Bloomberg's office says the new initiatives include plans to build solar power plants on capped landfills and launch a loan program to help property owners pay for green energy efficiency upgrades.
With billions of pounds of meat and bone meal going to waste in landfills after a government ban on its use in cattle feed, scientists today described development of a process for using that so-called meat and bone meal to make partially biodegradable plastic that does not require raw materials made from oil or natural gas. They reported here today at the 241st National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS).
Research from North Carolina State University shows that so-called biodegradable products are likely doing more harm than good in landfills, because they are releasing a powerful greenhouse gas as they break down.
Purdue University civil engineers are working with the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) to perfect the use of recycled concrete for highway construction, a strategy that could reduce material costs by as much as 20 percent.