Arlene Karidis

Mount Airy

Writer, Editor and Media Consultant at Freelance

Arlene Karidis is an environmental reporter for Waste360 and a health reporter for several regional and national newspapers, lifestyle and trade publications.

Articles

ReFED Report Updates on Food Waste Trends and Makes Near-term Projections

3 days ago | waste360.com | Arlene Karidis

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A Look Back, Today’s Landscape, and What’s Next

4 days ago | waste360.com | Arlene Karidis

Recycle Florida Today (RFT), celebrating its 35th anniversary, has grown from a grassroots effort into a key player shaping Florida’s waste and recycling policies through education, advocacy, and collaboration. As the state prepares for new legislation and recycling goals, RFT is advancing sustainable materials management strategies, launching initiatives like a recycling-themed license plate to support local programs and reinforce Florida’s circular economy.
LRS’ Rifkin Brings Public Schools Experience to LRS to Drive Sustainability

5 days ago | waste360.com | Arlene Karidis

When Joy Rifkin left her career with Chicago and New York City public schools to come to LRS, she never expected to become that corporation’s director of Sustainability, interacting with non-profits, institutions, governments, and others to drive waste diversion initiatives. But the transition has been a natural fit for the former science teacher, who went on to launch the nation’s largest zero waste school program before settling into her current position.
New Techs Transform How Food is Preserved and Disclose its Supply Chain Journey

1 week ago | waste360.com | Arlene Karidis

Transparent Path, Blakbear, and Ryp Labs are pioneering technologies to reduce food waste by enhancing supply chain transparency and shelf-life monitoring through smart sensors and packaging. These innovations track real-time conditions, replace fixed expiration dates with AI-driven freshness assessments, and extend produce life with antimicrobial solutions.
Call2Recycle Teaches Consumers and Retailers Safe Battery Recycling

1 week ago | waste360.com | Arlene Karidis

Battery recycling is growing alongside the booming battery industry, and Call2Recycle is leading efforts to safely manage end-of-life batteries through consumer education, retailer training, and tailored outreach programs across diverse communities. Their initiatives—from metro ads and school contests to specialized training for e-bike shops—aim to make battery recycling safe, accessible, and convenient, while helping meet extended producer responsibility (EPR) goals.
Circular Action Alliance’s Fielkow on EPR and Packaging in North America

1 week ago | waste360.com | Arlene Karidis

Producer responsibility organization Circular Action Alliance is busy at work helping industries comply with extended producer responsibility laws in states from California to Maryland. In this Q&A, the organization’s CEO, Jeff Fielkow, gives an update on a flurry of activity on the EPR front in the past two years. He touches on how aligning secondary recovery with supply chain and market needs can reap financial and environmental gains.
Modern Mill Turns Ag Trash Into Built World’s Treasures

2 weeks ago | waste360.com | Arlene Karidis

Rice husks, once seen as agricultural waste, are gaining popularity in the building industry for their durability, sustainability, and wood-like properties, with companies like Modern Mill leading the way by turning them into versatile, recyclable composite materials for siding, decking, and more. Rice husks are becoming the new green in the building sector, at least for a few sustainably-bent entrepreneurs and large corporations.
How Three Food Banks Have Become Food Waste Prevention Gurus

2 weeks ago | waste360.com | Arlene Karidis

Food Bank of the Rockies services all of Wyoming and northern Colorado—that’s a 148,000-square-mile service area. The good news is the much-needed food keeps coming, with roughly six million pounds sitting in the operation’s four warehouses at any given time. But it’s a bear to deal with. Food banks are intimately familiar with the magnitude and impact of wasted food. Most of the tonnage of donations that come their way would otherwise be landfilled or burned.
Getting the Most From Waste Management Assets For Better Performance and Profits

2 weeks ago | waste360.com | Arlene Karidis

Waste management operators face constant pressure from volatile markets, labor shortages, and rising material volumes, making efficient asset management critical to maintaining uptime and profitability. Through strategic equipment integration, preventive maintenance, real-time monitoring technologies, and evolving AI tools, operators are enhancing system resilience and maximizing the lifecycle of both fleet and facility assets.
a Work in Progress

2 weeks ago | waste360.com | Arlene Karidis

Only about 2 percent of U.S. households can recycle film and flexibles today. That’s largely because of limited collection and processing infrastructure—but the greatest barrier along the path to circularity is lacking end markets. Potential buyers are leery about recycled film, given the low volumes of quality stock within their reach. For California that poses an immediate challenge.