The Role of Green Leaders of the Next Generation

Role of Green Leaders

Written by Caleb Paik

Up until these past years, green leaders have been pretty lax. Human leaders disregarded the austerity of climatic changes and with the increase of environmental hazards around the world, it is crucial that the world now needs future green leaders that will play an essential role in helping to restore the earth back to its healthier, former state. One of these roles can be partaking in the development of green technologies or products. Green products or technologies are sustainable articles designed to minimize environmental impact. 

Whether you realize it or not, green products are all around us. These products can include reusable cups, reusable lids, reusable shopping bags, recyclable cutlery, recyclable plates, and etc. All of these products have a common purpose of being eco friendly by being reusable or recyclable. They also aid in the process of keeping pollution, specifically plastic, widespread to a minimum. Still, with these products only about 9% of the plastic is reused or recycled. Around 12% is incinerated and the rest is unused, and either accumulated in landfills or natural environments. 

With these products in mind, it is significant to recognize that the priority in environmental restoration is shallow. Therefore, it is also crucial to spread the fact that future green leaders have a very important role in impeding the continuation of environmental harm.

Resource Recirculation

Resource Recirculation

Written by Caleb Paik

When we think about waste, we tend to think about materials that bring harm to nature. These materials can be perilous and most often they are unwanted. Plastic waste, for example, is definitely one that brings harm with huge effects. Most of the millions of tonnes of plastic collected are brought to landfills, but some believe that this itself is a waste of a valuable resource. With the determination to change this, the chemical industry of the Cefic organization developed solutions to recycle plastic waste that would normally be sent to landfills, or incinerated.

With the help of chemical recycling technologies, the chemical industry was able to figure out a process. These technologies can break down plastic waste and transform them into secondary raw materials, materials that are recycled to be used instead or alongside the original source, to produce new chemicals and plastics with nearly identical quality. As of now, the organization successfully developed consumer products such as food packaging, mattresses, refrigerator parts, etc. However, they plan on taking it to an industrial scale. 

This infographic shows how chemical recycling technologies work. It shows how they can transform waste into a reusable product, creating a cycle. This can be done through three processes: Dissolution, Depolymerization, and Conversion. These processes handle the plastic waste that would otherwise be disposed of. The first process, dissolution, takes the idea of extracting plastic. It uses heat and solvents to dissolve the plastic into polymers and additives. While the polymers are untouched, the additives are replaced to produce the new recycled plastic. The second process is the depolymerization method, which takes the idea of breaking the waste down into basic building blocks. Using different combinations of chemistry, solvents, and heat, the polymers within the waste are broken down into monomers. Potential contaminants are then removed from the monomers. Finally, these monomers are “fed back” into the normal plastic production process, as a secondary raw material. Finally, the last process is conversion. Conversion takes the idea of turning it into raw materials. Using heat and chemistry, the waste is turned into either liquid or gas. Depending on which one, it takes place with the absence of oxygen, or the presence of oxygen respectively. Similar to the depolymerization process, potential contaminants are then removed. The liquid or gas then reenters the chemical production chain as a secondary raw material. 

• https://cefic.org/a-solution-provider-for-sustainability/chemical-recycling-making-plastics-circular/

Edible insect protein as pet food

Eco-friendly pet owners are turning to edible insects as an alternative food source for their pets. 

Experts suggest that there are numerous benefits to feeding edible insects to pets. 

Firstly, environmental benefits include the following: 

- Edible insects contain a lot of protein whereas farmed species and animal meat contain high fats, oils, mineral and vitamin levels 

- According to the University of California at Davis, a single cow raised for meat produces around 220 pounds of methane gas each year. Such mass production of methane gas in the process of farming contribute to the emission of greenhouse gases. On the contrary, insect farming (an edible insect) produce lower rates of methane. For instance, crickets (edible insect) produces less than one percent of the greenhouse gas that cows produce. 

- Due to the fact that insects require less space for farming, it is possible to use less land whilst still creating similar rates of nutritious food. This helps to reduce carbon footprints whilst still sustaining the nutritiously valuable aspect of edible insects. 

Because more and more pet owners, who have an eco-friendly mindset, are searching for edible insects, there have been an increase in the number of companies that provide edible insect as pet foods. For instance, Jiminy's is one of the first companies to add powdered cricket protein to dog foods and treats. They continue to promote the consumption of edible insects for dogs by claiming that insect protein is great for dogs with food allergies, a well balanced approach for the dogs' diet and is free of the pathogens that plague the meat industry. 

After seeing that edible insect protein has become a business model for pets, I was very intrigued by the idea that edible insects are not only seen as an alternative food source for humans but also for our beloved pets as well. In the future, as a member of the ECOSAVE club, I hope to be able to promote the implementation of edible insect protein in pet foods in my local community as through research, I have found that there aren't many edible insect pet foods in Korea. 

Written by Ella Hong 

The Second Birthday Project

To promote the Second Birthday Project, we made a video clip of what it’s all about. Watch the video and find out!

By. Alex Sangwook Ahn

NGOs and NPOs

During the summer while working as an intern at Open Hands, I wrote a report regarding the difference between NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) and NPOs (Non-Profit Organizations). They are similar in that they exist for the main purpose of making the world a better place. The term NGO and the business type were created in 1945, with the inception of the United Nations. As you can infer by its name, the organization is not a part of the government, but they still help to provide humanitarian aid and advocate for social change. They may also operate in the same areas as government agencies. NGOs can exist at the local, national, or international level. The Salvation Army and American Red Cross are NGOs that are headquartered in the United States but they provide services across the world and the United Nations and Amnesty International are international NGOs. NGOs help benefit society in many sectors and practices such as

• Managing emerging health crises (ie. coronavirus, HIV/AIDS, etc)

• Promoting health education (ie. waste disposal and good hygiene)

• Developing social institutions (ie. schools and roads)

• Securing women’s equality (ie. boosting literacy and offering counseling)

• Dealing with community issues (ie. crime, prostitution, etc)

A Non-Profit Organization refers to a business that does not distribute its profits to owners or shareholders. The profits get reinvested into the business to manage expenses, meet its social goals, and pay staff. NPOs have the mission to help a specific cause or community and they may operate on a small scale like within a community, or a broader scale. NPOs exist to serve a variety of causes and issues. For example, they may:

• Support scientific research

• Provide literacy and educational programs

• Prevent animal cruelty

• Aid in stopping child abuse

• Promote sports programs

NGOs receive funding much like NPOs such as private donations, loans, grants, membership dues, and the sales of services to stay in business. NPOs can also receive funding in those ways in addition to corporate contributions, investments, government contracts or grants, and tax revenues. NGOs and NPOs have a lot in common, aiming to serve the public and promoting positive social change, the main difference being that NGOs operate internationally. Through the support of volunteers and donations, they exist and work to reach their goal of helping to change the world for the better.

By. Alex Sangwook Ahn

Certificate of Appreciation

In September, we were thrilled to hear the good news that the consistent work that we have been doing together with Open Hands to help underprivileged villages in the Philippines earned an official recognition, and finally today we received our Certificate of Appreciation. They thanked us for the donation of personal computers and support of the wi-fi internet connection which enables the children of the village to broaden their horizon in their learning experience and help the teachers to provide a better quality of education. In addition, they thanked our efforts in promoting the “Second Birthday Project” (Late Birth Registration) and providing funds to help the unregistered children to become legally registered and to receive the proper education that they are entitled to. 

Our club will continue to support the Second Birthday Project so that more children can earn their rights and pursue their dreams. 

By Alex Sangwook Ahn

SuperBin and the Nephron

 By Seojin David Lee

Currently, there are a lot of difficulties in recycling materials so that they can actually be reused. First, although many fashion brands show an interest in using recyclable materials, many “recyclable” materials today end up not recycled because of impurities such as food and styrofoam present with the recyclable material. Additionally, even if the impurities are weeded out before the recyclable material is thrown away, other impurities may contaminate the material again during the disposal process. 

 To combat these issues, a company in South Korea called SuperBin has taken action. In around 200 locations in Korea, SuperBin has placed automated machines called the “Nephron” that collect recyclable cans and PET bottles. What makes these machines interesting is that it is run by an AI called “Neuro Genie,” which is programmed with a data base that informs the machine with which waste is recyclable and which is not. Using this machine, people can make sure not only that their waste is recyclable, but also that their waste is in safe hands and would avoid future contamination. 

 Although the assurance of recycling may be enough of a reason for people to use the Nephron, SuperBin also provides people with another incentive: money. When someone successfully inserts a recyclable can or PET bottle into the Nephron, the machine rewards the person with points that can be redeemed into cash. This way, SuperBin pushes an even wider range of people to recycle what they can! A user of the Nephron interviewed by SBS (a Korean television company) explained how they feel proud “[saving] the environment” “when this money comes into a bank account” (1). 

 After SuperBin collects a recyclable can or bottle, it converts it into recyclable material and sells it to those that can use the recyclable material, such as the fashion companies mentioned earlier. Through this method, SuperBin hopes to create a circular economy where products are reused as much as possible. 

 Over the past couple of years, the number of Nephrons has been increasing and are only expected to increase. As more people start using the machine, more recyclable materials are collected and reused, and more types of recyclable waste are collected by the Nephron, it may become more apparent that this is one of the best methods of Eco-friendly waste management not only here in South Korea, but hopefully in other countries as well in the near future.

Sources:

(1): https://news.sbs.co.kr/news/endPage.do?news_id-N1006476161

(2): https://sedaily.com/NewsView/22SLZ2FM15

 Images:

(1): https://www.superbin.co.kr/en/contents/philosophy.php

(2): https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20190327008700320