Big, bulky, black smoke spewing machines. That’s what most transport ships are today. Responsible for at least 4% of total greenhouse gas emissions, these diesel gobblers have long stayed under the radar of entrepreneurs and regulators alike. But times are changing.
Artist impression of Port Liners fully electric barge (photo: Alexander Whiteman)
Sydney found a rather creative way to reduce their emissions and waste. The city’s road contractor teamed up with a cartridge recycling company to use printer toner waste to create asphalt. The toner partially replaces the bitumen and fine aggregates used in traditional asphalt production. By using the toner in combination with recycled oil, the production process is 40% more energy efficient. The asphalt is around the same price as the old version. The first streets of Sydney have been paved and now it’s looking forward to the results. Over a few years it will become clear whether this new pavement performs as good (or better) than traditional pavement.
Watkin Street in Newton, Australia, gets a new layer of asphalt made with recycled printer toner (photo: Jamie Williams/City of Sydney)
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Today I want to share with you an article which illustrates how we can use energy more sufficiently. As street lighting takes up to 6% of electricity use in modern countries, it’s worth to think about smarter ways to light urban areas. That’s exactly what they try to do in Copenhagen. Read the article.
