Home/Articles in: Recycling
Articles in: Recycling
Green living, Recycling, May 13th, 2013,
Creating your sustainable home has a benefit not only to the environment and your personal health, but also helps by reducing utility expense over the long term for home owners. If you are thinking about renovating your home there are many ways to choose products and building methods that will ensure that your home has a positive and not negative impact on the environment. Reuse and Repurpose Building a new home can be expensive. Perhaps that is why more people are turning to renovation compared to new homes. According to the National Association of Home Builders, the average 2,200 square…
Green living, Recycling, Videos & Documentaries, Weird Stuff, May 3rd, 2012,
A Dutch architectural firm is creating buildings from locally recycled material, significantly reducing the greenhouse gas emissions normally produced during the construction process. Rotterdam-based 2012architecten terms this use of local, reused materials, which cuts down on transport, waste and fuel costs “recyclicity” or “superuse” with the goal of regenerating “districts into dynamic ecosystems”. Besides buildings, 2012architecten designs other structures like playgrounds and campgrounds along the same principles. From Al Jazeera English: There are no limits to the model. The architects have designed everything from single homes to offices, playgrounds and cafes. Waste materials have included parts from decommissioned aeroplanes, washing machines,…
Tags: 2012architecten, architects, recyclicity, superuse, waste
Animals, Pollution, Recycling, Videos & Documentaries, Jan 22nd, 2012,
We’ve got two bits of eco-news from Asia this weekend. First we’re off to Vietnam to see how megacity Hanoi is coping with a growing waste problem with the help from scientists in Germany. Enormous amounts of waste, a rising population, over-crowding, and an aging infrastructure: Vietnam’s capital Hanoi is a perfect example of a fast-growing megacity. Scientists at Darmstadt University have developed a pilot project that combines wastewater treatment, waste disposal and energy production in one. Their goal is to design a biogas plant for Hanoi that digests waste to generate electricity and heat. –Deutsche Welle Next we jet…
Tags: bengal, China, Hanoi, megacity, tiger, Vietnam, white
Green living, Recycling, Science & Technology, Weird Stuff, Sep 19th, 2011,
We’re always on the lookout for cool recycling uses of everyday objects. In my quest for recycling magic I came across this video of a guy using a plastic bottle as a trumpet. The music might not be 100% but it definitely is good enough. He gets an A++ in my book! Enjoy!
Tags: bottle to instrument, make music with plastic bottle, recycling bottle to trumpet, recycling magic, recycling plastic bottles
Green living, Recycling, Science & Technology, ,
Yes I admit I’m an avid coffee drinker. I love the taste and the smell of fresh coffee, especially in the morning. If you’re like me, this top 7 list of great eco-tips will help you enjoy your coffee beans and spare the environment at the same time. 1) Use reusable filters instead of paper ones. Reusable filters come in many variations and forms, from organic fabrics to stainless steel over gold plated versions. Any of those will do great in reducing your coffee making waste and carbon footprint. Some coffee making machines also come with permanent filters, if you…
Tags: 7 tips to green you coffee habit, eco-friendly coffee, green your coffee, recycling coffee grounds, reusable coffee filters
Recycling, Weird Stuff, Sep 2nd, 2011,
Asking someone whether he or she would mind drinking a glass of water that has already passed through a human body might be a misleading question. Of course all water on Earth has been ‘recycled’ by evaporation and then returned in the form of rain. But in the more direct sense, i.e., by human technological means, many of you have already consumed recycled or ‘reclaimed’ water, whether you know it or not. Cities on the Thames River in the UK – London being the biggest example – use reclaimed water in their drinking water supply. Raw sewage is treated and…
Tags: drinking water, reclaimed water, recycled water
Recycling, Videos & Documentaries, Aug 26th, 2011,
Around the world, ambitious artists are creating sculptures out of disused materials. In Denizli Provence, Turkey, University students from 12 countries are constructing a sculpture of the ancient city of Hierapolis and the Pamukkale travertine (the natural carbonate terraces the city sits atop) out of 40,000 recycled plastic bottles. The students have so far collected 30,000 plastic bottles for the sculpture project, with the hope of raising awareness about the environment and recycling in Turkey. As part of the project “From Waste to Art” developed by the European Youth Association and supported by the Denizli Municipality and Denizli Municipal…
Tags: art, Iran, recycled, Recycling, sculpture, turkey
Green living, Recycling, Science & Technology, Jul 28th, 2011,
Researchers from Microsoft and the University of Virginia are developing the idea to use cloud computing data servers as central heating units in private homes. In their paper, entitled The Data Furnace: Heating Up with Cloud Computing“, the academic researchers argue that data servers could easily be installed in homes and office buildings and could be used as a source of heating. Traditional data centers housing hundreds of computers are intensive power users. In the United States alone, they account for nearly 1,5 % of total energy consumption, and the current trend of cloud computing is believed to further increase…
Tags: cloud computing, data centers, data servers, data servers home heating systems, energy recycling, heating system, Microsoft, the data furnace: heating up with cloud computing, university of virginia
Green living, Recycling, Jun 22nd, 2011,
Los Angeles Times columnist Susan Carpenter spent two years trying out several sustainable lifestyle practices in her California home – from compost toilets to keeping her own chickens – and wrote about the results. Which ones were worth the time and money and which were duds? After two years, the green retro-fittings Carpenter is most please with are her gray water system and her Photovoltaic solar panels, followed by rainwater barrels. Since she lives in a small house in sunny, dry southern California and keeps a garden, this should not come as a complete surprise. Her forays into growing her own…
Tags: California, compost toilet, eco-home, gray water, greywater, LA, solar panels. rain barrels, Susan Carpenter
Politics, Recycling, May 5th, 2011,
There used to be jokes about going “condom fishing” in dirty city canals, but now an ambitious EU plan aims to encourage professional fishermen to haul recyclable plastics from Europe’s suffering seas as part of their catch. This could mean a significant shift in the normally environmentally harmful behavior of commercial fishing. EU fisheries chief Maria Damanki unveiled bold plans to eliminate the practice of fishing boats throwing back unprofitable, yet edible, catch. Smaller, younger fish or less valuable species are routinely thrown back in the ocean, usually dead. In some areas 2/3 of the catch is simply tossed overboard….
Tags: Damanki, EU, Europe, fishermen, fishing, plastic, Recycling
Politics, Recycling, Feb 8th, 2011,
Minerals used in electronic devices such as mobile phones and laptops are becoming increasingly scarce. Despite this, large quantities are thrown into landfills when such high-tech products are considered obsolete, something that unfortunately occurs with increasing frequency (see Moore’s Law). The European Parliament is proposing stricter standards for the recycling of e-waste. From a Deutsche Welle report: The Parliament wants member countries to be collecting at least 85 percent of electronic waste by 2016. Depending on the type of device, it wants a reuse quota of 55 to 75 percent. It also wants to introduce stricter export regulations to hinder…
Tags: conflict, e-waste, electronic waste, european parliament, minerals, Recycling
Health, Politics, Pollution, Recycling, Oct 26th, 2010,
Last Saturday, the European Commission threatened Italy with fines and sanctions if the 2,400 tons of garbage that has been left on the streets of Naples after the last garbage war does not get cleaned up. The residents of the nearby town of Terzigno, just outside of Naples, have been violently protesting for over a week, as a reaction to the smell and filth pile up from a local dumpsite. They are planning to open a new trash-dumping site in a close by nature conservation area. According to EU Environmental Commissioner Janez Potocnik, the violence and conflicts between the residents…
Green living, Recycling, Oct 25th, 2010,
I don’t know about you, but I like eBay. Like most I suppose, I’m not so fond of all the tiny hidden costs for every tiny little feature the site offers, but then again every business needs to be sustainable. Apart from that, I love the recycling philosophy that lies at the base of this business concept. And now, with the Green Instant Sale launched last week, eBay just became even more eco-friendly (so I’ll forget about the tiny hidden costs just for now). Imagine you have a more or less recent gadget you want to get rid of but…
Tags: eBay, gadgets, green instant sale, Recycling
Green living, Recycling, Oct 4th, 2010,
In a quaint return to yester-year, 60 towns in France have replaced some of their recycling and rubbish collection trucks with horse-drawn carts. The ambient sound of clip-clopping hooves was surely part of the reason for this change, but the horses are more mobile in some narrow streets than the noisy and cumbersome trucks. Plus, they eat grass instead of fossil fuels and produce fertilizer for any gardener not to proud to scoop some off the street. Though there have been failures and drawbacks to these schemes, but some have been successful. A similar idea with donkeys in Italy, has…
Tags: cart, collection, France, horse-drawn, Recycling, rubbish
Climate Change, Conservation, Green living, Nature, Recycling, Weird Stuff, Sep 23rd, 2010,
Did you know that by making simple changes to a greener lifestyle, you could save hundreds—or even thousands—of dollars per year? From holiday gift wrapping to house cleaning and work transportation, you’d be amazed at the savings that can pile up, simply from going green! Despite the problems the environment faces and the ever-growing trend of “going green”, there are people out there who still only think of themselves. They don’t care about changing their life to help the planet; they’d rather change the planet to help themselves. Fortunately, there are ways to help both–without harming the planet. So, if…
Tags: Go Green, Going Green, help the planet, save money, Shift Your Habit, switch to the green lifestyle, tips to save money while going green
Politics, Recycling, Sep 20th, 2010,
A headline in the Telegraph states ‘new research found that returning used drinks containers to the shop could save money, reduce litter and boost recycling’. Really? They needed to do new research to figure that out? Well I guess they did, but I wonder what if involved: observing that drink companies made more money by mass-producing plastic bottles destined for the side of the road or, if you’re lucky, the dump? The UK phased out bottle deposit schemes 20 years ago because companies didn’t care about anything but profit. No change there, so the government, which has strong public support…
Tags: bottle, deposit, scheme, UK
Climate Change, Conservation, Green living, Health, Nature, Pollution, Recycling, Weird Stuff, Wildlife & Flora, Sep 18th, 2010,
In case you haven’t heard yet, this weekend is Clean Up The World Weekend! What is Clean Up The World Weekend? Simply put, it’s a weekend set aside for people to help clean up our world. More specifically, it’s a weekend for people to get together and clean up all the trash in our world. You can clean up the trash on a city block, in a park, at the beach, in a forest, in a parking lot, or anywhere else you can think of. Once collected, or even while collecting, be sure to separate the recyclables from actual trash….
Tags: clean up the world, Clean Up The World Weekend, Climate change, education, event, Go Green, help out, Pollution, trash, tree planting, volunteer, waste
Green living, Recycling, Uncategorized, Sep 15th, 2010,
The City of Cleveland is spending $2.5M to equip recycling bins with microchips in an attempt to become more green. The municipality is going to give each household two different garbage cans: one for rubbish, one for recyclables. Each will have a micro-chip inside. This is all part of a new automated trash collection system. Micro-chips will be placed in both your recycling bin and your waste bin. Each chip generates a report that tells the city how efficient their waste collection services are. But it will also tell them if you’re using your recycling bin. Click here to read more about…
Tags: bins, Cleveland, environment, Green, Recycling
Politics, Pollution, Recycling, Sep 13th, 2010,
Old computers and other e-waste from British government departments have been discovered at dumpsites in African countries and in containers headed for the continent, according to the UK’s environment agency. The chairman of the agency, Lord Smith, warned that the amount of illegally exported e-waste is rising and that in addition to health and environmental concerns, it is also a threat to British national security, due to the risk that sensitive information could still be stored in the computers’ hardware. He said that waste from the UK, which includes computers, monitors, televisions and DVD players, is sent to countries in…
Tags: Africa, British, computers, e-waste, Europe, European, government, Greenpeace, illegal, Nigeria, UK
Green living, Recycling, Weird Stuff, Aug 12th, 2010,
Reusable bags can be found everywhere these days. You’ll find them mixed in with handbags, at the airport, or by the checkout line. In most cases, those available in grocery or department stores range between 99 cents and $2.99. Other places (such as the airport) will charge you $10 and up for one of theirs. While using a reusable bag is a great thing (and certainly better than the “paper or plastic?” issue of the past), the cost of them can add up fast—especially if you buy a handful from each store you go to. Say you buy 5 bags,…
Tags: arts and crafts, do-it-yourself, Go Green, guide, homemaking, How to Make a Reusable Bag, instructions, recycle, reduce, reuse, sewing project
