don’t like wasting food, especially when we’re paying for others to cook and serve it. We’re not the type of people who order entrees, mains and desserts, because we just don’t have big appetites. We’ve become experts at shuffling leftovers around on the plate to avoid the withering looks from wait staff, or concerned inquiries about the quality of the food ( beautiful thanks, just too much for me ). We ve mastered the craft of artfully placing a somewhat crushed serviette to cover the half a cow left on our plates. Some venues are happy to supply containers to take home leftovers but in these days of heightened litigation and the fear of diners getting food poisoning, most refuse to offer that option. Yes, our Italian friends laugh at us while they happily take our leftovers and we re mocked by those in our family with large and extra-large appetites. But it’s high time that restaurants, clubs and pubs started taking notice of what we’ve been asking for for years smaller portions of adult meals. We do not want chicken nuggets and chips, or kids’ pasta. We want to order a meal from the adult side of the menu that’s closer to the size of a kids’ meal. In this day and age, it’s not just an option to suit “fussy” people like us.

Once plastics are released into the marine environment, large pieces choke wildlife and disturb fragile habitats like coral reefs before breaking down into toxic microplastics that poison the food chain. Even when they have fully disintegrated physically, their chemical bonds remain and the impacts persist. Today, more than 4,000 marine species are known to be affected by plastics, according to the World Ocean Assessment, the only analysis of the world’s ocean across the three pillars – environmental, economic and social – of sustainable development. Dr Ian Butler, an editor of the 1,600-page report that includes contributions from over 650 experts, said the whole marine system is being affected: “it’s their feeding, their metabolism, their immune function, their growth and reproduction. It weakens and kills them, and changes populations.” Ahead of World Ocean Day on June 8, here are five things you need to know about ocean plastics: The amount of plastic in the ocean is still rising, driven by mismanaged waste, littering, microplastic abrasion and marine activities. Plastic waste emissions are estimated at 52.1 million metric tonnes per year. There are also different regional patterns: littering is described as the largest source of pollution in the Global North, while uncollected waste dominates in the Global South. These ‘leakages’ are what causes the ocean so much damage. “What our eyes see is the tip of the iceberg,” Dr. Butler warned. Floating and beach macro- and microplastics account for only three to four per cent of total ocean plastic, meaning much of the problem is dispersed, submerged, fragmented or otherwise hard to recover. Once plastic reaches the ocean, it is not just confined to beaches or floating garbage patches - microplastics have been found from surface waters to the deepest depths of the ocean. It is estimated that there are some 24.4 trillion microplastic pieces in the world’s upper oceans. Microplastics are small plastic pieces les...

The team behind Black Salt in Creve Coeur is developing technology that could transform food storage and help reduce waste worldwide. Author: ksdk ...

A single construction site can generate a surprising amount of waste long before a building is completed. Broken concrete, steel cuts, timber formworks, plastic wrappings and other excess materials are standard byproducts of any development, often unavoidable. With plenty of developments currently underway, is Malaysia’s landfill space becoming increasingly constrained? What happens to the debris after it leaves the site is a common question and it is drawing even greater attention as the country keeps building.