Startup transforms 32m discarded chopsticks into sleek household items
Have you ever wondered what happens to the chopsticks we carelessly throw away after using them only once? Well, unsurprisingly, the vast majority of them end up in landfills, further contributing to the unsurmountable pile of waste burdening waste management capacities. In a bid to instead give Read More...
Bay Area service delivers groceries without a trace of plastic
Here at The Optimist Daily, we are big supporters of the zero-waste movement and we’re always happy to share with you the initiatives that are driving it. One of the latest that we’ve come across is Bay Area startup Zero Grocery. If you order groceries on their platform, they come in reusable Read More...
Startup turns food waste into new sources of income for rural farmers
One of the main problems encountered by female farmers in Kenya and Uganda is that a lot of their produce goes to waste before it reaches the market. Usually, this is the case because of limited access to cold storage facilities as well as many other inefficiencies along the supply chain. To help Read More...
This online retailer takes sustainable living to a whole new level
The ubiquity of plastic packaging, as well as the carbon emissions associated with most purchases we make on a daily basis, can make it rather difficult to live a zero-waste lifestyle. But as the zero-waste movement is steadily gaining momentum, an increasing number of retailers are working to make Read More...
Join millions of others in going single-use plastic-free this July
Up for a challenge that does the world some good? Please welcome Plastic Free July! A global movement where millions around the world say no to single-use plastic for an entire month. Looking to contribute to a cleaner and healthier planet, millions of people across 177 countries have kicked Read More...
Impact-driven entrepreneurship is slashing plastic pollution in Indonesia
You may have heard that Indonesia has some of the world’s most beautiful and pristine beaches adorning its lush archipelago of islands. And while it’s true that there are few other places that can compete with these spectacular landscapes, over the recent years, an increasing number of Read More...
Clothing company 3D-knits its pullovers to reduce waste during manufacturing
Mass production may be the cheapest way to manufacture clothing, but it also leaves behind an unsurmountable pile of waste. At the manufacturing level, a large amount of usable material is wasted due to fabric cut-offs during production and mass-produced clothing that often goes unsold. A Read More...
Soon you’ll be able to order your everyday products waste-free
If you’ve started buying basic supplies like shampoo and toothbrushes online during the pandemic, you may notice that you’re creating a lot of extra waste in your house. But soon you’ll also be able to buy versions that come with sustainable, reusable packaging. Loop, the milkman-style Read More...
Community-level pop-up shop helps Portland get on the zero-waste wagon
As the zero-waste movement is steadily gaining momentum, there are a bunch of major grocery stores and zero-waste pop-up shops offering bulk buying options to skip unnecessary use of plastic packaging. But not every city can benefit from such alternatives. Portland, Oregon, is one example of a Read More...
San Francisco’s airport is attempting to become a zero-waste facility by 2021
San Francisco’s international airport (SFO) is in the midst of a five-year strategic plan to become a zero “waste-to-landfill” facility by 2021. For their next order of business, the airport is banning convenience shops, restaurants and vending machines from selling plastic water bottles in Read More...