FRANKFURT & CHICAGO - LOW WASTE

Frankfurt, Germany has created a name for itself as a leader in Sustainability.

Refuse in Frankfurt is under control.  There are four key areas where Frankfurt focuses:

1. Waste Recycling
2. Collection and bring systems
3. Refuse Collection Charges
4. Urban Mining

COLOR CODED
Blue-Paper
Green- Glass
Yellow-Cans, “composite materials” (rinse only, not scrub)
Red- General Waste
Brown- Bio-waste: kitchen scraps, peels, tea bags, etc.
Gray- “Almost the rest” Personal hygiene, tissues, diapers, frying pans (this stuff gets incinerated)

WASTE RECYCLING
Waste recycling helps change the mindset of the society.  By implementing the recycling initiatives it helps to end a “throw-away” society.   Frankfurt has taken this idea to new level and has a waste-to-energy power plant.  This plant burns household and light commercial waste from Frankfurt.  This generates both heat and electricity for 30,000 households.  Additionally to supplying power, the plant helps to reduce CO2 emissions.

Materials recycling is how Frankfurt ensures that harmful substances to nature and humans do not end up in the environment.  Instead these materials are collected and reused.  The most successful recycling is glass, paper, and plastics.  Future concerns are being addressed in Frankfurt relating to the high tech materials.  Waste sorting and handling plants have a computerized process that sorts all kinds of waste by type and size.

Direct recycling reduces the waste of large electrical appliances in Frankfurt.  Appliances like televisions, computers, and washing machines are checked, and repaired if possible, and resold.


COLLECTION AND BRING SYSTEMS
The refuse collection is part of the public law. The city contracts with FES (Frankfurter Entsorgungs- und Service GmbH) to “collect and recycle waste and valuable material.”
These recycling laws are the city’s responsibility to remove the waste from the bins.  “A charge is levied in accordance with he regulation for refuse charges.”

There are three separation bins for waste

1. Residual Waste
2. Bio-Waste
3. Paper & Cardboard


The green dot system is on light packaging, like yogurt and food cans. This initiative has “put packaging on a diet”   Manufactures have to pay for the “Green Dot” on products.  The more packaging the higher the fee.  This has resulted in less paper, less glass and less metal.  Which in turn means less garbage to be recycled. The cost to the consumer for the disposal of the packaging waste by the German Dual System (DSD) is included in the price of the packaged item.”



BRING SYSTEM
Glass, which is marked with the “green dot” must be taken to a bottle bank, where DSD is charged with collection, sorting, and recycling.

Hazardous wast is taken back free of charge to any of the three mobil pollutant collectors.

“Car boot service” is  also free of charge and takes materials like waste paper, green waste, and packaging or scrap metal.  The quantity per drop off is limited.

Green waste can be taken to the bio-waste treatment plant free of charge.  Building site waste and rubble can be taken to a waste transfer station for a fee.

Old used tires, used oil, and used dry-cell batteries are returned to the dealers of that product range.

REFUSE COLLECTION CHARGES
It costs money to maintain a sustainable city and Frankfurt has engineered a means to finance that sustainability.  The collection fees cover the costs of the staff, administration, vehicles, and the sorting, recycling, and removal plants.

• STANDING CHARGE

Same for every residential unit.  Commercial companies help finance refuse collection

• VARIABLE CHARGE-Based on the volume of residual waste bin and how often it is emptied.    

•  Bio-waste bins
•  Bin for paper & cardboard
•  Free of charge
•  “Car boot”
• Bulky waste
• Harmful substances

People save money by sorting waste properly because there is less residual waste, which equates to less variable charges.  Keeping the bulky and harmful waste free prevents illegal dumping and damage to the environment.

URBAN MINING
Re-using natural resources of the future.
People are concentrated in towns & cities
Dwindling supplies of natural resources
Consumption and waste production worldwide occurs in major cities

Buildings in are a valuable source of raw materials.  In Germany around 225 million tons of mineral waste is produced each year.  Of that waste 92% could be recycled.  If it was recycled, 1/3 of Germany’s demand for mineral resources would be met.


CHICAGO

RECYCLING IS SIMPLE  

• Blue Cart Recycling- Paper, Glass, cardboard, plastic
• This year Jan-July 10% has been diverted from landfills to recycling.
• Recycling Drop of Centers- Eight locations throughout Chicago
• Catalog Choice - Reduce junk mail
• Household Chemicals and Computer Recycling Facility-

Composting

• Chicago encourages back yard composting.
• Yard waste is collected from April to November by placing yard waste next to blue bin for pickup.
• Businesses are required to accept used plastic bags from customers to reuse or recycle.
• Contractors are required to recycle at least 50% of debris from construction, remodel,  demolitions.

CHICAGO AMONG TOP 20
Chicago is actually listed as 19th on the Sustainable Cities Index, and it is working toward a better future by implementing some programs that will make a difference.  Reducing waste is a good place to start in achieving sustainability.  Helping people to become aware that when they put things in the trash it doesn’t really go away is important.  Offering a simple recycling processes, where everything can go in one compartment is a way to ease people into the process.  Eventually as the system evolves it can mirror Frankfurt and incorporate some of their successful ventures.

ENCOURAGE & INVITE
Incorporating the positive peer pressure available through social media is a way to increase recycling. In conjunction with reminding people to recycle and making containers for recycling readily available is one way to increase involvement.  People want to increase the sustainability of the planet. They want to do the right thing.  The truth is that if recycling is convenient it is more likely to be used.

FACEBOOK ADVERTISING

I decided to give it a go and try to have one paid ad.  I have it set to run from Thursday to Sunday.

First I selected the demographics:

As I added more specifics I was able to reach a larger audience.

Then I set the parameters of how long the ad would run.

Here is what Facebook showed me what the ad would look like.

Then I was able to select five more images to run with the same ad.

Now I am waiting for the ad approval, and then I will be able to use the data to know if this ad was effective in reaching a larger audience.

This is a current snapshot of the page.

AUTOMATIC ATTITUDINAL RESPONSES

Automatic attitudinal responses abound in the world around us.  Uneducated voices on topics are sometimes the loudest.  It is important to become aware of our own tendencies and be at least one voice that is educated on the entire issue, rather than opinionated garble.

OTM 1 - THINK PINK - I researched quite a bit to figure out what the pink pill for increasing women's sexual desire was all about.  Although I do have an opinion about Pharmaceutical companies I went into this discussion with an open mind.  During my quest to find out what this pill would mean for women I was saddened to see that the big money had helped to push this through without adequate research or proven results.  Even members of Congress boarded the money train.  I admit that in my mind I have formulated an attitudinal response, at least in this instance, I vetted it with my own research of the topic.

OTM 2 - ASHLEY MADISON - I hate to admit it but I definitely resorted to my automatic response in this assignment.  One thing I despise is dishonesty, and when I saw that Ashley Madison was exposed it actually made me a bit happy.   I did research about the topic, but I searched in the direction I thought would prove what I wanted to prove.  After having lived the heartache of being married and subsequently divorced from a cheater I was extremely biased.

OTM 3 - KIM DAVIS & GAY MARRIAGE -  On this topic I feel like I discussed both sides fairly.  I don't believe that I have extreme biases for or against gay marriage which is why I didn't resort to any automatic response.  I honestly felt that she should have done her job, and it is not her decision to make whether a gay couple can marry.  I thought that I did a good job of showing where both sides of the issue were coming from based on their opinions, not mine.

OTM 4 -  VIENNA TRAIN STATION -  This topic was an eye opener for me.  I do not watch television and I was really uneducated as to what was even going on with the refugees.  I believe that I represented what was going on from what I learned in the On the Media account.  I did not have an automatic response because I have remained unaware of the crisis.

OTM 5 - ABORTION POLLING - I did not allow my automatic response to abortion to taint my mind on this topic.  I personally have my own opinion about abortion, but I did not let it infiltrate my discussion about abortion.  I showed that both sides have an opinion about abortion and remained a neutral party to the conversation.

OTM 6 - DARKODE - Darkode is another topic that I was prior to, blissfully unaware.  One result of this podcast is that I have take measures to secure privacy in the form of covering cameras on some devices and disabling the microphone for many apps.  Because I did not have prior knowledge, I did not have an attitudinal response.

OTM 7 - PLAYBOY - If I had done this assignment 10 years ago I would have exercised an attitudinal response.  Now, at this point in my life I feel like I am able to take a more objective viewpoint on the subject.  People are free to do and view whatever it is that suits their fancy.  I no longer feel that it is my place to tell everyone that doesn't think like me that they are going to hell.

I feel that there are some subjects that illicit an attitudinal response in many of us.  The key is to realize that this is a tendency and to stretch yourself outside of your comfort zone and look at the whole issue for what it really displays.  Conducting yourself as an educated and informed member of society is a big piece of the puzzle that will help to break us away from stereotypes.  Imagine a world where people chose to search the facts before placing judgement.  Now that I understand I still on occasion revert to an automatic response, I will be more aware and more conscientious before I form an opinion on the events around me.  

ON THE MEDIA: Playboy

PHYSICAL:
Playboy announced that in March 2016 they will be adjusting their image.  Playboy will not feature nude models in their magazines.  The availability of nudity on home computers has cut into the subscribers of Playboy.  In 1975 there were 5.6 million subscribers compared to just over 1 million subscribers currently.  A shift in the images will permit Playboy to expand its reach and perhaps appeal to a wider audience.

PSYCHOLOGICAL
The psychological implications of Playboy in general relate to the entire pornography industry.  By depicting photoshopped, flawless, nude women it alters the image of the mind.  Women, or men for that matter, are not seen as individuals.  Rather, they are seen as objects. These objects are used to gratify sexual desires. Absent is the relational process of learning about another person and developing a healthy relationship.

CULTURAL
In our country it is not acceptable to depict nudity.  Magazines at grocery stores and covered, and the "dirty" magazines are out of sight.  Billboards and commercials adhere to the guidelines which keep America "clean."  But under the cloak of the internet the pornography industry is bustling.  It is not that our society is anti-sexualized, it is that it is not okay culturally to discuss it openly.

SOCIAL
One benefit for Playboy opting out of the nude pictorials is that socially and culturally their magazine will be acceptable to the public.  This means that articles from Playboy could be shared via social media without offending those that "believe" nudity is wrong.  It takes away a reason for people to hate Playboy.  Because of the free pornography available on the internet it makes sense for Playboy to try something new.  At least they are fighting to keep a remnant of their historic magazine alive.

TEMPORAL
Playboy and its iconic Playboy bunnies are not easily forgotten.  Playboy has place in American history and has generated many young boys first memories of what a naked woman looks like.  As Playboy shifts its direction and image it may lose some subscribers, but it also may pick up a different generation of users that are interested in actually reading the articles.

Playboy has depicted nude women for many years.  These women agreed to be a part of this magazine and knew that their images were for another's pleasure.  In the free market system there is a need and a fulfillment of the need.  If it isn't right for someone morally then opt out of the magazine.