Hospitals Unprepared for Hazardous Ebola Waste

U.S. hospitals could have trouble handling and disposing of Ebola-related waste if they begin to treat infected patients, potentially threatening public safety.

The hemorrhagic fever is transmitted through bodily fluids and produces significant vomiting and diarrhea in people it infects.

These fluids would be considered biohazards and require special handling and disposal that few hospitals are prepared to carry out.

As health officials entertain the possibility that more Ebola cases could arrive in the United States, it’s a logistical problem hospitals are starting to consider.

The challenge was highlighted Wednesday in a report by Reuters, which chronicled how doctors at Emory University in Atlanta handled Ebola waste in the course of treating two infected missionaries.

Patients were generating “up to 40 bags a day of medical waste,” according to Emory assistant professor of medicine Aneesh Mehta. And the hospital’s disposal company, Stericycle, reportedly refused to handle the material at first.

So clinicians found a temporary solution: 32-gallon rubber containers with lids from Home Depot. Later, they used a special sterilizer to neutralize the waste before passing it to the company for disposal.

Reuters noted that few hospitals have the ability to sterilize materials on site like Emory.

“For this reason, it would be very difficult for a hospital to agree to care for Ebola cases. This desperately needs a fix,” Dr. Jeffrey Duchin, chair of the Infectious Diseases Society of America’s Public Health Committee, told the wire service.

Federal health and transportation agencies are reportedly meeting to discuss and resolve the issue.

Another great Green article from Waste Tracking
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EPA Fines Sims Metal $189K for Polluting SF Bay

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Justice announced the $189,000 fine against Sims Metal Management on Thursday September 18th over allegations that it polluted the San Francisco Bay with toxic metal debris. The EPA charged the company with allowing toxic dust from metal to fall off a conveyor system and into a creek that feeds into the San Francisco Bay since at least the early 1990’s. As part of a settlement agreement, the recycling company will be required to pay the cost of cleanup in addition to the fine.

Sims Metal spokeswoman Jill Rodby said the company has implemented a number of best practices around the conveyor and agreed to the settlement without acknowledging any wrongdoing.

Source: NBC Bay Area

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Greatly Increased Metal Recycling!

“Covanta has increased ferrous metal recycling from waste to bottom ash by upgrading its magnetic sorting systems” their waste energy facilities’ new method could potentially recover 7.5 million tons of metal each year.

Bottom ash is what results from burning mixed solid waste (Covanta burns this to generate energy), combustion and air pollution control take place and then, bottom ash is produced. The amount of metals in the ash is significant and magnets are then used to capture the metals from the ash which will then be recycled.

By updating their equipment they found that they were able to capture more ferrous and nonferrous metals from waste. The rare earth magnetic scrap drum is one such piece of equipment, as it has the power to attract more metals across its surface compared to other magnets.

Some weeks ago we posted some amazing articles about capturing precious resources and using magnets.

This article talks about a satellite equipped with a giant magnet in space that collects orbiting debris: https://wastetracking.wordpress.com/2014/06/24/japan-prepares-to-launch-giant-net-into-orbit-to-sweep-up-space-debris/

And these robots are designed to separate more debris from mixed construction and demolition debris: https://wastetracking.wordpress.com/2014/07/26/for-those-in-robotics-construction-and-waste-prepare-to-be-amazed-by-zenrobtics/

It turns out that magnets do a lot more than just deliver music to our ears.

Source: http://www.waste-management-world.com/articles/2014/08/case-study-increased-metal-recycling-from-waste-to-energy-ash-with-rare-earth-magnet.html

 

 

#Beach day #clean up day =) #OurOcean2014

 

We told you about clean up #OurOcean2014 a little over a month ago but we figured that while the weather is still so nice out we would remind you that organizing a beach clean up is even easier by visiting this page: https://wastetracking.wordpress.com/2014/06/27/looking-for-a-good-weekend-activity-look-no-further-than-ourocean2014-and-giveback/

There’s information on what to do before and during a beach clean up, and adding #ourocean2014 to your social media posts while organizing this will help your event gain visibility. If you have any questions of want to invite us, please Tweet us @WasteTracking we can also help you spread the word!

 

 

Renewable Heat N.Y.

There are new incentives for homeowners and businesses to update old heating furnaces in New York in favor of more wood heating. Renewable Heat N.Y. is a $27 million initiative that will spread the use of sustainable, high-efficiency, low-emission wood heating in New York. This initiative will also develop a more clean technology manufacturing sector in New York, a skilled installer base and sustainably harvested wood fuels from forests.

This means that wood pellet stoves should increase in the state. The incentives for residencies are $1,000 or up to $1,500 for income-qualified homeowners. In addition, residential customers and small commercial customers are also able to receive a $4,000 incentive for the recycling of old outdoor/indoor wood boilers and an additional 20% of installed costs of up to $4,000. Small commercial customers can also receive an incentive of up to 25% of total installed, up to $100,000, for the installation of a large pellet boiler with thermal storage. Large commercial customers are eligible for up to 20% of the installed cost, up to $100,000 for the installation of a large pellet boiler with thermal storage. Large customers can receive an incentive of up to 25% of the installed cost, up to $150,000, for the installation of a tandem pellet boiler with thermal storage.

This energy and natural gas provider serves 40% of upstate New York, NYSEG are helping spread this initiative, and you can learn more about this story from their web resources here: http://www.lookupstateny.com/WhoWeAre/nysegsnewyork.html

Source: http://biomassmagazine.com/articles/10717/n-y-announces-biomass-thermal-incentives-rps-solicitation

 

 

Second Hand Clothing Study Summary

 

“The impact of the second-hand clothing trade on developing countries” by Oxfam gives some insight into the importance of the second hand clothing trade which can be read in its entirety here:

 http://www.bcrglobal.com/assets/downloads/research_shc.pdf

 

In summary, second-hand clothing:

 

Has clear consumer benefits, especially in countries with low purchasing power, and for poorer consumers

Is perhaps a factor in undermining local textile/clothing production and employment

Supports the livelihoods of thousands of people

Is poorly regulated and probably facilitated considerable customs fraud

Is a dominate feature of the clothing market in many sub-Saharan African countries

 

Companies often have recycle back programs, such as Apple, Nike and LensCrafters although donating used clothing to charitable organizations such as the Goodwill or drop-off bins are also very convenient.

Upcoming Eco-Related Events

We searched the web to find eco-related events around the world so that we could direct you to effective websites.

The best results were from Eventbrite:

http://www.eventbrite.com/directory?q=eco&loc=San%20Jose%2C%20CA&sort=best&slat=29.28&slng=-101.43&vp_ne_lat=62.4293&vp_ne_lng=-59.2393&vp_sw_lat=-3.8681&vp_sw_lng=-143.6143&crt=regular&

The Planet Friendly aims to bring people together over ideas that matter all around the globe!:

http://www.planetfriendly.net/calendar/

If you want to host your own eco-friendly event we have tips on how to throw a party that doesn’t end up with a bunch of garbage strewn around your venue:

https://wastetracking.wordpress.com/2014/06/19/the-greenparty-how-to-throw-a-green-party/

If you want to invite @wastetracking on Twitter we can also help you promote an eco-friendly event!

 

Also, did you know that latex balloons are 100% biodegradable?

Gadgets and innovations in the solar panel industry

We’ve written and shared so many articles on solar panels it’s hard to tell where to start.We wanted to update the list of cool solar panel innovations in a visual way (seen below). If you’re interested in learning more about solar panels please scroll to the bottom of our page and use the search feature above “Recent Posts”. Here is a short list of our most recent solar posts:

Google Buys Solar-Powered Drone Manufacturer “Titan Aerospace” to Boost Internet Access in Third World Countries 

280MW Solar Plant in Arizona Can Produce Power 6 Hours After the Sun Goes Down

Could Mexico Be at the Start of a Solar Boom?

…and that’s just a sneak peak at some of our articles. Here are the new solar panel innovations!

 

    

 

Please, feel free to show us more @wastetracking on Twitter!

Obama Said that Climate Change Is a Fact, Top Reasons to be Hopeful

 

 

Here we have it, the top reasons why we can be hopeful that we will overcome climate change from The Guardian:

1) Barack Obama has made it one of his defining issues
2) China has ordered coal power plants to close
3) The cost of solar has fallen by two thirds
4) People are taking their money out of fossil fuels
5) Bangladeshi women are being retrained as solar technicians
6) Renewable energy will soon take the lion’s share of new power
7) European homes are using 15% less energy than they were in 2000
8) Cutting emissions has become a business imperative
9) Oil is becoming much more expensive to find
10) Electric car sales are doubling each year

There are also helpful data, details and visuals to see here:

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jul/30/reasons-hopeful-overcome-climate-change-solar

What to read about the Greenhouse gas news this year so far in summary format? Please see:

https://mygreenhalo.wordpress.com/2014/06/03/americas-greenhouse-gas-news-this-year-so-far/

 

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Paradise can take the form of anything!