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🎵 Listening to this playlist while reading will give you a fuller experience of this post Frankly, I was never a Coldplay fan. When the band announced their Music of the Spheres world tour in Singapore, I remembered going "Oh". But clearly, my loved ones were thrilled. Just by reading, you can probably tell how starkly different our reactions were to the same event. Nonetheless, I was happy to join the party to see for myself what brilliant performers Coldplay are, as I've heard. We camped for the tickets and failed to secure a n y for all of the three nights (hurhur). We were disappointed; I was disappointed. Coldplay, for sure, heard our disappointment because not too long after, they added another three dates to our tour stop. We rejoiced, we fought against the bots, and we got them. I was excited, but at that point, I was certain much of it was sheer excitement from securing a spot at the show. Boy, was I wrong. Six months later, I'm a convert. I remember that heady feeling of being uplifted from their anthemic tunes, the fuzzy burst of warmth when Yellow and Fix You came on. I remember jumping to Viva La Vida and tearing up at Everglow – a song whose lyrics I've come to truly appreciate as I got older. But this isn't going to be a review of their performances because I'm positive the web must already be inundated with tons and tons of them. The show was out of this world, yet something else also took centre stage for me. Music is an even more universal language than we think When everyone was bobbing to Coldplay's music, one dedicated section was, too. Unlike many other concerts I've attended locally, theirs had a "Sign Language Area" carved out specially for the deaf and hard-of-hearing fans. There, sign language interpreters danced hard to the rhythms of the setlist, to offer as contextually accurate and as vivid visual interpretations of the lyrics as possible. Apparently, the interpreters did their homework beforehand: Every gesture was matched to the meaning of each song, and researched to a tee (cries). That wasn't all, though. What overwhelmed me with goosebumps was how fans with special needs could soak in the full experience, thanks to Subpac vests prepared by Coldplay. How these vests work is by sending vibrations that pulse right through the bones to the inner ear of those wearing it. That way, the user can feel the beat of the music just from wearing the vest. It's this very consideration for understanding how people with hearing impairment are able to enjoy music that impresses me. And this heart for making music accessible to all, the essence of inclusivity in its truest form. People have praised Coldplay for "setting game-changing standards" for the local deaf community. But to me, what Coldplay has done is life-changing. Go to a concert and power the performances Again, this was something that threw me off my feet. Maybe I haven't been around enough but it doesn't seem very often that artistes stick to their ideals so much so that their performances are fuelled by these convictions. In the band's words, they were willing to pause touring until they could find more sustainable ways to do it. That's some hardcore pledge. If, like me, you were at one of Coldplay's recent concert tour stops, you would have seen or even experienced for yourself the kinetic dance floors (jump pads) and energy-storing bikes. Show-goers could dance, jump, paddle and basically move around as much as they liked to generate energy captured in batteries that run elements of the concert. It was fun and honestly a very, very clever idea. It didn’t feel one bit out of place yet maximised the show experience for fans. Here, Coldplay brings the concept of sustainability to their everyday life, as well as ours. The band that knows what it's doing From breathing inclusivity to infusing their performances with sustainable efforts, Coldplay knew what they were doing. They did it well, did it zestfully, and in a style that's uniquely theirs. Call them opportunists but I'm a fan of well thought-out executions and above all, a dedication to doing well at what they love and believe in. – Denise Media from: Coldplay, Spotify, 8dayssg

SINGAPORE: A one-year trial to collect food waste from residents will be launched in the Ang Mo Kio-Toa Payoh sector in November, with 10 “smart lockers” placed at selected Housing & Development Board (HDB) blocks in the area, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said on Wednesday (Sep 22). The trial will be conducted by 800 Super Waste Management, which was on Wednesday awarded a new public waste collection contract for the sector. The sector covers the planning areas of Ang Mo Kio, Bishan, Serangoon and Toa Payoh. “These smart lockers will be installed with an Internet of Things remote access smart system, a QR code scanner and a load cell weighing scale,” NEA said in a media release. “Participating households will be issued a unique QR code and air-tight reusable plastic containers to store their food waste. “Participating households can then do a one-to-one exchange of the reusable plastic containers when they drop off their food waste-filled containers into the smart lockers.” Participants will receive reward points via the 800 Super mobile app for depositing their food waste. These points can be exchanged for grocery vouchers. “If the trial is successful, 800 Super will deploy another 83 smart lockers to other HDB blocks in the sector,” NEA said. Source & Full article: CNA/ https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/food-waste-lockers-hdb-ang-mo-kio-toa-payoh-2193986 -------- Think Singaporeans will warm up with this idea of food waste management? I think what concerns me is the smell from these food items and the pests that itll attract if its not properly carried out...

What comes into the mind when you see this 2 logos? Nope, it is neither a JV nor acquisition (I hear some screaming heng ah), but for the development of sustainable material as part of the corporate initiative to go green. Ford is turning McDonald's coffee waste into headlights New York (CNN Business)Ford has tapped McDonald's to help it turn coffee parts into car parts. Starting this year, Ford is incorporating coffee chaff — coffee bean skin that comes off during the roasting process — into the plastic headlamp housing used in some cars. It's asked McDonald's, which doesn't roast its own coffee, to connect it with suppliers. In recent years, as consumers become more concerned about plastic pollution and carbon emissions, companies have made sweeping commitments to reduce their impacts on the environment. They've also been developing innovative, sustainable materials to build consumer products. Traditionally, Ford uses plastic and talc to make its headlamp housing, explained Debbie Miewelski, senior technical leader of materials sustainability for Ford. The coffee version is more sustainable because it's lighter and doesn't use the talc which, as a mineral, isn't renewable. Coffee chaff, on the other hand, is widely available, Miewelski said, and much of it goes to waste. Eventually, Ford hopes to incorporate the material into more cars and use it for more parts. Ford decided to work with coffee chaff a few years ago. But it's been experimenting with organic materials for over a decade. The auto company has been using soy-based foam in its cushions since 2011. It also uses waste from wheat, coconut, tomato and other plants in its cars in order to help meet some of its sustainability goals, which include using more renewable materials. "If you came to our lab, it looks somewhere between a landfill and a farm," Miewelski said. Her team decided to examine the potential of coffee because the beverage is so ubiquitous. Once the Ford team figured out how coffee chaff could be used to build car parts, it reached out to McDonald's because of the restaurant chain's scale and its comparable sustainability goals, Miewelski said. Like Ford, McDonald's also wants to incorporate renewable and recycled materials into its products. The partnership between Ford (F) and McDonald's (MCD) is an example of how brands with distinct sustainability initiatives can work together. McDonald's recently achieved its goal of sourcing all of its US coffee sustainably, one year ahead of schedule, and is also working with competitors to develop more environmentally friendly coffee cups. When Ford approached it about the coffee chaff product a few years ago, the company was able to consider another way to make its coffee greener, said Ian Olson, senior director of global sustainability at McDonald's. "We've conventionally thought of collaborations as within the food industry," Olson said. The Ford partnership can help McDonald's see "what kind of larger impacts are possible," when it works with a company in another sector. "This is just scratching the surface of trying to understand what's possible," Olson said.