The Nation Newspaper

Category: Online Special

  • 8 surprising facts about May Day

    Workers all over the world have been celebrating May Day on the first day of May, which shares a date with International Workers’ Day since the 1880s.

    At the time, labour movements around the world were fighting for fair work accommodations like eight-hour workdays and unions.

    To most people in the Northern Hemisphere, May Day conjures images of brightly colored twirling ribbons and promises of warm days ahead.

    That’s not the whole story, though: May Day is also a day of protests and riots that traces its modern roots back to a world-changing explosion in Chicago.

    Here are some interesting facts about May Day that you might not have known were true:

    1.    The month May was named Maia, the Greek goddess of fertility.

    2.    The origins of May Day date back to Pagan earth worship celebrating the start of summer.

    3.    Another theory ties the holiday to the Roman festival of Floralia, a festival that honoured Flora, the goddess of springtime. As Rome conquered other countries, the tradition spread.

    4.    Puritans in the United Stated looked down on May Day. As a result, the holiday is not celebrated as extensively in the United States.

    5.    In Medieval England, May Day celebrations centered on the maypole, which is a pole made from wood, decorated with streamers, which are held by dancers circling the pole.

    6.    In May of 1886, activists in the United States organized a national strike to promote an eight-hour workday. One of the protests, in Chicago’s Haymarket Square, turned violent, with days of clashes between police and demonstrators. The incident came to be known as the Haymarket Affair.

    7.    To honor those who participated in the Haymarket protest, the International Socialist Conference declared that May 1 would be a day designated for labour, called International Workers’ Day. The holiday was established at a meeting in 1889.

    8.    In the United States, Labour Day is celebrated on the first Monday in September. It became a national holiday in 1894.

  • How to deal with people with toxic behaviours

    It is not uncommon that in any society, people deduce some behaviours generally considered by others untoward and disadvantageous to others’ fortune.

    Psychologists describe people in this habit as having toxic behaviours and that such people are capable of abusing s and manipulating people’s emotions.

    They observe that toxic peoples’ behaviours are also contagious and notwithstanding how positive a person could be, he could be infected by their actions if he is not careful.

    According to them, identifying these individuals and understanding how to relate with them is essential.

    Renowned U.S. based psychiatrist, Dr Abigail Brenner says people with toxic behaviours are not caring, supportive, or interested in what’s important to others, while loyalty is strange to them.

    According to her, they tend to use others in accomplishing their goals and take no responsibility for anything they do.

    “They don’t apologise and they don’t see any reason to, because things are always someone else’s fault.

    “In many instances, although they try to orchestrate relationships to serve their own ends, they try to gain sympathy and attention by claiming victim status.

    “Toxic people make you choose them over someone else, or something they want over something you want even to the point of requiring you to cut off other meaningful relationships to satisfy them,’’ she observes.

    An Australian psychotherapist, Dr Jodie Gale, believes that some people are even indulging in hiding their true character, describing the act as part of being toxic.

    According to her, being envious of everyone else is the art of counting someone else’s blessings instead of your own; and obsessive negative thinking is an outstanding mark of a toxic person.

    “It’s very hard to be around people who refuse to let go of negativity, who incessantly see life through a gloomy lens,’’ she explains.

    She also refers to toxic-behaviour persons as manipulative, judgmental, persons that will never take responsibility for their own feelings and never care, support, or be interested in what’s important to other persons.

    Most of psychologists believe that people with toxic behaviours show their shortcomings and deficiencies by feeling uncomfortable when someone is doing better than them in any area.

    They describe them as always like to be the receivers and not the givers and that they love to play the victims so as to manipulate on one’s emotions.

    “Toxic people are draining; encounters leave you emotionally wiped out. Time with them is about taking care of their business, which will leave you feeling frustrated and unfulfilled, if not angry.

    “Their modus operandi includes gaining total control of a situation, and that means of you, too. They will demand your undivided attention and attempt to convince you that you need to join their camp.

    “To their way of thinking they know better than you. They’re right; you’re wrong. And you need to do what they say.

    “This kind of toxic person will think nothing of invading your space and may try to isolate you from others you are close to, a psychiatrist, Dr Abigail Brenner, observes.

    In her view, a relationship expert in Lagos, Mrs Iyabo Obasa, notes that some relationship among couples can also be toxic.

    Obasa, a member of Counselling Ambassadors Organisation, an NGO, notes that a lot of women have lost their lives, self-worth, dignity and confidence due to inability to deal with the occurrence of toxic relationships.

    She observes that a relationship can be described as toxic when both husband and wife are hurting and can no longer find reasons to be together.

    “From being hurtful and unhappy, it gradually leads to hate, relationship degeneration and the final breakup.

    “Women should be able to tell a healthy relationship that will advance their lives and give them joy.

    “Relationships determine how far anyone goes in life because whatever the connection or relationship maybe, by blood or marriage, it should not be toxic or unbearable in any way,’’ she observes.

    However, psychologists warn that it requires a great caution when at the verge of terminating one’s relationship with people with toxic behaviours.

    They observe that such people should be dealt with bluntly in a public place because some of them could be violent.

    “Explanation isn’t needed again because they aren’t worth anymore of your time; blocking them on social media could also do a great deal too.

    “Similarly, sometimes, you can use the silent treatment by moving out of their lives silently,’’ they recommend.

    In addition, a relationship counselor, Dr Joanna McClanahan, recommends that in dealing with toxic behaviours among people, one has to set boundaries for them and pick battle points wisely.

    “It’s tricky to balance being cordial with not wanting to normalise someone’s emotionally abusive behaviour; recognise and distance yourself from their behaviour; focusing on the positive values,’’ she advises.

    However, a renowned psychiatrist and author, Dr Peg Streep, observes that if the person with toxic behaviours is someone one cannot avoid coming into contact with, maybe at work place, setting boundaries for such behaviours rather than the person will work.

    “You don’t need to be rude, abrasive, or accusatory; in fact, it’s important that you aren’t, but that you are firm and decisive. If it’s a work situation, go through the appropriate channels and put it in writing.

    “If you see a pattern, address it soon through the proper channels to see how they respond. If that person shows no respect for your position, livelihood, or dignity, consider cutting ties altogether,’’ she advises.

    Analysing some of the problems associated with people with toxic behaviours, German popular columnist Marcel Schwantes observes that since people in toxic cultures systematically avoid accountability for their actions and cast blame elsewhere to protect themselves, they are dangerous to relate with.

    A neuropsychologist, Dr Rhonda Freeman, nonetheless, says: “If the toxic person is your spouse, you likely need the help of a mental health professional for navigating the relationship.

    NAN

  • Seven ways to prepare your kids for resumption

    It’s that time of the year again when children have to return to school. It is barely three days to resumption and you feel like a mess. Your children do not even look like they are ready for school.

    Your head is rummaging asking questions: “Have I gotten all the books he needs?” “Will she adjust to school routines?” And then it hits you. You have not gotten her new water bottle! His mathematical set is bad too! And then you feel like the most unserious parent in the world.

    Relax, take deep breaths. You are not the worst parent in the world. All you need is some preparation and you are good to go!

    Let us guide you with these seven ways to prepare your children for resumption.

    Gradually reduce your children’s play time: Doing this will save them the shock of having their games and fun abruptly snatched away. Remember, they are still children and may not find it easy to adapt to changes. This is a first step in psychologically preparing the child for school.

    Have a talk with your child. Communication is not just for adults; it applies to children. Let them know that their schedules will be changing. Have them talk about how they feel about resumption. Let them know first days in schools are not so horrifying. Get them excited about meeting new friends and learning new things. They just may be looking forward to resumption more than you!

    Change their schedule: Telling them their schedule will change should not end there. Act on it. Let them go to bed early. They should know late nights spent watching cartoons have come to an end. Video games and cartoons are to be stopped. Let them see obvious changes so they do not think it is one of mummy’s many bed time stories.

    Teach them school life skills: School is a place for learning but we all know they cannot possibly teach everything. This is where parenting comes in. Teach them about socialising with other children, socialising with adults, sex education depending on their age, eating etiquette, toilet etiquette.

    Get set: Oh yes, preparation is not just for the children. How prepared you are as a parent will determine how prepared your children will be. Grab a paper and a pen and roll up your sleeves. Get into your child’s room. Rummage through his or her closet and school tools.   List all that your child needs for school. Pick out what needs to be sewn. Throw away what is not necessary and give out what needs to be given away. Then go shopping with the list.

    Organise: If you have never organised your child’s everyday school needs, you are simply overworking yourself. Get boxes, hooks and pins. Sort shoes, sandals, socks and books in a box. Set up hooks for clean and used uniforms to reduce searching for things early in the morning and to make laundry easy. You could even get creative by color coding the boxes for easier identification. Organise! Organise! Organise!

    Get informed: Get information about the school curriculum, the clinic facilities in the school, transportation to school and traffic information, safety of the children at school, after school activities etc. All these will help you adequately prepare your child for a hitch free back-to-school experience.

    While it is true that one can never be prepared enough, one has no excuse not to prepare. You owe it to your children to make them have a lovely experience. So daddies and mummies, let’s get working.

  • How to overcome rejection by a crush

    Adeyinka Akintunde

     

    The story of one Deji Adenuga, who burnt and killed eight family members of a lady simply known as Titi has sent shock waves across the nation.

    Titi had called off the love relationship with him and the fleeing Adenuga thought to pay her back by pouring petrol in her family bedroom while they slept and set it on fire.

    Eight members of her family were burnt beyond recognition.

    According to the Public Relations Officer of the Ondo State Police Command, Mr Femi Joseph, Titi is the only survivor of the unfortunate incident for now.

    But she is in critical conditions in the hospital while Adenuga is on the run

    This is one painful situation youths today find themselves. There is the possibility of being in love with someone that does reciprocate.

    It is even possible for a young man to ask a lady for a relationship and she turns his request down.

    There are ways to handle this situation to prevent a severe damage or committing a criminal offence. Some include:

    1.     Give yourself time to grieve: After the rejection, don’t be afraid to feel any emotions that come your way. Sadness, anger, fear, and similar feelings are all natural parts of rejection, and working through them now will make it far easier to move on in the future.

    Don’t be afraid to cry or scream when you’re alone. If you can, talk through your feelings with a close friend, family member or therapist. Sharing your emotions with a supportive, understanding person can make a huge difference in your mental well-being.

    2.    Think about why she said no: Though returning to the rejection may hurt, doing so after grieving can help you better understand what happened and gain some closure. If you believe your crush said no because she dislikes something about you, think about whether it is something you should change or if it is a simple matter of preference.

    Read Also: Lover shoots girlfriend dead in Bayelsa for infidelity

    3.     Be kind to her afterwards: This is sometimes hard to do because if your crush is someone you see a lot, it is normal to experience some awkwardness after a rejection. But nerves will cool down in the long run, and then your normal friendship can resume. Until then, try to be as kind, friendly, and polite to her as you can.

    4.    Keep yourself busy: Try picking up a brand new hobby or an old job that you have not touched in a while. If that is not enough to take your mind off things, try setting a personal goal you want to achieve. The busier you are, the easier time you’ll have getting over the rejection.

    5.    Remember that rejection is not a personal attack: In most cases, romantic rejection is not a criticism of your character. If your crush decides she doesn’t want you, it doesn’t mean she dislikes you or even finds you unattractive. Though every instance of rejection is different, the common thread is that “you” are not rejected.

  • 5 essential safety tips for travelers

    Travel can be exciting but also scary at times. But when you’re venturing into a destination that you are unfamiliar with, you have to be more cautious in order not to fall victim to roughnecks. Nevertheless, follow these safety tips to protect yourself and ensure a happy and secure journey.

    Don’t show off your cash or valuables

    Keep your cash separated, with some spending money easily accessible and the rest hidden, so that you’re not showing off a big wad of cash every time you pay. Although it’s tempting to have your smartphone out constantly to look up directions or take photos, be mindful of your surroundings.

    Leave an itinerary and emergency contact

    After booking your package on Jumia’s hotel and flight marketplace, and you are ready to  unplug, a mistake you should never make is to go under the radar, especially if you’re traveling alone. Leave your itinerary with a trusted friend or family member back home, and try to check in with him or her every day. That way, if something happens, they can alert authorities on your behalf.

    Confirm visitors with the hotel desk

    You’re in your hotel room and there’s a knock on the door from someone claiming to be maintenance or housekeeping. Before you let this person in, call the front desk to verify that someone from the property needs access to your room. Criminals have been known to pose as hotel workers in order to get inside the rooms.

    Scan a copy of your passport

    Before you leave, scan a copy of your passport, email it to yourself and take a photo of it to save on your smartphone. That way, if you need your passport while out (but it’s locked up in your hotel safe), you’ll have access to all your details. Plus, if it’s stolen, getting a replacement will be much easier.

    Bring only what you need

    Only bring a passport with you if you’re travelling abroad, and always avoid bringing your Social Security card or birth certificate with you, the report advised. Also, don’t bring all of your credit and debit cards; choose instead to carry only a select few. If you do bring sensitive documents with you on your trip, lock them up in a hotel safe or other secure location.

    Don’t post location or agenda on social media

    Sharing your agenda or location on social media allows potential thieves to keep track of where you are, making it easier for them to time a crime. Instead, wait to post about your trip until you get home.

  • What shift work does to human health

    On daily basis, billions of people worldwide are into one form of shift work or the other, but the truth is that not all are aware that they are doing shift work.

    Shift work is done either as a result of the kind of duty one performs; whether as a Police Officer, a Nurse, a Doctor, a Journalist, a Factory worker etc.

    This engagement is common in the media industry, manufacturing companies, retail shops, healthcare facilities and hospitality.

    Wikipedia, an online search engine, describes Shift Work as an employment practice designed to make use of, or provide service across, all 24 hours of the clock each day of the week.

    The practice typically sees the day divided into shifts, set periods of time during which different groups of workers perform their duties.

    For financial reasons, some do more than two jobs per day, others work morning, afternoon and evening believing they are running a normal working schedule.

    In cities like Lagos where shift work is common, everybody is parting his night time to do one or two things extra.

    Workers wake very early to do things before they set out for work and other enggements but in all of these, they do not see it as working extended periods.

    The normal working schedule expected for workers is between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.

    Any work done earlier and later than these times are shift work.

    For instance when one gets up at 4 a.m. to prepare to get to work at 7 a.m., after close of work, in order not to be stuck in traffic, the person stays back at the office to leave for home by 10 a.m. and wakes again the next morning at 4 a.m.

    Also, one goes to work at 8 a.m., closes at 4 p.m., goes to her shop at 5 p.m. and closes at 9 p.m., such a person is doing shift work.

    However, it is important for people to know that there are risks associated with doing shift work, which this article tells its effects, challenges posed and solutions to the challenges.

    Some medical experts believe extended working hours impair sleep and the human mental capacity to function at various other things.

    A Paediatric Neurologist, Dr Okunola Olusola, from the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), says shift work has a devastating effect on the human body.

    According to him, the human body has a normal reading that is regulated by sunlight.

    “Shift work damages the normal cycle that is in the body.

    “If the sun rises, there’s certain hormonal activities and functions in the body that comes to their peak in the early hours of the morning to help us to wake up, takes us through the day, then as the day darkens, those activities are suppressed so that we can prepare for the night to sleep and rest.

    “So the sleep mode cycle is normally automatic. For those doing regular shift work like workers in factories, there is a destruction in the normal physiologic functioning of their body.

    “That on its own has effect on the way their hormones are going to function,’’ he said.

    “So, when the hormone of sleep and rest are supposed to be functioning, the light is on (the person is awake) because the person is engaged in various activities.

    “Because the hormones are not functioning the way they are supposed to, and the system not driven the way it should, it then exposes the individual to risks of various conditions.

    “Sicknesses such as heart problem, gastrointestinal problems, ulcer, diarrhea, constipation will surface.

    “Why this is so is because the person has had poor and inadequate sleep, ’’ he said.

    He explained that anyone who had not slept well, after a while, when the sleep accumulates in the body, it would have adverse effect to the persons mental health and activity.

    According to him, his mental alertness and his judgment will also be poor.

    Besides, even children are affected by the adverse effect of shift work which they practice.

    “Even the children going to school are put on shift work, because they wake very early to school, after school, some will engage in extra lessons till about 6 p.m. before getting home at 7 p.m.’’

    Olusola also stressed that working extended hours for a long time could cause one to be stressed and depressed adding that for a woman, her hormonal cycle could be destroyed.

    He said it could cause miscarriages, delay in getting pregnant, babies could be born premature due to the fact that their hormone factor is also disturbed.

    According to him, such hormones are constantly released and their levels are never low because the person is up from 5 am to 11 pm or midnight.

    He said also that shift work causes a lot of problems essentially to the human hearts, the lungs, the kidneys and the brains.

    Olusola also said that anger issues that could lead to broken homes and scattered relationship could arise due to the effect of shift work.

    He therefore, urged people to condition themselves, take care of their bodies in order not to lose many years of their lives later in old age.

    He advised people to cut down the amount of work that they do per day and try to get more sleep saying tomorrow was another day.

    He also urged workers who had opportunities to take a nap even at their work places, not to fail to do so.

    Olusola urged shift workers to ensure they carry along food to eat, so as not to depend on junks which could increase their risk of obesity, cardiovascular problem and several other illnesses.

    A Consultant Neuro-Psychiatrist, Dr Maymunah Kadiri, founder of Pinnacle Medical Services, Lagos, said shift work which involved one staying awake throughout the night could influence ones sensibility.

    According to her, it can affect the person’s mental health and family life.

    “When a shift worker, be it a married man or a woman has not enough time to spend with his spouse, there is bound to be tension and problem in that home.

    “It can be tension due to sexual problems, issues related to children upbringing and or lack of communication.

    “Shift work has impact in every aspect of life of any human being, so there is need for spouses to institute a way of solving these challenges’’ she said.

    Kadiri urged people engaged in extended work hours to ensure their families knew when they should be sleeping so as to make up for the deprived hours of sleep.

    She also urged spouses to make out time to establish good communication skills so as to ease the stress at work as well as engaging in exercise.

    NAN Features

     

     

  • Five amazing features of Ayinke House

    The newly commissioned Institute of Maternal and Child Health (formerly known as Ayinke House) is a project aimed at improving the health of the mother and child during pregnancy and delivery.

    The laudable project is also geared at reducing the cost of medical care, maternal and child mortality rate while providing job opportunities for Nigerians.

    The 2 -storey building facility is equipped with infrastructure, equipment and manpower that have led to the advancement of the health care sector in Lagos State.

    Read Also: Ayinke House nearing commissioning

    The Ayinke House has some remarkable features that include:

    1. The health centre has a 16 bedded Intensive Care Unit (ICU) to cater for cases like eclampsia and other conditions that require adequate care.
    2. The centre has an internet facility that would be sending x-rays abroad for interpretation and second opinion
    3. The health facility intends to provide pre-implantation genetic diagnosis to prevent sickle cell diseases in the offspring of carriers of these genes.
    4. Also, the facility intends to acquire radiotherapy machines that would help with late cases of cancer of the cervix and endometrium.
    5. The health care centre serves as a training ground for medical students, resident doctors in Obstretics/Gynaecology, neonatology, obstretric anaesthesia and radiology.

  • Using bacteria and blockchain to clean up oil spills in Nigeria

    Since the dawn of Nigeria’s oil boom era in the 1970s, the people of the Niger Delta region have had to face its devastating consequences. With more than 12,000 oil spills in the last 50 years, the region’s formerly pristine environment has turned into the oil pollution capital of the world.

    The World Health Organization has found that in Niger Delta, the drinking water supply is contaminated with benzene at levels up to 900 times WHO’s recommendation. As a result, this region in southern Nigeria risks a 24 percent increase in the prevalence of childhood malnutrition and infant death.

    A study conducted by Dr. Best Ordinioha of the University of Port Harcourt claims that the oil spills “lead to a 60 percent reduction in household food security” in the region. The problem is magnified by an increased rate of unemployment due to the emergence of Niger Delta militants who vandalize pipelines and kidnap oil workers for ransom.

    However, the national government has done little to address the oil spills in Niger Delta, despite a UN 2011 report saying it would take up to 30 years to clean up the pollution and calling for an investment of USD 1 billion to pay for it. The Nigerian government finally pledged to allocate this amount to a cleaning and regeneration program in 2016, but so far little has changed.

    Believing that 30 years is not soon enough to save the people of the region from the devastating effects of oil pollution, Chinyere Nnadi, a Nigerian entrepreneur based in the United States, founded the nonprofit Sustainability International in 2007 to revitalize the Niger Delta.

    His main goal was to clean oil spills one village at a time, and to enable young women and ex-militants to secure employment by fighting corruption. “The root of the problem is systemic corruption and the lack of transparency within society,” Nnadi said. “What we’re looking to do is to activate the locals, and arm them with new skills and tools to support their community.”

    A UCLA theater and film graduate and former MTV VJ, Nnadi is using a newly approved technology called Bioclean to conduct the cleanups. Developed by a research team led by Nnadi’s mother, Dr. Fidelia Nnadi, at the University of Central Florida School of Engineering, Bioclean is an organic, non-toxic, bacteria-based technology that degrades and restores contaminated sites in less than 30 days. It destroys the availability of hydrocarbons at a molecular level, basically killing the oil, and leaves behind nutrients that catalyze the ecosystem’s restoration.

    In 2012, the biotechnology was successfully used in the Colombian town of Chinácota to decontaminate its soil, water and vegetation in four weeks after an oil duct fracture.

    Convinced that Nigeria’s cleanup scheme was failing due to mistrust and lack of transparency and accountability, Chinyere Nnadi brought blockchain technology to the table, too. In mid-2017, Sustainability International started receiving the support of the Brooklyn-based blockchain venture studio ConsenSys and its Blockchain for Social Impact Coalition. Together they created a platform, Sela Labs, which uses cryptocurrencies to ensure that the cleanup process remains corruption-free.

    “I brought blockchain to Niger Delta because the centralized institutional nodes of accountability have been compromised,” said Nnadi. “When a system is sick, and the actors don’t trust each other, no work can be done.”

    Blockchain —a digital, decentralized, virtual ledger— provides a transparent, instantaneous and indisputable record of transactions, which is publicly accessible and verifiable. Using this technology, Sela acts as a secure payment platform, fostering trust among stakeholders and ensuring that local workers get a fair salary for their work.

    “Distributed accountability could be the way to serve the interests of all of the community stakeholders, including citizens, government and businesses,” Nnadi said.

    The nonprofit started conducting the first cleanup pilots using cryptocoins one year ago in K-Dere, a village in southern Nigeria. They expect to deploy full-scale cleanups of the Niger Delta in May.

     

    This article is being published as part of Earth Beats, an international and collaborative initiative gathering 18 news media outlets from around the world to focus on solutions to waste and pollution.

  • The modern Renaissance of Tuscan textile recyclers

    Every second, the equivalent of a truckload of fabric is thrown into a landfill or burned, leaching chemicals (such as dye) or non-biodegradable synthetic fabrics (such as polyester) into the ground. Every year, roughly USD 500 billion of barely worn clothing is discarded, even though manufacturing these items takes a tremendous toll on the environment – using coal and petroleum to create synthetic fibers and pesticides to grow natural ones, including cotton. At this rate, by 2050 the fashion industry will account for a quarter of the global average consumption of fossil fuels, according to a report published by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in 2017.

    Yet, of the nearly 100 million tonnes of textiles produced worldwide every year, a staggeringly small one percent, or 980,000 tonnes, is all that gets recycled. In 2018, roughly 143,000 tonnes – 15 percent of the global total – were recycled in the Italian city of Prato. This Tuscan city 24 km from Florence is the world’s capital of post-consumer textile processing, which makes it very appealing for big brands in search of more sustainable production models.

    “Since the mid-19th century, Prato has been recycling rags from all over the world with advanced technologies and investments in the most innovative machinery,” explains Fabrizio Tesi, who co-owns Comistra with his sister Cinzia. This 100-year-old company in Prato produces fabrics containing 90 percent recycled textiles. Tesi is also president of A.S.T.R.I, the Italian Association of Recycled Textiles, founded two years ago to promote Italian excellence and Prato’s nearly two centuries of transforming textile waste, especially wool, into resources. ASTRI came into being thanks to the efforts of entrepreneurs in the sector who were committed to quality regeneration. They have the support of the street vendors, wool mills, raw material traders and other workers who spin, dye and finish clothes in the most important textile district of Europe. Prato counts roughly 7,200 companies, almost 40,000 employees and a turnover of five billion euros (USD 5.6 billion) per year.

    “From my grandfather Alfredo to my father Rolando and my mother Giovanna, our family has always had a strong vocation for innovation. This led us to create a factory that is unique in the world, where we regenerate and transform textile by-products and post-consumer materials into a fabric called ‘mechanical wool’ or ‘Prato wool.’ It’s a recycled wool of very high quality created without new sheepskin, and that boasts the Global Recycled Standard certification,” says Tesi.

    Comistra sells its fabrics to large fashion brands such as Armani, Banana Republic, Zara and H&M, but the company is not alone. There are hundreds of other companies in the district committed to the regeneration of post-consumer materials. These include the Valfilo spinning mill, which produces carded yarn from recycled materials; the Intespra wool mill, which manufactures fabrics; the Manifattura Maiano, which processes textile waste to obtain insulation for sustainable construction; and startups such as Rifò, founded last year by Niccolò Cipriani, producing scarves and hats from recycled wool.

    For Tesi and his colleagues, using waste materials was once embarrassing, but now they do it with pride: “The fashion industry will be saved from an unsustainable production model only if it follows Prato’s example,” Tesi says.

    In the age of conscious consumption, all major brands are facing the challenge of recycling and integrating eco-sustainable products into their collections. But they have a long way to go to reverse the wasteful trend caused by unsustainable industrial practices. “It is necessary to completely revolutionize production systems, and to think about what comes after the end of a garment’s life,” Tesi says.

    Last year, he also started making clothes in collaboration with the Brunelleschi Institute of Art, based on the principles of eco-design. These garments are designed to be easily repaired and regenerated, with cotton seams, non-toxic colors and natural fabrics, and without thermoadhesives or synthetic materials, which can compromise recycling. This is the idea behind international movements such as Fashion Revolution or Fashion for Good, platforms dedicated to triggering change in one of the most polluting sectors of manufacturing, starting with technologies and models that are at home in Prato.

    This article is being published as part of Earth Beats, an international and collaborative initiative gathering 18 news media outlets from around the world to focus on solutions to waste and pollution.

     

  • Israeli startup aims to save the planet from thirst using algae

    Imagine if showering was a luxury, washing your floors a dirty secret, and shampooing the dog was illegal. It isn’t unthinkable that within our lifetimes, bath will be a dirty word as the world grows ever shorter of water — to drink, to wash and crucially, to irrigate crops. Enter the Israeli startup Aqwind, which has taken the lowest life-forms in the world, bacteria and algae, and harnessed them to a low-cost way to clean dirty water enough for irrigation.

    Manure is great as fertilizer, but irrigating with raw human sewage will just produce fruit & veg chock full of goodness, and intestinal bacteria, parasites, and viruses.

    On the other hand, using post-treatment sewage is fine for crops. The question is how to clean the sewage affordably and sustainably, producing water fit for farming and without merely concentrating the toxins and dumping them.

    Aqwind does exactly that, by taking natural processes and engineering them, explains its CEO and founder, Udi Leshem. “Natural systems can’t cope with concentrated sewage. We imitate the natural systems,” he says.

    As algae do

    Like Aqwind, other water treatment plants rely on bacteria to break down the organic matter in our sewage and are energy-heavy. But they need large amounts of energy to oxygenate the water for the bacteria to breathe.

    Aqwind, formerly known as Aquanos, added algae to the equation. Algae, as other plants do, breathe in carbon dioxide during the day and breathe out oxygen. Thus Aqwind reduced the energy requirement in water treatment by 70% to 90%, it explains.

    Is the energy used to oxygenate water for bacteria to eat sewage really a global problem? It is. “Treating sewage is responsible for around 4% of total electricity usage in the United States,” Leshem says. “Generating the oxygen for the bacteria to breathe is responsible for a quarter to half of that.”

    And then there are the countries dumping sewage right into the sea, partly because they simply can’t afford to build all the wastewater plants they need.

    Not only that: the algae system is a net generator of energy. The system also produces methane, which can be used for power generation, explains Leshem, adding that existing wastewater treatment plants can be retrofitted to use the Aquanos algal system.

    The Aqwind system only uses about 50% of the electricity needed by the most efficient treatment plants; compared with inefficient ones, it saves around 90%, Leshem says – making it suitable for low-income countries.

    Could the system be matched with renewable energy resources such as solar panels? Theoretically yes, but it’s a hair complicated; or the methane could be used to make electricity, Leshem suggests.

    In any case the energy solution has to be adapted to the system size served by the Aqwind system, which can run from a system for a single home to a city of say a million people, Leshem says.

    The beautiful circle of breathing

    How does it work? The first microbeings unleashed on our waste are anaerobic bacteria, which start the process of breaking down the organic material, and also produce the methane, which can be collected and sold.

    The algae come in en route to the second bacterial stage: breakdown by aerobic bacteria, who work on the waste while breathing oxygen produced by the algae. Which are breathing the carbon dioxide breathed out by the bacteria. It’s a beautiful circle.

    The product of this process is water clean enough for agriculture, but isn’t recommended for drinking.

    So far the company has sold 25 systems, one in California and the rest in Israel.

    Some aren’t necessarily what had been originally envisioned. The American project involves cows. A lot of cows, which are notoriously adding to GHG emissions with their various eructations. Aqwind’s systems are cleaning the water but to capture the methane emitted by the tons and tons and tons of cow output. No, that isn’t why they renamed the company Aqwind.

    Asked how this project had reached the little Israeli company, Leshem says simply, “Oh, they called us by phone one day, said they hadn’t found a solution anywhere else in this world.”

    The company also has a special project with Israel’s national water company Mekorot, to clean desalination output.

    The water systems output would be clean enough to drink if people weren’t so fussy, in theory, but some cringe at the thought of drinking treated toilet water. And to be fair to the fastidious among us, the company stresses that even with the best-controlled treatment systems, there is risk that despite all that loving microbial attention, the treated water will have traces of heavy metals, pathogens or something else that we don’t want to imbibe. And some bacteria. And that is why Aqwind system can relieve the pressure on fresh water, leaving more for us to drink, without you innocently going to the store and seeing recycled plastic bottles on shelves bearing the legend “From toilet to toi!”

    This article is being published as part of Earth Beats, an international and collaborative initiative gathering 18 news media outlets from around the world to focus on solutions to waste and pollution.