Latest news with #BusinessAsUsual
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
From waste to garden gold: Composting reduces trash and saves money
In the minds of many, 'sustainable' means 'environmental.' And to many minds, all that is 'environmental' is, by definition, impractical hippie nonsense. They don't want to hear about it. They'd rather just stick to Business as Usual thank you very much. But Business as Usual is causing problems, and it's not sustainable by any definition of the word. This is especially true in our rapidly growing region. We all know that more people bring more traffic, but there's another issue that is also rapidly growing: trash. Most of us seldomly think about our trash, probably because, unlike traffic, we don't sit in it multiple times a day. If we stick to Business as Usual, however, we could be wallowing in trash sooner than most of us realize. Middle Tennessee, and Nashville, within it, has a serious trash problem. Davidson and twenty neighboring counties rely almost solely on one facility for trash disposal, and this facility is filling up fast. Building another landfill, aka Business as Usual, will take a decade or longer, and in whose backyard will it be located? The only sure answer is that if it's going to landfill, that landfill will be much farther away. There are logistical and environmental consequences to longer hauling, but the one that will hit us all most glaringly is that it will cost more. For business owners, landlords, residents, homeowners, and students alike, Business as Usual is going to cost more. A lot more… …unless there is something we could do locally. …and we could somehow turn waste into something useful. Thankfully, we needn't wait for radical, world-changing breakthroughs to be invented to solve our trash crisis. Composting is an effective weapon against these coming problems, and of environmental benefit to boot. We landfill enormous quantities of food, paper, cardboard and yard waste, all of which could be composted and turned into soil that improves our gardens, farms, and landscaping. With minimal changes in habit in our homes, restaurants, offices, grocery stores, schools, and hotels, we can divert nearly 30% of landfill-bound trash starting today. That's potentially millions of pounds of material that becomes a resource instead of rubbish. Critics of change will say it requires millions in new investment to make this possible. They'll say it's yucky and difficult and hippie-dippy nonsense but, well, they're just plain wrong. Local resources are already in place, and they've demonstrated effectiveness in school pilots and some homes, as well as in restaurants and grocery stores you already patronize. The work has already begun, but more participation is needed. That's where you come in. More: Rutherford, Murfreesboro seek landfill 'to restrict the flow of that trash' from Nashville Nashville residents can drop food scraps for free at Metro Convenience Centers. Services like The Compost Company exist to help businesses dispose of waste in a way that is clean and economical. Compostables can be picked up from your home by a local services such as Compost Nashville and Regener8. Or you can try home composting. It's rewarding, environmentally-friendly, and free. Composting is impactful at any scale and is an action in which anyone can participate. Landfilling trash is not, and never was, a good solution. It's just a cheap one. But 'round here it's getting more expensive by the day, and costs will skyrocket when we have to find new, far-flung locations to keep burying our waste. Composting, alternatively, is a process that can be repeated to cascading financial and social benefit, again and again in the same facilities. Waste comes in, and garden gold comes out. That's Business as Usual, evolved. And composting is also just one example of flipping the script on waste. Plastic, metal, and other commonly disposed-of materials are needed by area manufacturers, yet we throw them away constantly. I'd encourage you to check out the Waste to Jobs Act that is picking up steam in our State Legislature, and should come to the floor in 2026. It is an excellent example of creative problem-solving. Like composting, this act will reduce waste, create jobs, save resources and money, and improve our environment. Small improvements resulting in big impact. Now that, my friends, is what sustainability can mean. Clay Ezell is a certified Master Composter and Co-Owner/CEO of The Compost Company. He has recently served as a founding member and President of the Tennessee Composting Council and is a member of the US Composting Council, the Tennessee Environmental Council, and the Cumberland River Compact. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Middle Tennessee has a trash problem. Composting can help | Opinion
Daily Mail
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Men At Work lead singer Colin Hay pays tribute to legendary music producer after shock death
Men At Work star Colin Hay has paid tribute to legendary music producer Peter McIan, after his shock death earlier this month. The Down Under singer, 71, shared a heartbreaking post to social media on Wednesday confirming McIan's passing and thanking him for his incredible work. 'I just found out that Peter McIan, who produced Men At Work's Business As Usual and Cargo albums, recently passed away,' Colin began. McIan was the sole producer on Men At Work's iconic 1983 album Business As Usual, which was a smash hit worldwide. The album reached number one in the US, the UK and Australia and featured the hit songs Down Under and Who Can It Be Now? 'He was a very warm, intelligent and talented man. We were very close some 40 odd years ago,' Colin added. 'He helped us arrange all those songs, and was able to sonically articulate what we were endeavouring to offer the world. 'We saw each other sporadically over the years. I wish I'd seen him more. Condolences to those who were close.' Many of Colin's fans took to the comment section to offer their words of support. 'Sorry for you loss Colin! He helped put incredible music out into the world,' one person wrote. 'His family should take comfort in knowing what amazing music he helped bring to the world. Condolences,' a second added. McIan was a key figure in helping Colin's Melbourne-formed band achieve global fame in the early '80s. With his help, they sold over 10 million albums and had many hit singles, including Be Good Johnny and Overkill. It comes after Australian comedian Adam Hills opened up about the Spicks and Specks question that destroyed his friendship with Colin. In 2007, the ABC host asked the show's contestants: 'what children's song is contained in the iconic song Down Under?' with the correct answer being Kookaburra, written in 1932 by Marion Sinclair. Two years after the episode aired, Larrikin Music, who own the rights to the nursery rhyme, took legal action against Men at Work's Colin Hay and Ron Strykert. Larrikin Music claimed the main flute riff was reproduced in the Men at Work 1981 song Down Under. Songwriters Hay and Strykert strongly denied the claims. The Federal Court copyright trial ruled in favour of Larrikin Music. Last year, Hills opened up about how the saga damaged his close friendship with Colin. 'I house-sat for him in LA for a month when I was over there in about 2005 and then I rented his apartment in Melbourne. I drove his car around. We were actually quite close,' he told TV Tonight. 'It all got weird between us, because he knew it wasn't my fault that we asked a question about Down Under,' said Hills. Hills revealed the pair no longer speak after things turned 'sour' and 'weird'. However he insists there are no hard feeling between them.
