The Problems With Glow Sticks: an earth911 report

 

The Problems With Glow Sticks

ByMary McDonald

Apr 12, 2022 plastic waste, single-use plastic

Initially designed for military and civil security use for emergency lighting, glow sticks have applications as varied as camping lights and night-fishing lures. Yet, you’ll most often see them dangling from the wrists of 7-year-olds at birthday parties or brandished on nightclub dance floors. They’ve become almost synonymous with celebrations like Independence Day, Halloween, and music festivals. But after the celebration, what do you do with these plastic wands? Are glow sticks recyclable or reusable? And how can you dispose of them when they stop glowing?

As celebratory as they are, glow sticks pose multiple problems for the environment:

• They’re disposable, designed for single use.
• They’re made of plastic.
• They’re non-recyclable.
• They contain questionable chemicals.

Glow Sticks Create Waste

There’s no question that we use a lot of glow sticks. Take a look around after a parade or a concert. You’ll see thousands strewn about the ground. The glowing wands are enormously popular. Amazon lists more than 20,000 different products under the category “glow sticks.” Party packs come with hundreds of flexible glow sticks that revelers can fashion into glowing necklaces, bracelets, headbands, and more.

These disposable plastic tubes are single-use plastics — they can only be used once. While they vary on how long their chemical glow lasts, when it stops, they become waste. But concerns about plastic waste don’t seem to be affecting their popularity; a report from Fact.MR projects that glow sticks will only increase in popularity during the next decade.

Are Glow Sticks Toxic?

Glow sticks use several chemicals to create their trademark glow. One, dibutyl phthalate (DBP), is banned in Europe for use in cosmetics. The EPA put DBP under a risk assessment to evaluate health concerns. Specifically, the EPA is looking into DBP’s effects on reproductive and developmental health.

Glow sticks are often labeled nontoxic, but consumers need to be wary of this claim. The term nontoxic has no formal definition, according to the Federal Trade Commission. In other words, a product can be labeled as nontoxic, but nobody is being held to account for making the claim.

Despite DBP being under an EPA assessment, the North Carolina Poison Control Center states that glow sticks are low in toxicity. They say if you ingest it, not to be “alarmed if lips and tongue glow for a few minutes.” You can be the judge on that one.

These glow glowing tubes are single-use plastics, adding to our growing problem with plastic waste.

How Should I Dispose of My Glow Sticks?

There aren’t a lot of great options for safe disposal. The chemicals used in glow sticks contaminate the plastic so it’s not recyclable. Worse, the chemicals can leak into soil and water once they are disposed of.

Some sources advise placing spent glow sticks in plastic bags or bottles before tossing them in the trash. Have you ever seen what happens to trash once it’s picked up? Or watched a video of trash being added to the landfill? It’s hard to imagine that disposable glow sticks survive the bulldozer intact.

To prevent the chemicals in traditional glow sticks from entering the environment, we recommend treating them as household hazardous waste (HHW). Find an HHW drop-off location near you where you can dispose of these items safely.

Are There “Green” Options?

Again, a word of caution about over-generalized terms that have no regulatory muscle behind them. “Green” and “environmentally friendly” are two terms commonly used by marketers who are greenwashing the environmental safety of their product.

An Amazon search for “environmentally friendly glow sticks” yielded 72 results. A closer look at three products revealed little to indicate why they were marketed as “environmentally friendly.”

That being said, there are slightly better alternatives to single-use chemiluminescent glow sticks.

1. LED Alternative

There are glow sticks that use LEDs (light-emitting diodes) instead of chemicals for their light source. There are quite a few, judging by Amazon’s listing of 10,000 products under that search.

This Life-Gear’s reusable glow stick use LR44 button batteries that last up to 200 hours. That’s a far cry from the disposable sticks that last less than a day. You can replace the batteries to reuse the product over and over. Batteries are e-waste and need to be disposed of properly.

2. Photoluminescent Alternative

UVPaqlite’s photoluminescent glow sticks use large strontium aluminate crystals. Similar to glow-in-the-dark stars that kids stick on their walls, their glow sticks absorb ambient light and glow for up to 10 hours. Though they only come in one color, UVPaqlite’s version can be recharged indefinitely.

3. Bioluminescent Alternative

Bioluminescence is the ability of living creatures to create their own light. One company, Nyoka, is using bioluminescence as the inspiration for its alternative to glow sticks. It has engineered a dissolvable powder that glows when added to water. Currently sold out on pre-order, Nyoka’s light wands are reusable with supplemental bioluminescent charges.

These light wands aren’t a scalable — or affordable — option at this point. Nyoka sold them for $100 on its Kickstarter campaign but the company is still fairly new. It’s possible that, with each new phase of development, the price will come down.

To Glow or Not To Glow?

What’s an eco-minded person to do when it comes to glow sticks? As with so many other products, the best choice for the planet is simply refusing to buy them. But do those of us who care always have to deny ourselves the fun stuff?

Maybe we need a little balance. Maybe we don’t say no to all that glows. Maybe we just need a lot more people to join us. Consider this quote from zero-waste chef Anne-Marie Bonneau, “We don’t need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly.”

One piece of advice: If you must buy a glow stick, you owe it to the planet to take the time to dispose of it responsibly.

I must admit I did wonder what was inside of these harmless looking sticks and now I know. Luckily these are well at the bottom of any of my shopping lists, mainly because I was always reluctant to give them to my kids when they were younger because of what was inside them.  If they snapped one, what would happen if the liquid got onto their skin etc..

The blog song for today is " she bangs the drums" by the Stone Roses

TTFN

Corporate Sustainability: Genuine or Just for Show? an earth911 report

 

Corporate Sustainability: Genuine or Just for Show?

ByEarth911

May 10, 2022 corporate responsibility, sustainable business

As climate issues continue to escalate, sustainability has become crucial to both the environment and modern business models. Consequently, some corporations may promote themselves as sustainable to appeal to consumers without taking the necessary measures, a practice known as greenwashing.

In light of these trends, you may wonder if any corporate investment in sustainability is genuine.

Companies That Champion Environmental Stewardship

While greenwashing is common, certain companies have taken effective steps toward sustainability. Determining businesses’ overall environmental impact can be challenging, but transparency among these companies highlights impressive strides.

Here are three examples of corporations whose sustainability efforts seem genuine.

1. Autodesk

Construction software company Autodesk placed third on Corporate Knights’ top 100 sustainable companies in 2022. The company already boasts net-zero emissions, powering all its buildings, data centers, and cloud services with renewable energy.

Autodesk’s product itself also improves sustainability. The software helps construction firms streamline their operations and reduce waste, which, in turn, reduces their ecological impact. Even if companies employ it for the business benefits, they still stand to reduce construction-related emissions and solid waste.

2. Ford

Many automakers, from Mercedez-Benz to Lamborghini, are pursuing electrification, Ford was the first U.S. automaker that committed to the Paris Agreement’s CO2 reduction goals. . The company aims to be carbon-neutral by 2050, eliminating manufacturing emissions and water waste on top of vehicle-related emissions.

The company is investing more than $11 billion in electric vehicles, electrifying even iconic gas cars like the Mustang. Ford plans to eventually sell only EVs, eliminating its vehicle emissions entirely.

3. Cisco

Tech manufacturing giant Cisco has repeatedly ranked toward the top of sustainability indexes. The company has implemented more than 400 energy efficiency projects in the past five years, and it’s not done yet.

In 2022, Cisco announced plans to achieve net-zero emissions by 2040, 10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement. They’re already on track to meet those goals, as 85% of its electricity comes from renewables, and it’s reduced 60% of its direct and indirect emissions.

Companies That Have Engaged in Greenwashing

While Autodesk, Ford, and Cisco have truly embraced sustainability, going green is merely a marketing tool for others. The following three corporations’ environmental efforts have fallen short of what they seem.

1. SC Johnson

SC Johnson announced a new Windex bottle made of 100% recycled ocean plastic in 2019. This led consumers to believe that the company was taking plastic from the ocean to recycle, but experts pointed out that this isn’t the case.

The plastic SC Johnson and many similar companies used comes from plastic banks in Haiti, Indonesia, and the Philippines. This plastic was “ocean-bound,” meaning it would’ve otherwise ended up in the ocean, but the company made no distinction. This led many consumers to believe they were making a larger impact than they actually were.

2. IKEA

IKEA has been outspoken about sustainability, calling for responsible forest management, protecting endangered species, planting trees, and announcing plans to reduce its waste. However, Romanian environmental groups have accused the company of logging without a permit or ecological assessment.

Reporters have also found that IKEA’s wood consumption has doubled in the past decade, despite its public commitment to reduce waste. The company has come under fire for similar allegations in the past.

3. Shell

A recent study found that while oil giant Shell has increasingly mentioned sustainability goals and announced environmental plans, its actual impact has fallen short of these announcements. Shell’s clean energy spending reports only go back three years, and the company has missed its historical low-carbon investment pledges.

The company has also increased its oil production, not decreased it, despite “commitments” to go green. It’s also released statements on social media asking consumers what steps they’re taking to go green, shifting the blame for sustainability away from itself.

Corporate Sustainability Initiatives Are a Mixed Bag

While some companies are going above and beyond to protect the environment, others hinder the movement through rampant greenwashing. Consumers and governments may have to hold these businesses accountable to drive meaningful environmental change.

Money is the most powerful motivator you have at your disposal. If consumers stop buying products from greenwashing brands and instead spend money at genuinely green companies, it can motivate more businesses to embrace sustainability. Spreading awareness of these issues is another important step.

Consumers and environmental organizations should research companies’ environmental efforts before supporting them. Publicly calling out greenwashing examples can drive action like broader boycotts that penalize greenwashing. These movements may eventually lead to stricter environmental regulations, pushing more companies to genuine sustainability.

About the Author

Oscar Collins is the founder and editor-in-chief at Modded. Follow him on Twitter @TModded for frequent updates on his work.

 I was not surprised to read about IKEA, I watched a documentary about them and they are not what they seem to be.  It was very disappointing to watch it and afterwards I did look into the claims made in it! It did and does not look very good for them.

It's interesting to see what is going on in the UK regarding promises made during COP26 and how they are using any excuse to wriggle out of them.  It really does look quite simple what needs to be done, but the powers that be (who in essence,work for the people who voted for them, but seemed to have forgotten this important fact) are too caught up in everything except what they are paid to do, are not doing it.

The blog song for today is: "Ant Music" by Adam and the Ants

TTFN

 

RAW architecture uses recycled plastic + bamboo for workshop and residence in indonesia

A report from designboom

Sitting on top of a hill in mekarwangi village, indonesia, is the ‘piyandeling’ workshop and residence designed by RAW architecture. following the studio’s ‘guha‘ project, this latest design works with local craftsmanship and local materials – predominately bamboo – to create three organic-shaped buildings that integrate into the context. 

the project consists of a residence and artisan workshop

 

 

 

 

Photo courtesy of RAW architecture

The residence is contained within a circular, three-story building with a 3 x 3 m footprint. designed by RAW architecture for a single family, the program includes two kid’s bedrooms, one master bedroom, and shared bathrooms. the openable building envelope is constructed using recycled plastic panels that cover and protect the inner bamboo structure.

the workshop is a floating two-story structure with an undulating roof

The envelope forms an 800 mm service corridor with double cross air ventilation and double wall insulations to the core living space of the building. this forms an adaptation of traditional and more industrial approaches, mixing traditional joineries and glued joinery of bamboo. the technique is developed from RAW’s guha bambu and alfa omega projects, which allows the experimentation of the 3 storys of the bamboo structure by the diagonal bamboo structure of the floor plate construction.

The residence is contained within the smaller, curved building, which has been constructed using recycled plastic panels to cover and protect the inner bamboo structure

The other building – named saderhana – is a simple 1 story volume located on the perimeter of the site, which contains a dentist space, design studio, and underground space. the building is constructed with a stone platform and bamboo roof providing a ‘talahap’ – overlapping curve traditional bamboo construction covered with layers of waterproofing membrane and nipah. the underground studio is constructed with bamboo skeleton and concrete, which creates a retention wall with bamboo-shaped formwork. the idea was to create a raw, honest, and humble finish.

Piyandeling is designed by RAW as an example of bricolage architecture. the project utilizes and adapts local craftsmanship and locally-available materials to create a design that appears to grow out from the land. 

The upper floor of the workshop features an undulating balustrade to echo the movement of birds or kujang, which is a traditional weapon in sunda tradition.

An underground studio is constructed with bamboo skeleton and concrete, which creates a retention wall with bamboo-shaped formwork.

project info:

project name: piyandeling

location: mekarwangi village, bandung, indonesia

architecture firm: realrich architecture workshop (RAW)

design team: realrich sjarief, amud, eddy bahtiar, sudjatmiko, alifian kharisma, vivi yani santosa, regi kusnadi, miftahuddin nurdayat, jovita lisyani

photography: eric dinardi – bacteria photography 

When my hubby told me about this I was really intrigued.  What an  amazing place.

I am sorry that there are no photos to look at, I suggest you go to the web site and see for yourself,iot is absolutely fantastic.

The blog song for today is: "You take my breath away" by Queen

TTFN