Human activities have been causing irreversible damage to life on the planet through anthropogenic global warming that we are all a part of, even if you are vegan and drive a car run on old vegetable oi. The dental industry is well known for its procedures producing large amounts of greenhouse gases leading to large carbon footprints. It focuses on using items with one patient and throwing it away. Therefore, an increase in the number of patients increases the amount of waste. Green practices focus on improving the environment by reducing waste. 

Are you a dentist looking to clean up and eco-fy your practice a bit more? While you won’t be able to change a lot of the tools you need, you can be mindful about the following which matters to your patients:

Recycling hazardous waste

Recycling in dental practices should be a practical tool to manage your office waste with an ultimate goal of reducing your waste. Implementing recycling can reduce the trash that gets to the landfill.

One of the best ways to recycle is participating in programs, which repair old dental instruments and donate the refurbished materials to dental practices that give free services to the needy. Maybe a local pottery studio would like some of the old tools for carving?

Try to find companies for medical and hazardous waste and set up a system for disposing and managing the recyclables. Lastly, working together as a dental staff to recycle items used every day like soda bottles can go a long in improving your green practices. Your clients will notice. 

Going Paperless

Eliminating reems of paper charts, paper forms and other trails of papers in the office make a good impact. It reduces dust and the way your office looks as well. Send reminders that automated to patients using smartphones, tablets, and computers offering new patient chart creation and tablet check-ins. For senior patients, a good old phone call can do the trick and beffore you burn their old records, give a couple month window for them to come and pick them up for posterity stake. Studies have shown that cloud computing reduces the carbon footprint as well as reducing the cost.

Conserving Energy in the Office

Conserving energy by staff members enables them to practice a green-economy in dentistry like turning off the lights and equipment. Setting the computers to go dark instead of using a screensaver. Having water filters in the office will also help staff members to conserve water by refilling reusable bottles rather than using disposable plastic bottles. In times of Covid however make sure that staff do not touch the water station with their bottles, but that they hover above.

Using Digital Radiography

Using digital radiography instead of the old-fashioned X-rays on the gums will eliminate the need to use traditional film X-Rays and adversely reduce the level of harmful chemicals released into the environment by traditional film X-rays. This practices also reduces the exposure of patients to radiation and enabling dentists to access X-ray images immediately on a screen, no wait time. It’s a very good service for busy clients and children, especially.

Metal-free Smile Treatments

Eco-friendly dental practices use metal-free restoration like composite tooth filling. They are safe for the environment and also offer a natural look to the patients who worry about their smile aesthetics.

Patient Products That Are Reusable

There are several types of disposables used by dentists in their practice such as headrest covers, latex gloves, patient bibs, and disposable plastic suction tips. This has created waste.

Therefore, dentistry is making their practices green by changing to bibs, cups, metal suction tips that are reusable and cloth headrest covers. There are services that can launder these items which have a better feel and touch to the end user.

Removing of Amalgam Fillings Safely

The use of mercury in the material for dental amalgam restorative and research has shown that it can create adverse effects on the patients and the environment. Green dental practices work with patients to remove the amalgam fillings, replace them with safe alternatives, and dispose of them safely. 

Using Autoclavable Items

You rely on the autoclave to disinfect stainless steel instruments after each use. However, the list of autoclavable items goes beyond instruments. Cloth bibs, air and water tips, stainless steel prophy cups, and biodegradable dental suction tips are some of the reusable tools that can be autoclaved rather than using their plastic counterparts.

Waste Reduction

Disposal of waste effectively is a key concept in green dentistry. Dental practices can adhere to this by reducing the number of products they use. Examples include using biodegradable paper cups, decreasing the number of plastic barrier wraps, and dispensing patient self-care products without plastic bags. Dental practitioners can consider cycling waste such as gloves and masks and paper products.

Final Takeaway

Green dentistry is an eco-friendly approach. It shows that you are willing to invest time into caring about our planet and the environment for patients. Dentistry can participate in sustainable practices through small changes that have a positive impact on the environment and the people who meet you. Every dentist can participate in the conservation and reduction of greenhouse gases while minimizing landfill waste and water usage that contributes to a healthier environment and more sustainable resources. Green dental practices help dentistry give social value to the local community and a brighter future for present and future generations.

The post 9 Ways to Make Your Dental Practice Green appeared first on Green Prophet.

Last years e-waste weighed substantially more than all the adults in Europe, or as much as 350 cruise ships the size of the Queen Mary 2. Another metric: 15 pounds for ever person on earth, every year.

Wonder why the planet is lashing back with plagues like Covid-19, floods, global warming? It’s all connected and even though over there and out there is far away, a record amount of e-waste or electronic waste is building up in our planet putting everyone, not just the vulnerable –- at risk.

The United Nations sent Green Prophet a new report: a record 53.6 million metric tonnes (Mt) of electronic waste was generated worldwide in 2019, up 21 per cent in just five years, according to the United Nations in their Global E-waste Monitor 2020.

The new report also predicts global e-waste – discarded products with a battery or plug – will reach 74 Mt by 2030, almost a doubling of e-waste in just 16 years. This makes e-waste the world’s fastest-growing domestic waste stream, fueled mainly by higher consumption rates of electric and electronic equipment, short life cycles, and few options for repair.

A sad state for electronics recycling

Only 17.4 percent of 2019’s e-waste was collected and recycled. This means that gold, silver, copper, platinum and other high-value, recoverable materials conservatively valued at US $57 billion — a sum greater than the gross domestic product of most countries – were mostly dumped or burned rather than being collected for treatment and reuse.

Who are the biggest polluters, by continent?

Asia, no doubt, being the factory and dumpsite of the world, generated the greatest volume of e-waste in 2019 — some 24.9 Mt, followed by the Americas (13.1 Mt) and Europe (12 Mt), while Africa and Oceania generated 2.9 Mt and 0.7 Mt respectively.

E-waste is a health and environmental hazard, containing toxic additives or hazardous substances such as mercury, which damages the human brain and its coordination system.

About 15 pounds for ever person on earth

• Proper e-waste management can help mitigate global warming. Countries like Israel have made plans and bills but there is very little on the ground enforcement. It’s especially a concern in places like China where the oversight in production is murky and where it is hard to find details of true environment conservation. In 2019, an estimated 98 Mt of CO2-equivalents were released into the atmosphere from discarded fridges and air-conditioners, contributing roughly 0.3 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. That means every new appliance you buy, one goes to landfill.
• In per capita terms, last year’s discarded e-waste averaged 7.3 kg for every man, woman and child on Earth.
• An estimated 50 tonnes of mercury — used in monitors, PCBs and fluorescent and energy-saving light sources — are contained in undocumented flows of e-waste annually.
• E-waste in 2019 was mainly comprised of small equipment (17.4 Mt), large equipment (13.1 Mt), and temperature exchange equipment (10.8 Mt). Screens and monitors, small IT and telecommunication equipment, and lamps represented 6.7 Mt, 4.7 Mt, and 0.9 Mt respectively.
• Since 2014, the e-waste categories increasing fastest in total weight terms are: temperature exchange equipment (+7 percent), large equipment (+5 percent), lamps and small equipment (+4 percent). According to the report, this trend is driven by the growing consumption of those products in lower-income countries, where those products improve the living standards. Small IT and telecommunication equipment have been growing more slowly, and screens and monitors have shown a slight decrease (-1 per cent), explained largely by lighter flat panel displays replacing heavy cathode ray tube (CRT) monitors and screens.
• Since 2014, the number of countries that have adopted a national e-waste policy, legislation or regulation has increased from 61 to 78. While a positive trend, this is far from the target set by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) which is to raise the percentage of countries with an e-waste legislation to 50 per cent.

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The Daily Star has released a recent on how tire burning is the preferred manifestation of anger and frustration for Lebanese protesters. After each of the recent incidents in Lebanon tire burning took place, during the civil war burning tires were used as makeshift checkpoints, the death of Egyptian president Gamal Abdel-Nasser in the 1970s was mourned by burning tires, in May 2008 Hezbollah Future Movement fighters turned West Beirut into a battle field by burning tires, and when Lebanon’s public transportation sector held a nationwide strike last month: tires were burned. These are just some examples.

As well as releasing a high concentration of dangerous metal particles such as zinc, mercury, lead and chromium, burning tires releases toxic gases like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons that are type 1A carcinogens (the highest level) and dioxin, which was recognized by EPA in 1985 as the most potent human made carcinogen that fails to break down in the environment but instead builds up in the food chain, concentrating in meat and dairy products affecting the immune systems and fertility.

Pregnant mothers are particularly at risk of passing on high levels of deadly toxins to their offspring and , depending on the weather, traces of these particles can remain in the air for one or two days.

Now, given this is not a very clever way to protest since smoke from burning tires release carcinogenic particles that affect the health of protesters and nearby neighborhoods rather than government officials sitting in their air-conditioned office (not that causing cancer to government officials is justifiable), can Lebanese protesters change their silly ways please?

Banners and megaphones are more vintage.

::Daily Star

Image via the NY Times

The post Tire Burning Protests in Lebanon Just Dirty Smoke appeared first on Green Prophet.

Children exposed to pollution are more likely to develop autism, attention deficit disorder, and dyslexia, according to Haaretz. These findings were unveiled by both scientists at a recent conference in Israel, and those are only the dangers we know about. Modern society manufactures and uses 800,000 new chemicals, hundreds of which show up in children’s blood tests.

It will take decades or more to understand how each chemical affects children’s health (and the economy), but at least one thing is certain: 25% of autism cases can be attributed to environmental factors, according to Philip Landrigan from Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. This is especially disturbing for those of us in the Middle East, where we have higher rates of all kinds of pollution than most.

Landrigan explained that the international rise of autism and attention deficit disorder cases can’t be explained by genetics alone, or by higher rates of diagnosis. And while pollution is also harmful to adults and the environment, he says children are especially vulnerable.

Haaretz reports:

Exposure to substances such as lead, mercury and pesticides is particularly dangerous for children, because they are more sensitive to these materials – in part because their brains are still developing, Landrigan said. A child’s body also breaks down poisonous materials less efficiently than the adult body does, and any given quantity of chemical has more of an impact on a child because it constitutes a larger proportion of his body mass.

The United States and Europe have decent regulatory controls for manufacturers producing harmful chemicals, and public health officials are sort of monitoring the situation, but pollution is low on the list of priorities for countries in the Middle East.

Although major offenders, in the midst of so many other economic, political, and social problems, countries such as Egypt, Iran, Iraq and Lebanon are unlikely to get a handle on their problems any time soon. Not only that, but these conditions probably won’t be diagnosed or treated.

Here are just a few examples of pollution in the Middle East and North Africa:

Egypt’s Black Cloud:

In addition to the extraordinary pollution that already defines life in Cairo – as a result of thousands of cars on the road and poor waste management systems, every year around rice harvest time, what locals call the “black cloud” hovers over the city.

Mahmud Abdel Meguid, chairman of the state-run Abbasiya Chest Hospital, told IRIN. “This pollution causes a long list of diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and chest sensitivity at best, and respiratory failure at worst.”

Mercury Disposal in Egypt:

Long after the rest of the world took control of mercury disposal, the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) finally teamed up with the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) in 2007 to do the same in Egypt. Only recently has a proper mercury disposal facility been opened in Alexandria, where mercury-filled fluorescent tubes and other hazardous waste is now handled. Even so, 10 million – 1/4 of the tubes manufactured in the country – end up in landfills and leach into the environment.

Iran’s Air Pollution:

The World Health Organization estimates that 27 people a day die as a result of Iran’s chronic air pollution. In part this is caused by old cars that don’t meet modern emissions requirements, which in turn can be partially attributed to economic sanctions that have limited the country’s imports.

Mining Silt, Sewage, and Transformer Waste Streaming into Iraq’s Rivers:

After decades of on and off war, Iraq’s environmental problems are arguably greater than virtually any other country in the region. Among other problems, they are dealing with nuclear waste – contributing to high rates of deformed babies in Fallujah – and according to environmental conservationists Nature Iraq, entire sewage loads of Sulaimani are dumped into the Tangero river, which is used to irrigate agricultural fields and water livestock around Sulaimani, Arbat, Said Sadiq and New Halabja.

Lebanon – Sewage and Trash at Sea:

Like Egypt and Iraq, Lebanon has a serious trash problem. And sewage treatment facilities are badly in need of repair and management. This is a shame for a country that many find unique, and which boasts majestic but flailing cedar forests. There are hopeful stories of recycling and activism, but the government’s overall environmental neglect is bound to have long term effects on their children’s future.

:: Haaretz

The post Pollution: What Autism, ADD, and Dyslexia Have in Common appeared first on Green Prophet.

On the cards since 2007, Alexandria has finally opened up their first hazardous waste facility – mostly in order to manage mercury. Although many countries have attempted to limit the manufacture of products that contain mercury, Egypt still produces 40 million fluorescent tubes a year according to our friends at Almasry Alyoum. And nearly one quarter of them end up in landfills at best, or broken and spewing mercury at worst. After realizing how dangerous this unmanaged mercury is for the country’s fauna, flora, and people, in 2007 the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) teamed up with the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) in order to effect the Safe Disposal of Hazardous Waste Project. Nearly five years later, that collaboration has borne fruit.

With a little help from friends

KOICA, according to Almasry Alyoum, contributed $3 million to the Safe Disposal of Hazardous Waste Project, as well as the necessary training to Egyptian engineers in South Korea to ensure that the new facility operates safely.

The EEAA contributed 1/6th of the amount of money in order to see this project to fruition, but environmentalists are unconvinced that it will be successful.

Kareem Waleed from the Spirit of Youth, a Non Government Organization concerned with waste management, spoke to Almasry Alyoum:

The major concern with this initiative is how these tubes are going to be collected, stored and transported to the facilities in the first place… As of now, garbage collection systems are not even able to manage general waste, let alone segregate the garbage into hazardous and non-hazardous for efficient disposal.

What a waste

Although Alexandria is better off than Cairo thanks to assistance from Veolia, Egypt’s waste problems are numerous. Everything from agricultural waste, which contributes to the Black Cloud, to organic waste once managed by the Zabaleen’s pigs, overflows in rural areas and city streets.

Even so, the Environment Minister, Maged George, claims that his ministry has taken steps to improve the country’s overall waste management problems, while KOICA has promised to ensure that the facility in the Nasriya district is running smoothly before it withdraws its assistance.

Why mercury needs managing

The United States Environmental Protection Agency lists the hazards of mercury:

High exposures to inorganic mercury may result in damage to the gastrointestinal tract, the nervous system, and the kidneys. Both inorganic and organic mercury compounds are absorbed through the gastrointestinal tract and affect other systems via this route. However, organic mercury compounds are more readily absorbed via ingestion than inorganic mercury compounds.

Symptoms of high exposures to inorganic mercury include: skin rashes and dermatitis; mood swings; memory loss; mental disturbances; and muscle weakness. People concerned about their exposure to inorganic mercury should consult their physician.

It is particularly harmful to babies when mothers consume methyl mercury during pregnancy. Risks include a negative impact on cognitive thinking, memory, attention, and language, and even motor and visual spatial skills can be stunted.

Most people who are exposed to mercury by eating fish and shellfish that store it in their bodies. The bigger the fish, the higher the mercury concentrations since these animals consume a lot of smaller fish and the chemical accumulates since it is not excreted. Coal-burning power plants and chlorine production plants are an even more toxic source of what the World Health Organization considers an “occupational hazard.”

Not only is this the first such facility in Egypt, but it is the first to be built in the entire Middle Eastern/North African region!

:: Almasry Alyoum

More on hazardous and toxic waste in the Middle East:

A Classic Case of Whodunit Arises Over Toxic Waste in Lebanon

A Middle East Nuclear Boom Without Toxic Waste

Aussie Government Offers Uranium to the UAE

image via Steve Snodgrass

The post Better Late Than Never, Egypt Takes Control of Mercury Disposal appeared first on Green Prophet.

If you’re anything like me, you don’t know what’s good to eat anymore. Long after giving up red meat and chicken, I continued to eat fish, but now I don’t dare. Thanks to the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California, it isn’t necessary for everyone to take such drastic measures since they keep track of the most sustainable seafood options. Health is another important thing to consider when choosing seafood. Although often an excellent source of immunity-boosting omega-3 fatty acids that also reduce risk of heart disease, stroke, and cancer, some fish carry toxins that can become harmful when eaten frequently. Read on for the September 2010 update on the top six choices.

This list of recommendations takes its “authority” from human health experts, including from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), and from the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). In addition to being environmentally sustainable – ie. there are sufficient quantities of them that consumption does not jeopardize their existence – they contain less than 216 parts per billion (ppb) mercury and 11 ppb industrial chemicals and dioxins.

Unfortunately for us in the Middle East, the most sustainable options are often from the United States and British Columbia. Shipping said seafood to us is decidedly not sustainable, so we may have fewer responsible options. Although there are fish farms in the Middle East, we don’t yet have sufficient data to determine their sustainability.

1) Albacore Tuna (troll or pole-caught is best, from the U.S. or British Columbia)

2) Freshwater Coho Salmon (farmed in tank systems, from the U.S.)

3. Oysters (farmed)

4. Pacific Sardines (wild-caught)

5. Rainbow Trout (farmed)

6. Salmon (wild-caught, from Alaska)

:: Monterey Bay Aquarium

More on Fish in the Middle East:

Morrocan Fish Stew

Grow Fish Anywhere – Commercially, Safely in Cities, Deserts

Dead Poisoned Fish Found In The Red Sea

The post Top 6 “Green” Seafood Choices From Monterey Bay Aquarium appeared first on Green Prophet.