waste news stories on Newser

It's Not Just Waste: Fraud Rampant at GSA

Kevin Spak — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 07:55:55 CDT

The General Services Administration's Vegas shindig was just the tip of the iceberg. The GSA is so loaded with cash that it's a magnet for fraud and abuse, the Los Angeles Times reports. From October 2010 to September 2011 alone, the agency prosecuted 64 cases in which people inflated costs,...

Families Waste Up to $2K Per Year on Uneaten Food

Evann Gastaldo — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 14:09:05 CDT

If you want to save money, a good way to start is by not buying food you won't eat. It sounds like a no-brainer, but in the US, the average family of four spends between $500 to $2,000 per year on food that gets thrown away, the Wall Street...

'Tens of Billions' Wasted on War Contractors: Report

Kevin Spak — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 07:27:28 CST

The US has misspent “tens of billions of dollars” on contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan—at minimum—according to a new report from a bipartisan commission set up to scrutinize the issue. The report bemoaned problems like “ill-conceived projects,” “poor planning and oversight by the US government, as well as...

Indian Tribe Doesn't Want US Trash on Sacred Land

Evann Gastaldo — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 12:04:00 CDT

Hawaii's landfill space is in such short supply, the state decided to transport thousands of tons of trash 2,600 miles to Washington. Making the journey even more bizarre: The waste would travel over the Yakama Indians' sacred hunting grounds to get to its destination, and the tribe is none...

Bottled Water Sales Head Down the Drain

Kevin Spak — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 12:05:00 CST

Bottled water sales are sinking, and environmentalists point triumphantly to their hard-fought campaign against the wasteful industry. Consumption is expected to drop 2% this year, following a 3.2% drop last year, MSNBC reports. But industry executives say it’s just a natural result of the economic downturn, noting that sales...

Euro Farmers Protest Falling Prices With Huge Milk Dump

Will McCahill — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 18:41:26 CDT

European farmers today dumped 800,000 gallons of milk in a Belgian field, AFP reports, in a protest against a dramatic dive in prices. The group behind the scene says three French farmers committed suicide in the past week over prices, which have fallen by as much as half as...

Recession Harbinger: Less Trash

Harry Kimball — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 13:15:51 CDT

The current recession was fairly clear to a certain segment of the population as far back as late 2007, the Washington Post reports—landfill operators. Since then, dumps and garbage collectors have seen a steep drop-off in trash—in some cases up to 30%—along with their own jobs. It's...

Drive Past the Body Shop: Sun Will Repair Scratches

Wesley Oliver — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 12:30:01 CDT

The sun will soon be able to help repair the scratches on everything from iPods to cars. Researchers have developed a polyurethane coating that heals itself when exposed to UV radiation, Wired reports. The coating, which should be available in a few months, could save consumers money and reduce waste...

Sewage Soaks Baghdad Slum

Nick McMaster — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 14:03:54 CST

Residents of the Sadr City slum of Baghdad have come to accept raw sewage, bubbling to the surface from broken pipes, as a part of daily life, Bloomberg reports. And Sadr City is hardly an oddity—despite 6 years and billions of American dollars, much of Iraq still lacks reliable...