uc davis

According to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Davis and Stanford University, construction materials used in buildings have the potential to lock away billions of tons of carbon dioxide. The study, published in Science, shows that storing CO2 in buildings could be a major contributor to efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Overall efforts in carbon sequestration take carbon dioxide – either as it’s being produced or once it’s already in the atmosphere – and store it away. Storing it might involve injecting it into underground caverns or deep in the ocean. Alternatively, storing it might involve converting it into a stable form using chemical reactions. These various strategies involve both practical challenges and potential environmental risks.

The new study suggests that many materials that are already produced in large quantities have the potential to store carbon dioxide. These include concrete, asphalt, plastics, wood, and brick. More than 30 billion tons of these materials are produced worldwide every year.

Ways to accomplish carbon storage include adding biochar into concrete, using artificial rocks loaded with carbon as concrete and asphalt aggregates, plastic and asphalt binders based on biomass instead of petroleum, and including biomass fiber into bricks.

The largest potential is using carbonated aggregates to make concrete. Concrete is by far the world’s most popular building material with more than 20 billion tons being produced each year.

The feedstocks for these ways to store carbon in building materials are mostly low-value waste materials, so the economics of implementing these carbon sequestering strategies are likely to be quite favorable.

**********

Web Links

Storing Carbon in Buildings Could Help Address Climate Change

Photo, posted October 19, 2022, courtesy of Alexandre Prevot via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, as much as 40% of the food supply in the United States is wasted. In fact, Americans generate more food waste than all but two countries.

To address this problem, the federal government announced a goal nearly a decade ago to cut food waste in half by 2030 compared to 2016 levels. Doing so would bring food waste down to approximately 164 pounds per person annually.

However, according to a new study led by researchers from the University of California – Davis, since 2016, per capita food waste has actually increased instead of decreasing.

The study, which was recently published in the journal Nature Food, looked at how state policies align with federal targets. The research team found that state policies focus more on recycling methods, such as composting and anaerobic digestion, rather than on prevention and rescue strategies, like food donations or repurposing food for animal feed.

In 2021, the EPA revised its definition of food waste to no longer include recycling methods. But when food is wasted, the resources used to grow the food, including energy, water, and fertilizer, are also wasted.

In the study, the researchers analyzed state-level food waste reduction efforts across four areas: prevention, rescue, repurposing, and recycling. They found that recycling policies offered the most potential for diversion. Despite this, most states still fell short of the federal goal of 164 pounds per person annually.

According to the research team, more comprehensive policies to address food waste must be implemented as soon as possible.

**********

Web Links

States Struggle to Curb Food Waste Despite Policies

Photo, posted June 28, 2021, courtesy of Ivan Radic via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Storing carbon in buildings

Web Links

Curbing food waste

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, as much as 40% of the food supply in the United States is wasted. In fact, Americans generate more food waste than all but two countries.

Web Links