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It’s a wrap (Living without plastics)
Christine Jeavans, BBC News
A month ago I announced I was giving up plastic for the whole of August.
Little did I know that what seemed like a simple, if somewhat extreme, idea would lead me into such intricate areas as whether apples sold loose are more wasteful than those in bags, the environmental pros and cons of a wooden toothbrush and whether bicarbonate of soda is an effective deodorant (it is – at least on the one day I tried it).
My aim was to try to live for a month without buying anything new made from plastic or wrapped in plastic. I was able to keep and use the plastic I already owned but if anything ran out I would have to buy a plastic-free replacement.
Plastics are hugely useful and versatile and the goal of the experiment was not to demonise the material itself.
But disposing of an ever-growing amount of plastic does pose a problem as the UK’s recycling infrastructure is not yet geared up to deal with our mixed plastics waste.
… And with a rising oil price and dwindling resources, there is even talk of mining landfill sites for the old plastic to turn into fuel – the first conference about this will be held in London this autumn (see Internet links on right).
Could plastic waste be eventually upgraded from the cheap stuff we throw away to our most valuable asset?
(1 September 2008)
The last question here is key. Looking at the number of plastic bottles just thrown out with the rest of the trash down my street rather than recycled, we still have some way to go reassessing the value of what we throw ‘away’.-SO
Trash or treasure: The designer objects made of rubbish
Sophie Morris, The Independent
The phrase “green is the new black” is thrown around with great enthusiasm but, like any trend, will this 21st-century impulse towards green living soon start to look and sound dreary and outdated? There is an army of eco-savvy and inventive product designers out there who think not. From old baths rescued from the salvage yard and made into surprisingly comfortable armchairs to hand grenades gilded in gold or silver and used as oil lamps, a new generation of creatives is emerging who take the trouble to consider the past as well as the future life of their materials. By reusing existing resources, they hope to make a dent in the world’s expanding waste mountain instead of adding to it.
Many of these ideas are showcased in the design book Cool Hunting Green, a photographic guide to this type of sustainable innovation. As the name suggests, the book steers well clear of any of the uglier trappings of an eco-lifestyle, such as energy-efficient light bulbs and home composters, in a bid to prove that aesthetics needn’t be compromised in ecologically-sound design.
A large number of the designs featured are made from existing products, such as empty tin cans, pieces of old computers and even party poppers – pieces of tat and trash to which we would normally attach little or no value. Once they have been turned into unique accessories or household objects with a worthy philosophy behind them, however, their beauty becomes evident very quickly, even to people not known for their eco-credentials, such as the design expert Stephen Bayley, who finds some of the offerings “ingenious and charming” and is impressed by their intelligence…
(4 September 2008)
Vermont landfill to make electricity from garbage
Wilson Ring, Forbes
MORETOWN, Vt. – Vermont’s second largest landfill is building what would become the state’s second major program to make electricity from methane gas generated by rotting garbage.
On Tuesday, the Moretown Landfill, Inc. held a groundbreaking to launch the construction of the project, which officials hope will supply power to the electrical grid before the end of the year.
Once the project is running, the flame seen by motorists on nearby Interstate 89 will no longer be visible. The gas will instead be channeled to the generators that will make the electricity that will be sold to Green Mountain Power…
(10 September 2008)
