Talk Green to Me

Atlanta needs millions of gallons of drinkable water every day. We interview Lew Puckett, plant manager of the Hemphill water treatment facility and City of Atlanta watershed. He talks to us about the history of water treatment in the area, what goes into ensuring residents get clean water, the standards that need to be met, and the technology. He tells about the steps that happen from when water is collected in the Bellwood quarry(where an episode of Stranger Things was filmed!)to when it arrives in your faucet.

Where does the water that comes to your home really come from and where does it go? In this episode we give you an introduction to how public water and waste water treatment work in the United States. We talk about the processes, chemicals, and policies that go into ensuring that you have safe drinking water.

Not only are microplastics bad for the environment, they are tricky to study. We talk to Environmental Engineering PhD candidate and researcher from Oregon State University, Campbell McColley, about microplastics. He tells us about about what they are, what makes them so difficult to research, what he and other researchers are doing to understand them. Campbell gives us suggestions on what you can do reduce your microplastics impact.

Also check out Campbell's podcast: Boozicals

To ring in the New Year we asked people to share sustainable practices that they do and what they hope others would do too! From air drying your clothes, to growing your own loofahs, and working to create sustainable products, our listeners have a lot of ideas. With a few small changes, we can make a more sustainable planet!

Over the past several years and decades, plastic has become more complicated with many layered and blended materials becoming more popular, especially in the packaging world. And with these developments, plastic recycling has also needed to evolve beyond mechanical shredding. In this episode, we interview Myra Foster, the executive director of Sustainability Strategy and Advocacy at Sealed Air Corporation. Sealed Air invented bubble wrap in 1960s and has led the way in plastic packaging for food and protection. Myra tells us how Sealed Air is working on advanced chemical techniques to recycle blended and complicated plastics. She also discusses various sustainability pledges and challenges that come up for companies working with plastic. We learn that eliminating plastic is not the solution in every situation and how companies like Sealed Air are working on advanced recycling to improve sustainability and circularity as a whole.

Often times, new plastics and blended plastics cannot be recycled using conventional mechanical recycling technologies. Advanced or chemical recycling technologies are new developments that complement existing infrastructure to turn more types of plastics into new products. This episode focuses on explaining some of these technologies and explaining how they work to expand the types of plastics that can be recycled.

Recyclables have value. We speak with Emma Brodzik, Zero Waste Project Manager at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) about recycling on campus and in Georgia, and the economics that make recycling possible. We also discuss the impact of sorting recyclables and policies (or lack thereof) in Georgia. Emma tells us about the new AWARE Program (Actively Working to Achieve Resource Efficiency)at Georgia Tech and how it aims to minimize waste by encouraging people to make responsible choices with the waste they generate.

Animals are inefficient machines but plant-based materials are much more sustainable. We interview Stephanie Downs, co-founder Material Innovation Initiative and founder of Good Dot. She turned her lifelong passion for animal welfare into several companies including those that find vegan alternatives to meat and animal-based materials. She tells us about how the industry changed to make vegan foods readily available and how we still need innovation to make vegan-fabrics and materials a reality. We learn how everyone: consumers, entrepreneurs, materials scientists, policy-makers, and more can play a role in improving sustainability.

As the world population grows, the global demand for food, especially meat, rises significantly. The environmental impact of producing meat is very high with greenhouse gas emissions and even water and land usage. Alternative proteins can provide a way to reduce this impact while providing people with healthier yet tasty foods. Listen to find out more about what alternative proteins and plant based meats are made of and how they’re helping the environment.

We know it's confusing, so in this year's bonus special we discuss what holiday paper stuff can and cannot be recycled. With guidelines from TAPPI (Technical Association for the Pulp and Paper Industry) we talk about what to do with holiday cards, boxes, giftbags, and glitter when you're done using them.