Zero Waste Awards

    Who should enter?

    Entries(参赛作品) are welcomed from anyone who processes waste. While we expect

    most entries to come from the UK, we welcome international entries, too. Entrants have been split into the following groups: private sector, public sector, community sector and partnerships.

    What are the categories?

    There're five categories which are based on the Waste Hierarchy(层级). We appreciate that companies will have different strengths within those categories as they work towards Zero Waste. The broad categories are: waste prevention, re-use, recycle/recover, energy recovery, general.

    How do I enter?

    Submitting an entry is really easy! Just follow these few simple steps:

    1) Carefully read through the category information;

    ). Write your entry--it should be a maximum of 1,500 words and a word document;

    3) Arrange your supporting material into a single document--maximum six pages long;

    4) Complete the simple online entry form.

    Important dates

    While entries are welcomed all year round, these are key dates—this is to give the judges plenty of time to read through all the entries! These are listed in entry deadlines column below. Don't worry if you have just missed one of the entry deadlines, your submission will be automatically entered into the next session.

    You can submit a maximum of two entries per year—six months apart.

    Awards

    We understand that working towards Zero Waste is an ongoing journey and as such the

    Zero Waste Awards scheme offers organizations a structure to celebrate their progress along the way. The four awards are: Gold (76-100), Silver (51-75), Bronze (26-50), Highly Commended(0-25).

    As we all know,drinking beers while running can upset the stomach.However,that's all part of the attraction of the Beer Mile,a unique race that has participants competing in running and drinking.The Beer Mile Race started off as a tradition in 1990,when a group of Canadians thought it would be fun to race each other while drinking a few beers.But it has come a long way since then.The Beer Mile Race is now a major sporting event with around 100,000 official competitors,brand name sponsors and so on.In 2015,the first Beer Mile World Classic was held in San Francisco,where all of the record holders from Canada and the United States came together for the competition.But this year,the event was organized in London,in an effort to take in more competitors about the sport outside North America.

    The rules of the race are pretty simple: runners have to consume four beers before each of the four 400-meter laps making up the famous Beer Mile.The beers can come in bottles or cans but should not be less than 355ml and must be at least 5% alcohol.The drink like apple juice will not do.Runners must drink the beers within a 10 meter zone before the start/finish line and then they are required to tip the bottle/can over their heads to confirm it is empty.

    In the case of vomiting（呕吐）during the race,and yes,there's quite a bit of that during the Beer.Mile,offenders must complete one more lap at the end of the race.Organizers mention that even in the case of vomiting several times, only one more lap must be completed.

    This year,the Elite Men's race was won by Canadian Corey Bellemore,who also set a new world record with a time of 4 minutes and 34 seconds.“I just drink the beers as quickly as I could,hold them down and get the burps（饱嗝）out,”Corey said.“If you can drink a beer in 8 seconds and also run very fast with a feeling of vomiting,then you'll be fine like me.”

    Self-driving vehicles will rely on cameras, sensors and artificial intelligence（AI）to recognize and respond to road and traffic conditions, but sensing is the most effective for objects and movement in the neighborhood of the vehicle. Not everything important in a car's environment will be caught by the vehicle's camera. Another vehicle approaching at high speed on a collision （碰撞）track might not be visible until it's too late. This is why vehicle-to-vehicle communication is undergoing rapid development. Our research shows that cars will need to be able to chat and cooperate on the road, although the technical challenges are considerable.

    Applications for vehicle-to-vehicle communication range from vehicles driving together in a row, to safety messages about nearby emergency vehicles. Vehicles could alert each other to avoid collisions or share notices about passers-by and bicycles.

    From as far as several hundred metres away, vehicles could exchange messages with one another or receive information from roadside units（RSUs）about nearby incidents or dangerous road conditions through 4G network A high level of A1 seems required for such vehicles, not only to self-drive from A to B, but also to react intelligently to messages received. Vehicles will need to plan, reason, strategize and adapt in the light of information received in real time and to carry out cooperative behaviours. For example, a group of autonomous vehicles might avoid a route together because of potential risks, or a vehicle could decide to drop someone off earlier due to messages received, a foreseen crowding ahead.

    Further applications of vehicle-to-vehicle communication are still being researched, including how to perform cooperative behaviour.

    A total of 34 Chinese cities with a combined population of nearly 300 million took park in a pet adoption day at the weekend, promoting the adoption of rescued stray (流浪的)animals.

    The live broadcast of China Pet Adoption Day events in Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Nanjin, Qingdao, Tianjin and Xi'an was watched by 562,000 people.

    From Urumqi in the far northwest to Fuzhou on the southeast coast, people gathered to raise awareness of animal care and to help stray find loving homes.

    Sun Quanhui, manager and senior adviser of World Animal Protection, said, “Planet Earth is not only home to humanity but also a home that we share with other animals. It is mankind's duty and important to treat animals kindly in a civilized society.”

    As China's population becomes richer, pet ownership has increased rapidly, but problems, such as pet abandonment and cruelty, are also growing.

    In recent years, more and more adoption events have taken place all over the country, which indicates an awakening of the Chinese public consciousness to animal protection.

    “Adopting a pet instead of buying one has been gaining a wider acceptance.”

    American Edward Dumpe, who has been working on designs for stray animal shelters in Beijing, said, “It surely sounds super sweet and I have no doubt that it must have been the result of great efforts.”

    “I think it is a good step in the right direction, and should be taken as evidence that Chinese society is becoming more aware of stray animals who should be taken care of and treated with respect.”

    In real life, “Rabbit-eating Carrot” is fashion designer who has created clothes embroidered(刺绣)with slogans(口号)such has “Please adopt a pet” and images of her cats, with all earnings going to the Qiming Small Animal Protection Center in Sichuan Province.

    “I didn't know that there were events like this in China. This is fantastic. Impressive.” Said George Philippe, a french living in Beijing and father of two, at an event in the capital.

    The TED speaker series features “ideas worth spreading”. With over 1,400 to choose from, we've selected a few that are perfect for students.

    ⒈Larry Smith: Why you will fail to have a great career

    We humans may have an unfavorable habit of making excuses for ourselves or being too confident about ourselves. Accordingly, Larry Smith, a professor of economics at the University of Waterloo in Canada, tells us why most of us will fail to have a great career. Luckily, as he puts it, there is a way out—follow your heart, as long as it is good for your career.

    ⒉Andy Puddicombe: All it takes is 10 mindful minutes

    Between dance team, volunteering and –oh, right—lectures, your life's crazy factor（因素）is about to go way up. In this entertaining and informative talk, Mindfulness, expert Andy Puddicombe teaches us how to be “more healthy, more mindful and less distracted” by taking just 10 minutes out of the day to be “more present”.

    ⒊Shane Koyczan: To this day…for the bullied（欺凌）and beautiful

    This talk is sure to stay with you. Shane Koyczan's “To This Day” is an affecting spoken-word poem about bullying and being different that gained over 10 million views on YouTube. In this talk, Koyczan gives a live reading of the poem, along with some stories about his background.

    ⒋Susan Cain: The power of introverts（性格内向者）

    Does a cup of tea and a good book sound like a perfect Friday night? In this personal talk, Susan Cain argues that introverts have talents and abilities. Our culture may value being outgoing, but the world needs all kinds.

    Your next car could have two seats, three wheels two in front and one in the back and a top speed of more than 100 miles per hour. Elio Motors plans to make such a tiny car named the Elio. Its two seats sit front and back instead of side by side. The driver is positioned in (he center with the passenger directly behind.

    The starting price for the car is just ＄6.800. It has only one door, on the left side, which cuts a few hundred dollars off the manufacturing costs. Having three wheels also makes it cheaper. It has air conditioning, power windows and door locks and an AM/FM radio. More features can be ordered through Elio's long list of suppliers. Elio will also sell the cars directly through its own stores and not through franchised dealers (特约经销商).

    Paul Elio dreamed as a kid that he would one day own a car company called Elio Motora. In 2008, tired of high gas prices, he started working on a car that burns gas in a more effective way. Equally important to him was creating US manufacturing jobs and making the car inexpensive enough to attract buyers who might otherwise be stuck in their old, unreliable cars. "Whatever matters to you, this can move the needle on," he said.

    Already, more than 27,000 people have reserved one. Paul hopes to make 250,000 cars a year by 2020. So far, reservation holders are those who will use the Elio as a second or third car for work. Paul Elio believes the car will interest college students as well as used-car drivers who want something newer and more reliable, though.