State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

waste management2

  • Symposium Will Discuss How Businesses Can Lead on Climate

    Symposium Will Discuss How Businesses Can Lead on Climate

    An event on March 6 will bring together representatives from the world’s most powerful industries to discuss the role of business in addressing today’s urgent sustainability challenges.

  • The Aftermath of China’s Waste Ban

    The Aftermath of China’s Waste Ban

    The initial ban created a worldwide headache for scrap managers. The new version of the ban will surely lead to migraines.

  • What’s in Our Waste Bins?

    What’s in Our Waste Bins?

    Sustainability Management student Asami Tanimoto dug through the university’s trash to discover what we’re throwing out, and how we can do better.

  • What Do We Do About Plastics?

    What Do We Do About Plastics?

    We need local policies to encourage better waste management, more recycling and less use of plastics in the first place.

  • Microbeads, Marine Debris, Regulation and the Precautionary Principle

    It is clear that the hunger for economic growth and wealth pushes business and governments to ignore environmental impacts that are considered an inevitable byproduct of development. But this fails to account for the costs that will inevitably be borne when the damage must be cleaned up.

  • A Sustainable Strategy to Deal with Urban Poverty

    A Sustainable Strategy to Deal with Urban Poverty

    When architect Fernando Arias first arrived in Kumasi, Ghana last year, he saw unpaved roads, trash burning, garbage everywhere, and shoeless children running all around. He knew he needed to act on their behalf.

  • Green Films for Earth Day 2013

    Green Films for Earth Day 2013

    Mothers, carbon, trash, vanishing ice and “secret lives”: Watch a movie for Earth Day and learn.

  • What Happens to All That Plastic?

    What Happens to All That Plastic?

    Americans discard about 33.6 million tons of plastic each year, but only 9.5 percent of it is recycled and 15 percent is combusted in waste-to-energy facilities. What happens to the rest of it?

  • Plasma Gasification: A Solution to the Waste Disposal Dilemma?

    Plasma Gasification: A Solution to the Waste Disposal Dilemma?

    Waste not, Want not? The source of this proverb is unknown, but I’m going to hazard a guess and say it wasn’t your average (modern) American. I say this because your average American runs through 56 tons of trash a year – including 500 plastic cups and 650 pounds of paper. If we were to…

Collage of Turkiye beach scene and Columbia University Campus with text: UN Climate Change Conference COP31, Antalya, Turkiye, Nov 9-20, 2026

COP31, the 2026 United Nations Climate Change Conference, aims to advance dialogue, strengthen consensus, and accelerate climate action on a global scale. From November 9–20, 2026 in Antalya, Türkiye, heads of state, ministers, scientists, business leaders, and civil society will gather to advance efforts in emission targets, climate finance, and adaptation and resilience. Once again, our experts, students, and global thought leaders from Columbia Climate School and across Columbia University are contributing to key events, sharing insights, and helping shape the dialogue toward ambitious, science-based solutions. Learn More

  • Symposium Will Discuss How Businesses Can Lead on Climate

    Symposium Will Discuss How Businesses Can Lead on Climate

    An event on March 6 will bring together representatives from the world’s most powerful industries to discuss the role of business in addressing today’s urgent sustainability challenges.

  • The Aftermath of China’s Waste Ban

    The Aftermath of China’s Waste Ban

    The initial ban created a worldwide headache for scrap managers. The new version of the ban will surely lead to migraines.

  • What’s in Our Waste Bins?

    What’s in Our Waste Bins?

    Sustainability Management student Asami Tanimoto dug through the university’s trash to discover what we’re throwing out, and how we can do better.

  • What Do We Do About Plastics?

    What Do We Do About Plastics?

    We need local policies to encourage better waste management, more recycling and less use of plastics in the first place.

  • Microbeads, Marine Debris, Regulation and the Precautionary Principle

    It is clear that the hunger for economic growth and wealth pushes business and governments to ignore environmental impacts that are considered an inevitable byproduct of development. But this fails to account for the costs that will inevitably be borne when the damage must be cleaned up.

  • A Sustainable Strategy to Deal with Urban Poverty

    A Sustainable Strategy to Deal with Urban Poverty

    When architect Fernando Arias first arrived in Kumasi, Ghana last year, he saw unpaved roads, trash burning, garbage everywhere, and shoeless children running all around. He knew he needed to act on their behalf.

  • Green Films for Earth Day 2013

    Green Films for Earth Day 2013

    Mothers, carbon, trash, vanishing ice and “secret lives”: Watch a movie for Earth Day and learn.

  • What Happens to All That Plastic?

    What Happens to All That Plastic?

    Americans discard about 33.6 million tons of plastic each year, but only 9.5 percent of it is recycled and 15 percent is combusted in waste-to-energy facilities. What happens to the rest of it?

  • Plasma Gasification: A Solution to the Waste Disposal Dilemma?

    Plasma Gasification: A Solution to the Waste Disposal Dilemma?

    Waste not, Want not? The source of this proverb is unknown, but I’m going to hazard a guess and say it wasn’t your average (modern) American. I say this because your average American runs through 56 tons of trash a year – including 500 plastic cups and 650 pounds of paper. If we were to…