Earth Hour 2014 happens Saturday, March 29th. Here’s how the world will celebrate.

This March 29th marks the eighth annual celebration of Earth Hour, an international event started by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The event asks people (and increasingly, companies and local governments) to extinguish their lights for one hour at 8:30 pm local time as a symbolic gesture of concern about the environment.

No, turning off our lights for an hour won’t save the planet or stop climate change–not even if millions of us do it. However, the event is about more than 60 minutes in the dark. It’s a time when concerned and creative citizens pledge to take action for our world.

Interested in learning how people like you are celebrating Earth Hour this year? Check out the 12 impressive events below.

1. 17 million trees in Kazakhstan – This year, the Sustainable Development Earth Fund, the Forestry Committee of the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources of the Kazakh Republic partnered with 50,000 volunteers to plant a whopping 17 million saplings across 14 regions of the country.

2. Earth Hour in Antarctica –  Headed by Robert Swan, the Antarctic Youth Ambassador Programme is specifically focused on transforming young people into a new generation of climate leaders. Young people are selected from applications submitted from around the world to participate program which takes place in one of the most remote and threatened areas on the planet.

3. Building a massive Earth Hour logo in Iran – In the city of Isfahan an Earth Hour celebration will be held in front of Khaju Bridge to raise awareness about the plight of the famous Zayanderud River that has had no continuous water flow for the past few years due to climate change and inadequate water management. In the dried out river bed, the people of Isfahan have made the biggest Earth Hour logo to date, measuring around 2,800 square meters. 

4. 3,404 kilometre ‘Walk to Mali’ – In January 2014, 12 Earth Hour Champions from Nigeria embarked on a 3,404km road trip from Nigeria to Mali. They arrived at their destination nearly two months later. The walk was meant to promote the culture of peace and create awareness on environmental sustainability across West Africa. Activities during the walk will included advocacy visits, community vulnerability mapping, community outreach, and capacity building. On March 29th, the Walk To Mali documentary will be screened at various locations in the country.

5. Trashy tickets in Tahiti – Earth Hour 2014’s closing ceremonies will be in Tahiti, French Polynesia. The focus on this year’s beyond-the-hour activities is waste management. So instead of tickets, attendees to this year’s ceremony are required to bring recyclable waste in order to gain access to the acoustic concert. Upon entering, audience members will go through the red carpet to be photographed sorting the waste materials they brought along.

6. “40 Bands – 40 Living Rooms” in Belgium – Launched by WWF-Belgium, this is a unique competition that makes it possible for those hosting Earth Hour parties in their home to potentially get a visit (and private concert!) from their favorite band on March 29th.

7. Pro-Earth App in India – WWF-India has launched an android application for Earth Hour. Called PRO-EARTH, the application will teach citizens how to become more energy-efficient, and also explore healthier and greener ways of living. WWF-India also has a crowdfunding project on Earth Hour Blue: Donations help to install solar lights in the forest fringe in Sundarbans, the largest single block of tidal halophytic mangrove forest in the world and home of the famous Bengali tiger. These big cats love to prowl at night, but not a single tiger incident has been reported where solar lights have been installed.

8. ‘I Heart the Reef’ in Australia – Although it’s one of the most beautiful and ecologically important places on Earth, the Great Barrier Reef is under attack from pollution, overfishing, and the coal industry. Earth Hour Australia has circulated a report, “Lights Out for the Reef,” that highlights the latest scientific findings about climate change impacts on the Great Barrier Reef. During this year’s Earth Hour, a new documentary “Lights Out for the Reef” will be shown all over the country. Other activities include a 10,000 candle installation on the lawns of Parliament House in Canberra spelling out “Lights Out for the Reef” and a candle activation at Manly Beach with 2,000 people.

9. Plastic-free in the Galapagos – Litter can be found in just about every corner of the ocean, including the Galapagos, long considered one of the natural wonders of the world. This year, the Galapagos Government Council, the Directorate of the Galapagos National Park and WWF-Galapagos have joined forces to reduce and eventually ban plastic shopping bags, along with disposable cups and straws. The crowdsourcing campaign calls on participants from all over the world to sign a petition that will ban these plastics as a way to protect the variety of wildlife both on land and in the waters of the Galapagos.

10. Moments of darkness in Canada – Canada’s campaign enlisted the help of some well-known celebrities to encourage the public to reflect and discuss what they will be thinking about while the lights are out during Earth Hour. A series of videos gives Canadian celebrities like Jason Priestly, William Shatner, Chris Hadfield, and Amy Jo Johnson a chance to tell the world what they’ll be thinking about during 60 minutes of darkness.

11. LightsOFF, AmazON in Colombia – Often referred to as the “world’s lungs,” the Amazon is under attack from mining and ranching activities that kill wildlife and create pollution. This year when the whole world switches its lights off for Earth Hour, WWF-Colombia will switch the AmazON! The crowdfunding project allows the public to invest in the largest ecosystem and air, water and life producer on the planet, protecting it for future generations.

12. Spider-Man in Singapore – This country is the original home of Earth Hour, so it’s only fitting that it gets a visit from a web-slinging superhero. Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx and director Marc Webb will be on hand to flip the switch that extinguishes the lights across Singapore’s signature Marina Bay skyline. The event sends the message that anyone can be a superhero for the planet. WWF-Singapore also joined Earth Hour Blue with their crowdfunding campaign, “Stop The Killing,” which aims to expose and end the illegal sale of target wildlife species within Singapore.

How will you celebrate Earth Hour 2014? Tell us in the comments!

Related on EcoSalon:

How Do We Achieve Clean Energy Access for All?

5 Bright Ideas To Save Energy

Is Climate Change Causing the Epic California Drought?

Images via WWF/EarthHour.org

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Don’t let leftovers go to waste. 

How many times have you ordered Chinese or Thai food and ended up with more white rice leftovers than you know what to do with? Much of the time that rice just sits in the fridge, forgotten, until you spy it days later and end up tossing it because it’s “too old.” Not this time, people. We’ve got a way to salvage that rice before it heads to the dumpster… turn it into rice pudding! It’s quick, it’s easy, and it’s the perfect way to recycle those unappealing leftovers into a sweet treat.

Ingredients:

• Leftover takeout rice (1 cup)
• 1/3 can of sweetened condensed milk
• 2 cups regular milk
• 1 cinnamon stick
• Dash of vanilla (optional)
• Fruit (optional)

Directions:

This post originally appeared in Sierra magazine.

Sierra is the magazine of the Sierra Club. Our motto: Explore, Enjoy, and Protect the Planet. Follow Sierra magazine on Twitter.

Image: rore

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It’s time to think about what you’re not eating. 

Your mother wasn’t kidding when she told you to finish your meal. It’s not that if you don’t finish your broccoli you won’t get dessert. If you don’t finish your broccoli you’re contributing to the huge problem of food waste.

In a culture where food is readily accesible to many of us, we’re busy throwing it away. In fact, according to a new report released by the Natural Resources Defense Council, 40% of our food supply goes to waste every year, accounting for $165 billion. That is at the same time as hunger and poverty are on the rise, with one in seven American households dealing with food insecurity, as well as significant issues of drought and skyrocketing food prices.

Although grocery stores and other food sellers lose as much as $15 billion annually in unsold fruits and vegetables, the majority of food waste occurs in restaurants and household kitchens. Why? One of the factors is size; we’re serving ourselves more than we can eat. Today, portion sizes are two to eight times larger than the government’s standard serving sizes. We’re throwing out about 20 pounds of food per person every single month.

A few facts about food waste:

• The average American family of four ends up throwing away an equivalent of up to $2,275 annually in food.
• Food waste is the single largest component of solid waste in U.S. landfills.
• Just a 15 percent reduction in losses in the U.S. food supply would save enough food to feed 25 million Americans annually.
• There has been a 50 percent jump in U.S. food waste since the 1970s.

How do we fix the problem?

We need a change in infrastructure. The NRDC recommends policy changes to deal with the issue of food waste, including action from federal and state governments to set targets for reducing food waste as well as implementing programs that help address the problem.

But personal responsibility is just as important. Know what you’re buying, plan your meals ahead and buy what you need, not what you think you need.

In other words, start eating consciously. And finish your broccoli.

Image: jbloom

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The good, the bad, and the downright delicious.

Food. For some people, it’s a simple necessity. For others, it’s a reason for living. Regardless of where you fall on the foodie spectrum, you’re sure to enjoy this selection of food infographics, which explore everything from seasonable eating to food waste to the optimum temperature for enjoying a (not ice) cold beer.

Eat Seasonably: an interactive look at what’s in season (click for interaction).

Understanding Artisan Gelato: and why it tastes better than regular gelato.

Bring Food Education Back: an infographic from Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution that makes an argument for teaching kids about good food.

The Case for Beer: so it’s not technically food, but this infographic takes such a good look at beer that we’ll leave it in anyway.

Summertime American Eats: thanks, Pepto-Bismol, we now have heartburn just from looking at this

Food Waste: a reminder to finish your plate.

The Splendiferous Array of Culinary Tools: we sense our Foodie Underground fans drooling.

Kings of Fast Food: a look at how fast food advertisers lure us in.

Vegetarianism: for National Vegetarian Month, RetailMeNot breaks down the world of vegetarianism.

America Wants GMOs Labeled: so “just label it” already, FDA.

ALSO CHECK OUT:

10 Earth Day Infographics

Image: Selma Broeder

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In a perfect world, we would use everything we have.

David Quilty, founder of The Good Human, recently wrote a story on being an ‘eco-sinner’. He writes: “We drive cars, we eat unsustainable food, we shop at big box stores, we use computers, we watch TV. Many of the eco-sins we commit are unavoidable in the modern world, and as much as I try to live a sustainable life, the fact is that none of us live a truly ‘green’ existence. It’s simply impossible.”

Agreed.

He touches on a lot of good points but there are a number of people counter-acting their so-called eco “sins” with tickets to a proverbial heaven where the pastures are a lot greener. Here are five stories we think stand out when it comes to being less wasteful.

Last week in New York City, EcoSalon had the opportunity to stop by the Textile Arts Center’s Yield Exhibit Making Fashion Without Waste. Is zero-waste something all designers can achieve? Does it simply take a lot of practice, like any art, to improve? We caught up with Yield curator Holly McQuillan to get some answers in EcoSalon at NYFW: Yield’s Zero Waste Exhibit.

Truth: In Britain, the amount of yearly food waste can fill London’s Wembley Stadium. Our very own Brit writer, Mike Sowden, says “We’re so careless with our groceries that we throw away around a third of them each year – at a total cost of $20 billion. Appalling, dreadful and…unreal.” In What Does $20 Billion In Wasted Food Look Like? we look at food waste as a horrific challenge that must be addressed.

Gone are the days of the McMansions representing anything but excessive waste. In their places have blossomed houses of purpose that cater to everything we need them to do and at a fraction of the size. Downsizing is noble and a challenge so we ask what it’s like to consider an even smaller, more drastic downscale. When it comes to tiny living, have we gone too far where our psychological health is being compromised living in such little spaces? In The Incredible Shrinking House, we take a look at the repercussions of little waste from so little a space in the context of mental health.

“Why must everything come in packaging that’s seemingly ready-made for nuclear meltdown?” asks writer Luanne Bradley – and who are the people who are putting our safety after their fears of product theft? In The Packaging of Our Lives, we give you solutions to all your over-packaged problems.

What six lifestyle choices endow the much-celebrated French women with their ageless beauty, trim figures, and je ne sais quoi? Well, it’s true they don’t eat much and when they do, it’s exceptionally good food and drink. They choose versatile and classic pieces for their wardrobes, and they walk, a lot. Waste not, want not – and leave it to the French to look so damn good while doing what they do. In Sex by Numbers: French Women Don’t Get Fat we take a look at these sensibly indulgent femme fatales.

The post The Friday 5: Waste Not, Want Not Edition appeared first on EcoSalon.

Keep plastic out of the landfill with a clever gift card alternative.

Plastic gift cards: those little irresistible envelope stuffers are everywhere – markets, book shops, warehouse stores. Thousands are being printed up for Father’s Day, alone.

Add that batch to the 1.6 billion cards made and shipped across the country each year, prompting sites like Treehugger to question if these are the new bottled water.  Arguably the most convenient and least creative gift to pick up, this new currency is often coated with polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a known human carcinogen. After being swiped and spent they are usually tossed out, since few recipients are aware of online alternatives or take part in gift card recycling programs aimed at reducing our plastic jungles.

Among the forward-thinking alternatives: GiftRocket, an entirely digital email-based gift card recently launched as a start-up venture by three founders who decided it was time for the redemption process to go digital. You simply go to the site and purchase a customized and personalized gift for a friend, perhaps $50 for the coffee shop in their neighborhood. The recipient is notified of the gesture via email or Facebook. They stroll to the shop for breakfast, click a button on their phone to redeem, et voila, free scones and cappuccinos! The money is instantly transferred to spend as you like.

“A way that we are different is we send out reminder emails to make sure they are used, a feature you would never get with a physical gift card,” explains co-founder Kapil Kale. “At my college graduation, I received so many gift cards they ended up being lost. I’m sure I still have a drawer full of them at home.”

Kale argues going digital curbs the no-brainer physical act of grabbing a card on the run and instead adds some thought to the process, since another cool feature is the giver isn’t limited to businesses enrolled in a gift card program. They can choose any business they like and GiftRocket will manage the money in an escrow account until it is redeemed.

It’s a good way to go, consider just how wasteful some of those printed plastic cards are, such as the iTunes card which can be gifted and downloaded electronically. This way, there is nothing to lose. And nothing to get swiped by a sister or roommate. Best motivator: No wallet filing. It’s hard enough keeping track of those frozen yogurt cards that reward you with a freebie after buying a few dozen you probably don’t need.

Images: Apple; GiftRocket

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SeriesEnvironmental cleanup in the wake of Japan’s twin disasters. Part 4 in a special series.

A surreal and compelling mix of headlines (read: Royal weddings, Osama bin Laden) may be dominating this week’s news, but the unfolding events in Japan after the March earthquake and tsunami – compounded further by nuclear plant instability – continue. Among the many significant issues: all that garbage.

Nothing illustrates the growing glut of plastic in the ocean from land-based sources like a natural disaster. All of those bleach bottles, all of those candy wrappers, all ending up somewhere. Whether littered or properly disposed of, it doesn’t actually matter when natural forces manifesting in the ocean overcome the borders of sea and land. And rather than death by a thousands cuts (plastic litter and watershed trash from land), Japan’s tsunami unleashed a vast amount of debris virtually overnight into the Pacific. (To see how the theoretical path of the debris works over time, click on this link to view an animation.)

This figure exhibits the projected pathway of flotsam that entered the ocean after waves hit Japan on March 11, 2011.  The model is based on historical data from drift buoys pinging GPS locations in The North Pacific over several years. Image Credit: Nikolai Maximenko, International Pacific Research Center.

The garbage is coming.

Within about a year, garbage will start hitting Hawaii’s shores and the coast of California within three, before circulating back out again to Hawaii and adding to The North Pacific Garbage Patch where it will circulate in the gyre.

Initially, it is difficult to determine how much we’re talking about, but think of it this way: Imagine taking all the plastic for a couple of miles or more from several cities situated on a coastline, and sucking it into the ocean. Think about taking thousands of grocery stores full of plastic products, all those single-use yogurt cups and half and half containers, lifting them all at once, and throwing them into the ocean. Think about all the dumpsters. The reycling bins. The storage facilities. The freight containers. Interesting, if disheartening, California beach-combing is on the way.

University of Hawaii at Manoa‘s Nikolai Maximenko and Jan Hafner created the model. (Full disclosure: Maximenko advises the non-profit I work for on our gyre expeditions to search for plastic pollution.) Modeling, as a science, is still a very difficult enterprise as so many vectors affect how flotsam will actually travel when at sea. But judging by the vast amounts of debris pulled out to sea by Japan’s tsunami, the ultimate impact will be significant.

Finding remnants of the waste three to five years from now, after it has traveled thousands and thousands of miles at sea, will remind us as a society that although the 24/7 news cycle might forget past tragedies, plastic is forever. And it will remind us of the legacy of our culture. 24/7.

Editor’s note: This is part 4 in a special series on plastic. Read part 3, part 2 and part 1.

Images: Official U.S. Navy photographs

The post Plastic Surgery: Where Will Japan’s Tsunami Garbage Go? appeared first on EcoSalon.

ColumnWhere we’re going, little lady, you won’t need this.

Edward Abbey had his dust and rocks from which to cry; I have my HTML. Today I hone my hypertext on Hammacher Schlemmer, proud purveyor of uselessly clever objects and distraction of last resort from the pressure earaches I always get when the plane’s about to land. One word: Skymall.

Allow me to introduce for posterity the self stirring pot. This is, of course, making the rather bold assumption that we will have posterity springing forth from the kind of stupid sires who invent things like self-stirring pots.

I discovered this marvel of ingenuity not seen since Billy the singing bass by way of Roger Ebert on Twitter. EcoSalon retweeted Ebert, helpfully adding @hammacher. (Only on Twitter will you find a movie critic, a green publication and a manufacturer of wasteful gadgets keeping company.)

The nonstick self-stirring electric pot, with its built-in autonomous spatula and virgin ore, will set you back $99.95 and civilization back a bit more, as noted by perennially snarky Jezebel and Calorie Lab. (Year ago, the latter’s publisher sagely advised a much younger me to pick up the phone before embarking on a product rant, but Scrimscher, you’ll have to forgive me this one. My hands are both too busy stirring.)

Meanwhile on the tweet, one reader, @abbesol, declared it “Lazy!” while another, @rufola, staked out the gray area: “At first glance: bad. But my Mum loves to cook and has bad arthritis, maybe this would help.”

Hammacher’s own defense was charmingly no-means-yes:

Upon further grilling (but not stirring), Hammacher explained that the product is great for those who are busy doing other things when preparing the meal. I thought stirring was part of preparing the meal, or at least a boring chore to entrust to a fourth grader. Once again, I am out of touch with what’s going on in hands.

I’m unfamiliar with the Hammacher demographic but I’m duly impressed by its cohort’s apparent adherence to cooking so many courses simultaneously at least one pot is left to a tragic fate of sink or swirl. Too many cooks in the kitchen? Try too many hands. The EcoSalon audience, by contrast, prefers to stumble along in the beleaguered darkness of doing more than one thing at the same time. And I, your fearless leader, shall stumble, as well as possibly burn, clump, stick and scald right along with you, most likely because I didn’t get off the phone. On the multitasking brink of the twentieth century, and also every century before that since the invention of cookery, we stand firm.

This is the latest installment in your editor’s column, The Insider’s Guide to Life, exploring topics such as media, culture, sex, politics, and anything else. Cheers and spellcheck!

Image: ginnerobot

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Pretty images are like crack. I can’t look away. I can’t stop clicking on page after page, link after link, saving many of them to peek at later, surreptitiously, like something forbidden. The thing is, they kind of are. Because seeing all of these beautiful things on a daily basis – dresses, jewelry, lanterns, pillowcases, even stupid things like paperweights – make me want to collect. To spend. To accumulate. Groan. Am I once again buying things I don’t need?

I blame the internet.

For example, something wonderful arrived in my inbox yesterday: an invitation to join Pinterest. Not only is Pinterest a personal online ‘inspiration wall’, a place to digitally ‘pin up’ things you love, whether items of clothing, pretty hairstyles or simply images that strike a chord – it’s a feast for the eyes. A dangerous one. Take a look and tell me you don’t sigh and ooh and covet.

Having just recently joined Polyvore, the site that lets you arrange items from practically any store on the internet into lovely little ensembles, and inevitably falling into hour after hour (oh man, I really just revealed something about myself there, didn’t I?) of browsing the images created by others, I feel myself wanting. Me, a woman who just sold or donated three-quarters of her possessions to be free of the burden of too much stuff. A woman with a somewhat austere, carefully edited closet of matching items that can be worn in as many seasons as possible.

The last time I brutally culled a dozen blouses, skirts and dresses I told myself that from then on, each individual item I added to my wardrobe would have to earn its place.

But… look at that perfect little black dress… oh, and the way it’s complemented by those vintage mustard-yellow heels… and wouldn’t they both be set off to utter perfection by that eggplant wristlet? A simple pendant of rough violet-hued quartz on a long brass chain would pull it all together… Sigh. Just. Stop. Already.

And then there are all the other sources of sartorial temptation. My browser bookmarks are packed with blogs curated by enviably stylish people, like Kathleen and Hannah and Tamera (whose musings on digitally-induced desire inspired this post). Street style blogs like Lookbook.nu give me all sorts of ideas for possible additions to my closet.

It’s not just clothes. I have folder after folder on my Macbook of beautiful interiors, and get caught up in online shelter mags that make me want to get rid of everything I own and start from scratch with a newly acquired aesthetic that will change again in a few months, thanks to all of these pictures.

Help, I’m drowning in beauty, and I just clicked Add to Cart.

Of course, it’s possible to still feel this nagging sense of want without the internet. For centuries we have walked down main streets in cities all over the world and peered into store windows and wished or perhaps purchased. And we are surrounded by advertisements that are designed to provoke a lust for material things.

But the internet has opened up a whole new world of temptation. It exposes us to objects and styles that we might never have seen otherwise. And it makes it so damn easy to track those things down, to have them in a cardboard box on the doorstep within days.

Does this promote the problem of overconsumption, or pave the way for more considerate purchasing? It certainly has the curious effect of lowering that all-important number on my bank statements. There’s a reason I’ve become a clothes nazi: I’m planning to build and live in a tiny house (a plan that has been delayed but is nonetheless still on). Piles of possessions are out, edited is in.

The solution? Self-control, of course – which is not as easy as it sounds. In this digital age of imagery overload it’s easy to feel unfashionable. Plus, I work online all day, so the exposure never ends.

Temptation is tough. I will still save all of those pretty pictures, if only because I so enjoy looking at them, and because inspiration is a precious thing. But rather than treating it like a buffet of goods beckoning me to buy, buy, buy, I hope I can learn to value them more consciously.

The post I’m Inspired to Consume, and It’s All the Internet’s Fault appeared first on EcoSalon.

Beyond the smell and decay, landfills are considered modern archeology sites, collections of discarded items that give clues to the lifestyles of those who used them. In fact, Harvard-trained archeologist Bill Rathje recently told the LA Times, “The best time capsule in the world is a landfill.”

But that time capsule has an impact.

The average American produces a little over 4 pounds of trash per day, and although we might be diligent about separating our recyclables, once the garbage truck comes along, to us, our waste is out of sight and out of mind. While we return to the house with an empty garbage can, our waste takes off on a journey for the landfill, where mountains of trash pile up to be pushed around by bulldozers and circled by vultures in the air.

Where does your trash go?

We rounded up a list of the top 10 biggest landfills, just to show the ultimate impact of our everyday waste. According to Waste & Recycling News, these are the biggest landfills, based upon tonnage received in 2007. Here are some interesting facts about these places, including some very uplifting ones (really).

1. Apex, Las Vegas, Nevada. 3,824,814 tons.

America’s largest landfill, Apex, lies just an hour north of Sin City. Storing nearly 50 million tons of rotting trash, Apex is no small operation. Surprisingly enough, things seem to be slowing down. According to General Manager Mark Clinker commercial and residential waste has actually decreased. Maybe there’s still hope?

2. Puente Hills, Whittier, California. 3,756,718 tons.

Taking in a third of Los Angeles County’s trash, Puente Hills is a big player when it comes to waste. But talking about trash doesn’t have the same effect as seeing it. Last year, the Center for Land Use Interpretation (CLUI), a Culver City-based think tank, sponsored a tour of Puente Hills in an effort to raise awareness about waste. Tickets sold out in minutes. But the landfill doesn’t just process waste. Puente Hills is the largest recycling location in the US, taking more than one million tons per year of recyclable materials.

3. Newton County Landfill Partnership, Brook, Indiana. 2,692,455 tons.

A stone’s throw from Chicago, Newton County Landfill is responsible for taking a large part of the city’s waste. Chicago residents produce about 1 million tons of trash per year.

4. Atlantic Waste, Waverly, Virginia. 2,669,423 tons.

Virginia’s largest landfill, Atlantic Waste is owned by the trash giant, Waste Management. In 2008 the landfill was fined for some 8,000 gallons of leachate – in other words, garbage juice – which spilled into surrounding wetlands.

5. Okeechobee, Okeechobee, Florida. 2,640,000 tons.

Surprisingly enough, visitors to Okeechobee won’t just see piles of trash, they’ll also get a view of local wildlife. Of the 4,150 acres that make up the site, 1,550 have been placed in conservation easement, offering visitors a variety of recreation and conservation related activities.

6. Denver Arapahoe Disposal Site, Aurora, Colorado. 2,561,809 tons.

Colorado’s largest landfill, Denver Araphoe Disposal Site accepts around 12,000 tons of waste per day. But some of that trash is going to good use. In September of 2008, DADS launched its waste-to-energy system to convert methane into electricity. In partnership with the City of Denver, the system generates enough power to fuel about 3,000 homes. (Photos are from adjacent landfill site Lowry, which ceased operations in 1990 and is now part of the waste-to-energy system)

7. El Sobrante, Corona, California. 2,173,216 tons.

Another landfill owned by Waste Management, El Sobrante works closely with the Wildlife Habitat Council to manage more than 640 acres for the benefit of 31 different species, two of which are endangered.

8. Rumpke Sanitary, Colerain Township, Ohio. 2,128,165 tons.

Located near Cincinnati, Rumpke Sanitary brings in a lot of trash, but like other landfills, is doing its part to put some of it to good use. The landfill site hosts three methane recovery facilities that have the potential to recover approximately 15 million standard cubic feet of landfill gas daily. In total, the facilities produce enough energy to power 25,000 homes.

9. Frank Bowerman, Irvine, California. 2,059,859 tons.

One of California’s largest landfills, Frank Bowerman also boasts the world’s first landfill gas-to-LNG plant. The plant has the capacity to produce 5,000 gallons of LNG per day, which has about the same environmental benefits as taking about 150,000 vehicles off the road per year.

10. Columbia Ridge, Arlington Oregon. 2,050,602 tons.

Columbia Ridge processes waste from all over the Northwest, serving major cities Portland, OR and Seattle, WA.

Each week here at EcoSalon, the editors choose a post from the archives that we think you’ll love. The original post can be found here.

Images: D’Arcy Norman, Steve Marcus, Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County, WM, Google, Farache, EPA, Center for Land Use Interpretation, Craig Ruttle, n6vhf, Eric Mortenson.

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