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Materials for the Arts is a program of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs that provides free "new and gently used donated supplies to artists, nonprofit groups, and public schools."[1] Its current executive director is Harriet Taub.
Established in 1979 by artist Angela Fremont, it was described by The New York Times as "like a Kmart reimagined as Pee-wee's Big Adventure."[2] Located in a 25,000-square-foot warehouse in Long Island City, its shelves are "stocked with things like toaster ovens, rugs, theater curtains, yarn, paint and toothbrushes."[3] Considered to be one of the largest reuse centers in the country, the program redistributes more than $6 million in supplies a year, gathering "donations from fashion houses, television production companies and big-name corporations like Estée Lauder."[4][5] According to its website, the program also removes "hundreds of tons from the waste stream every year and [keeps it] out of landfills, which helps sustain our environment, promote reuse, and reduce waste."[6]
Dumpster diving is salvaging from large commercial, residential, industrial and construction containers for unused items discarded by their owners but deemed useful to the picker. It is not confined to dumpsters and skips specifically and may cover standard household waste containers, curb sides, landfills or small dumps.
Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. This concept often includes the recovery of energy from waste materials. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the properties it had in its original state. It is an alternative to "conventional" waste disposal that can save material and help lower greenhouse gas emissions. It can also prevent the waste of potentially useful materials and reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reducing energy use, air pollution and water pollution.
Freeganism is an ideology of limited participation in the conventional economy and minimal consumption of resources, particularly through recovering wasted goods like food. The word "freegan" is a portmanteau of "free" and "vegan". While vegans avoid buying, consuming, using, and wearing animal products as an act of protest against animal exploitation, freegans—at least in theory—avoid buying anything as an act of protest against the food system in general.
Post-consumer waste is a waste type produced by the end consumer of a material stream; that is, where the waste-producing use did not involve the production of another product.
The New-York Historical Society is an American history museum and library in New York City, along Central Park West between 76th and 77th Streets, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The society was founded in 1804 as New York's first museum. It presents exhibitions, public programs, and research that explore the history of New York and the nation. The New-York Historical Society Museum & Library has been at its present location since 1908. The granite building was designed by York & Sawyer in a classic Roman Eclectic style. The building is a designated New York City landmark. A renovation, completed in November 2011, made the building more accessible to the public, provided space for an interactive children's museum, and facilitated access to its collections.
Zero waste, or waste minimization, is a set of principles focused on waste prevention that encourages redesigning resource life cycles so that all products are repurposed and/or reused. The goal of the movement is to avoid sending trash to landfills, incinerators, oceans, or any other part of the environment. Currently 9% of global plastic is recycled. In a zero waste system, all materials are reused until the optimum level of consumption is reached.
Reuse is the action or practice of using an item, whether for its original purpose or to fulfill a different function. It should be distinguished from recycling, which is the breaking down of used items to make raw materials for the manufacture of new products. Reuse—by taking, but not reprocessing, previously used items—helps save time, money, energy and resources. In broader economic terms, it can make quality products available to people and organizations with limited means, while generating jobs and business activity that contribute to the economy.
A waste container, also known as a dustbin, rubbish bin, trash can, and garbage can, among other names, is a type of container intended to store waste that is usually made out of metal or plastic. The words "rubbish", "basket" and "bin" are more common in British English usage; "trash" and "can" are more common in American English usage. "Garbage" may refer to food waste specifically or to municipal solid waste in general.
TerraCycle is a private U.S.-based recycling business headquartered in Trenton, New Jersey. It primarily runs a volunteer-based recycling platform to collect non-recyclable pre-consumer and post-consumer waste on behalf of corporate donors, municipalities, and individuals to turn it into raw material to be used in new products. TerraCycle also manages Loop, a consumer-products shopping service with reusable packaging.
There is no national law in the United States that mandates recycling. State and local governments often introduce their own recycling requirements. In 2014, the recycling/composting rate for municipal solid waste in the U.S. was 34.6%. A number of U.S. states, including California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Oregon, and Vermont have passed laws that establish deposits or refund values on beverage containers while other jurisdictions rely on recycling goals or landfill bans of recyclable materials.
Upcycling, also known as creative reuse, is the process of transforming by-products, waste materials, useless, or unwanted products into new materials or products perceived to be of greater quality, such as artistic value or environmental value.
Reworld, formerly Covanta, is a private energy-from-waste and industrial waste management services company headquartered in Morristown, New Jersey. Most of its revenue comes from operating incineration facilities that serve a secondary purpose as power plants that burn trash as fuel. Covanta charges a fee for waste disposal and sells the electricity and metal slag produced from waste incineration.
Recology, formerly known as Norcal Waste Systems, is a waste management company headquartered in San Francisco, California. The company collects and processes municipal solid waste, reclaiming reusable materials. The company also operates transfer stations, materials recovery facilities (MRFs), a number of landfills, and continues to spearhead renewable energy projects. Recology is the largest organics compost facility operator by volume in the United States.
The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) is the department of the government of New York City dedicated to supporting New York City's cultural life. Among its primary missions is ensuring adequate public funding for non-profit cultural organizations throughout the five boroughs. The Department represents and serves non-profit cultural organizations involved in the visual, literary and performing arts; public-oriented science and humanities institutions including zoos, botanical gardens and historic and preservation societies; and creative artists who live and work within the City's five boroughs.
Harriet Taub is the Executive Director of Materials for the Arts, one of the largest reuse centers in the U.S.
Goonj is a non-governmental organisation headquartered in New Delhi, India. Goonj is working to bring equity and dignity between cities and villages using underutilised urban material particularly cloth as a tool for development across the country. Goonj undertakes disaster relief, humanitarian aid and community development in parts of 23 states across India. It focuses on clothing as a basic but unaddressed need.
Waste management in Taiwan refers to the management and disposal of waste in Taiwan. It is regulated by the Department of Waste Management of the Ministry of Environment of the Executive Yuan.
Ecomedia is a field of study that deals with the relationship between non-print media and the natural environment. Generally, this is divided into two domains: cultural representations of the environment in media and environmental impact of media forms.
Recycle Track Systems (RTS) is a waste management and sustainability provider operating across North America. RTS produces Pello, which is an AI-power waste sensor technology; and Cycle, a digital recycling rewards platform and reverse vending machine operator. RTS uses artificial intelligence, a software platform, and a proprietary tracking system to provide hauling services for recurring and on-demand waste, recycling, organics, and bulk removal. RTS tracks materials as they travel to recycling or composting facilities and provides companies with reports that show how much material was recycled or composted. The customer experience has been compared the app-based car service, Uber.
New York City's waste management system is a refuse removal system primarily run by the New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY). The department maintains the waste collection infrastructure and hires public and private contractors who remove the city's waste. For the city's population of more than eight million, The DSNY collects approximately eleven thousand tons a day of garbage, including compostable material and recycling.
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