What if we didn't have to worry about the waste created by the products we consume?

No worrying about how long it takes our plastics to break down, no longer worrying about how toxic a chemical may be to our health or the environment.

No wishful recycling.

No needless accumulated waste in landfills that become mountains of trash.

Is this even possible?

We'll explore the answer on this episode of Spotlight Earth.

(lively music) Can we humans rethink and redo the systems we use to deal with our waste?

Well, in nature creatures do not worry about the waste that they produce.

It usually breaks down and enriches some other aspect of the ecosystem as part of an essential nutrient cycle.

In fact, up until a few hundred years ago, even waste created by humans went back into the nutrient cycle.

In the modern age, however, we produce waste that won't break down for hundreds or even thousands of years.

What if our waste was no longer waste, but part of a cycle that enriches the ecosystem?

Just like in nature.

This is the idea behind creating what's known as a circular economy.

Unlike the traditional linear economy in which we take, make and dispose, the circular economy focuses on designing products in a way that minimizes waste and makes the most of our resources.

For example, instead of throwing away old electronics, we can refurbish and reuse them.

Instead of tossing food scraps, we can compost them and return nutrients back to the soil.

We can swap out plastic packaging, depending on fossil fuels for eco-friendly alternatives, and we can change out dangerous chemicals that contaminate us and our environment for safer, more sustainable substitutes.

A circular economy also tries to turn the waste from one production system into an input for another system.

For example, the thermo pollution from a power station that is dumped into a lake or stream could be used as hot water to heat a building.

By learning from nature, we can create a world where innovation thrives and sustainability is second nature.

Today we'll be hearing from people who are pioneering nature-based solutions for a more sustainable future and circular economy.

My co-host Michael, is standing by at a hub of innovation where some lofty ambitions are becoming reality.

Thanks, Charrell.

Yes, we're here in Blacksburg on the campus of Virginia Tech where students are working to discover solutions to complex problems like how to create a circular economy.

My work at Virginia Tech is to help students feel empowered and knowledgeable to deal with some of the world's biggest sustainability and environmental challenges.

And all of this really serves to help students step into careers and pathways that are tied to sustainability, environmental restoration, policy.

There's so many pathways for this, and it's an exciting time right now.

When we talk about biomaterials as alternatives, it's exciting because those materials give us an opportunity to look for inputs to products that don't have to be mined or extracted or refined in the same way that petrochemicals do.

And then at the end of life, they're going to be more benign when we discard them into a landfill.

My work is all about the circular economy, and so really making sure that whatever solutions or innovations we come up with can go outside that lab, go outside the university to industry members, consumers, governments that want to use that knowledge effectively.

Sustainability interests are exploding.

We're seeing tons of new jobs opening up, especially when it comes to packaging.

If we focus on how to have low impact, that's really an exciting future and we don't have to destroy the planet in the process.

The systems thinking requires that we go back and say, where is this coming from and what is the impact of the way in which we grow it or produce it?

That's why I do this every day.

For sustainability, for environmental protection, and for human wellbeing.

Virginia Tech is home to other exciting innovations that have the potential to create large scale positive impacts in the transition to a greener, healthier, more sustainable world.

I'm at Hahn Hall South, home of the College of Sciences, department of Chemistry, another innovation hub here on campus.

Let's pop in and see what kind of reaction we get.

Typical reaction, get it?

Green chemistry, to me, is really an exercise in harm reduction.

That's how I think about it.

It was a set of principles developed in the late 90s by a couple of really prominent chemists who thought that we could do things better, whether that's creating new chemicals or designing new processes.

It was really a way to minimize harm reduction.

And what I mean by harm reduction is using materials that are less hazardous, less environmentally damaging, using processes that are more efficient, and a bit healthier for ourselves and environment.

So I'm a polymer chemist and how I integrate green chemistry into my research is I, I'm working to develop more sustainable plastics.

Plastics that are inherently more recyclable, plastics that are designed for degradation from the beginning and thinking about new ways to make plastics in a more sustainable manner, shifting away from petroleum, create things that do escape into the environment, but also to make sure that they do disappear within a reasonable amount of time.

An innovative solution that students are working on in my laboratory are essentially trying to use renewably sourced products to create sustainable plastics, and we're really interested in using renewably sourced materials that are already produced at scale by industry.

This is one of them, and if you look on the back, it's called alpha lipoic acid.

So this is a sustainably derived carboxylic acid that is actually sold as a supplement.

It's essentially just, you know, an innocuous yellow powder.

I don't know if that looks scary or not, but it's not.

People put this in their smoothies, but we're turning this into plastic-like products that are degradable and inherently recyclable, and that is the research that some of the students have initiated in my group so far.

What happens is somebody a long time ago figured out how to kind of do something but not so great, not so well, right?

So they did turn this into a polymer back in the 1950s, but they didn't turn it into a polymer that was of value.

So what we're trying to do is essentially turn this into a polymer that can actually be a useful product, something that could replace some of our common plastics that we use today.

So that's kind of our contribution to it.

We're trying to optimize ways to use this more effectively.

Consider my mind blown.

There is so much amazing research and development of sustainable concepts going on here at Virginia Tech.

Now to see how the idea of a circular economy plays out in retail, let's check in with Hales.

She's a few hours up the road in Alexandria.

Thanks, Michael.

Super cool stuff happening at Tech.

Many of those principles are already being put to work in very practical ways.

(lively music) This is Vida Style, a boutique that's bringing sustainability to the world of fashion.

Alicia, how do you make fashion sustainable?

When we talk about sustainable fashion, we talk about prolonging the life of the things that we own already.

So it's giving our clothes a longer shelf life and it's reusing, recycling, upcycling, swapping our clothes with each other, consigning, which is what we do here at this consignment shop.

So it's just making sure that we keep it in circulation as long as possible.

What was the driving force behind your decision to open Vida Style?

So for me, the environment has always been very important, and I thought, what do I want to do with the rest of my life?

Like what is important to me?

And for me, it was trying to preserve the Earth's very important resources, and so it just seemed like a natural step for me to answer this higher calling that I had and helping others also who have the same want and need to preserve the Earth's resources to help them as well.

So it just made sense.

So the community here has been very responsive to supporting consignment shops, and so for us it's important to have their support because we rely on their articles, their items, their jewelry, all these pieces, wonderful pieces to appeal to our audience.

So they've been very supportive of our growth.

How is sustainable fashion taking a stand against fast fashion practices?

So fast fashion is what we define as something that was made very quickly on the cheap, using really cheap materials and something that you're probably going to wash and it's going to fall apart on you very quickly.

The fiber shed, and that's damaging to the environment when you wash it, that ends up, all those toxins and chemicals and dyes that are used in fast fashion that ends up in our water system, in our water resources.

And so we consume that water, we drink that water, our pets drink that water, you know, so there's like so many things negative about fast fashion.

What advice would you give to a high school kid who wants to practice sustainable fashion?

Get behind brands that you love, your favorite brands, and try to better understand like what is happening with that brand.

Are they doing enough for the environment?

So really ask questions, you know, put some pressure on them to also figure out like what their future looks like, what the outlook looks like for them as a brand in being more responsible with the Earth's resources.

It's thrifting, it's buying secondhand, it's taking good care of your clothes.

It's also perhaps spending a little bit more money on really like really good quality clothes so that those clothes withstand time.

(lively music) Sustainable businesses aren't just happening here in northern Virginia.

There's also a place in Williamsburg where circular economy equals happiness.

My co-host Ellen is in the colonial capital with the details.

That's right.

Our journey through the world of sustainable design and the circular economy continues and we have arrived at a concept that is innovative, nostalgic, and yes, very happy.

We're talking the refill economy and the conversation is taking place at Fill Happy just a few miles from colonial Williamsburg.

Let's go in and learn more about this innovative business.

Welcome, Jana.

Can you talk to us a little bit about the concept of zero waste and how Fill Happy contributes to that lifestyle?

So zero waste is a system where in a perfect world, all materials are reused until optimum level of consumption is reached, as opposed to the linear system currently in place where we send trash to landfill.

So we allow customers to fill their own containers instead of purchasing new ones.

We understand refilling is a new habit and we try to make it as convenient as possible.

How has the local community responded to Fill Happy?

So we feel the response has been very positive.

We started this business over two years ago and we still receive new customers and we feel very welcome in this community.

Fill Happy also offers a composting service.

Can you talk to us a little bit about that?

We started this program because we felt the need of responsible solution for food waste in our community that was missing.

We offer weekly pickup of biodegradable waste and we haul it to an industrial composting facility where it gets composted, and then we offer free finished compost back to the members to close the loop.

What advice would you give to somebody, especially a student that's looking to adopt a zero waste lifestyle?

I would simply recommend starting with reusable water bottle, reusable straw, reusable cutlery.

You can keep those in your purse, backpack, or car to have them at all times, so you can refuse the plastic cutlery at takeout or the straw.

Also, reusable sandwich bags are great for hiking or for snacks, just to takes to school.

Jana, thank you so much for having us today and sharing your story and all the fantastic work you're doing here.

These innovative solutions can empower individuals and communities to make sustainable choices.

Let's head back to the studio to wrap things up.

Great story Ellen.

Really cool ideas happening in Williamsburg and all over the state.

Thanks to all our Spotlight Earth hosts for traveling the Commonwealth to capture these exciting developments.

Remember all of my worrying over this trash?

Well just through our travels today, we have seen how academic and entrepreneurial innovators in sustainable biomaterials, chemistry, fashion, the refill and composting economy are creating visionary solutions with new products and ways of living.

We as consumers have a choice now to say goodbye to plastics and hello to biodegradable packaging and hello plastic bottles that break down quickly due to special enzymes.

Goodbye to toxic household chemicals and non-sustainable wellness products, and hello to non-toxic sunscreen and household cleaners.

Goodbye fashion waste, hello, sustainable clothing that can be upcycled or biodegraded.

Goodbye, old cell phone and hello, repurposing.

Goodbye rotting trash, hello systems for turning organic kitchen scraps into nutrient-rich soil.

The circular economy is not just a concept, it's a lifestyle that each one of us can embrace.

If you guys join me in participating in promoting these lifestyle changes, they will become easier, more affordable, and more accessible for all of us.

Thanks for watching.

See you next time on Spotlight Earth.

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