Despite a number of local issues in the New York area, it seems that some priority is being placed in long term sustainability. New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg has recently committed city funds to an effort to double the city’s recycling by 2017 – just five years from today. It’s a nice step forward for the city and comes in reaction to cost-cutting measures years ago that trimmed recycling efforts, but failed to trim the budget.

The current recycling plan has long been considered weak by standards of other cities throughout the country. NYC’s plan is not as successful as a number of other large cities such as Portland and Boston, for example. Even smaller cities throughout the Northeast have green programs that are a notch above New York City’s. For example, in Connecticut buying has increased for residents who may have extra recyclable material in their Bridgeport, Hartford or New Haven apartments and homes.

Indeed, New York is one of the few cities in the country with a recycling program that fails to recycle plastics – one of the biggest sources of recyclable trash. When New York curtailed its recycling efforts a few years back, it actually ended up costing the city’s garbage and sanitation department more money than it saved – the extra trash simply ended up shipped to costly landfills out of the city.

Estimates indicate that with the addition of two new NYC-centric recycling plants, the city’s budget might actually free up about $55 million a year. The recycling centers are also creating construction opportunity and jobs for city workers, which is important the current delicate economic climate. What could be better than saving money and creating jobs? Taking care of both with a green recycling program would do just that.

Mayor Bloomberg also cites the importance of improving the city’s identity through green programs. He said, “If we’re going to be the most innovative city in the world, we also have to be the greenest – because that’s how you attract the most talented individuals and most forward-looking companies.” This is a powerful concept in New York, a city that is considered politically left and a home for many vocal activists and actors, and one of the main hubs for business in the United States, but also makes sense from the fiscally minded viewpoint of the conservative right.

New York has always been a political leader of the American east, with heavy ties to Washington and an influence on cities from Chicago to Baltimore. It is hoped by many that the mayor’s ideas on green programs – the concept that they can both be effective and beneficial without being costly – will inspire a common-sense approach to these issues throughout the country.

Waste is a huge problem during the holiday season: people typically produce twice the amount of it than they do normally. Check out a few ideas below to help you recycle, reuse, and reduce this Christmas.

(Almost) Waste-free Gift Ideas:

1. Nonmaterial gifts can be some of the best. Give away concert or show tickets, or take that person to a cool event that they’ll enjoy. Sharing in the experience can be more meaningful and heartfelt than anything store-bought.
2. Food gifts are awesome! Cookies, cupcakes, and other baked goods are just some examples of things that can spread the holiday cheer. Or create a home-cooked meal for you and your friends to share.
3. Another meaningful idea is to make a charitable donation in the name of your gift recipient.
4. If you do go shopping for gifts, bring a tote bag to carry them in to reduce plastic. Buy useful, thoughtful presents.
5. You can also search on the internet for gifts that are made from reused or recycled material.

Continue reading »

The New Balance newSKY are athletic walking shoes with upper material made from 95% recycled PET material. According to New Balance, every pair of newSKYs are made from approximately 8 PET cola, water, or juice bottles.

Continue reading »

In the USA, 30 million tons of plastic scrap is produced. According to the EPA, only 7% was recycled. The rest either goes into landfills, the ocean, or become litter in the streets and parks. Did you know that plastics buried in landfills sometimes take 1000 years to decompose? Yikes!

The good news is, many large companies and corporations are realizing this and are taking steps to save the planet from the evil villain, plastic. Some examples include:

1. Coca-cola introduced the “plant bottle” which is made from 30% biodegradable plant-based materials.
2. Pepsi, in response to Coca-cola’s invention, introduced a 100% biodegradable bottle.
3. Gillette, a razor company by Proctor and Gamble, introduced a new packaging technology which reduces its plastic usage by 79% which maintaining its high-class look and feel.

While water bottles by Nestle are becoming thinner and thinner (almost to the point where it’ll bend if you apply just small amounts of pressure), there are many cool innovative materials out there which are rarely spoken of.

Did you know that most of the packaging for Dell computers are made from Bamboo? Say bye-bye to Styrofoam (styrofoam is actually plastic based packaging material made from PS, polystyrene) and hello to bamboo! Bamboo is one of the fastest growing plant fibers, up to 24″ per day, that is not only suitable for packaging, it can also be made into comfortable clothing!

Ecocradle is another packaging material made from mushrooms. The amazing thing is, it takes less than a week to grow and it doesn’t require watering, chemicals, and is completely safe and eco-friendly.

Another replacement for styrofoam is cornstarch, which is 100% bio-degradable and can be composted.

It’s always fun writing about new technological improvements in packaging and healthy replacements for plastics. While I do not think plastic can be completely replaced anytime soon, many alternatives are appearing in the market today. Let’s keep up the good work and I look forward to writing about new developments in 2012.

Turn a simple 2 liter soda bottle into a 55 Watt light-bulb!

“A Liter of Light” is a program founded by Illac Diaz in the Philippines to bring light to poor communities. The technology, developed by students of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, uses a chemical mixture to reflect the sun’s light within dark, enclosed areas.

Building this bottle bulb is simple:

1) Fill a 2-liter water bottle with purified water. Do not use tap water as moss will grow.
2) Add three teaspoons of liquid bleach.
3) Twist the bottle cap back on tightly.
4) Fix onto rooftop.

Akinori Ito may have changed the plastic recycling industry forever! The Blest Machine recycles plastic into oil at home – 1 kilogram of plastic can be turned into 1 liter of oil.

A major advantage of the Blest Machine is it does not emit any fumes or smoke. Plastic scrap such as bottles, films, and caps are placed into a bucket and enclosed with a lid. The plastic scrap is melted to release gaseous fumes that are tunneled into a water compartment where the gas is cooled into oil. The oil is combustible as is and can be further processed into gasoline, diesel and kerosene.

While the technology is sound, the price tag of the Blest, a whopping 10K USD, making this machine not affordable by most home owners.

Bottled water coolers have become ubiquitous in today’s office environment. This should not be the case with so many alternatives available to go bottleless and free from plastic in the office.

Bottleless water coolers are an easy alternative. Using Point-Of-Use filtration systems, bottleless water cooler companies allow for a less expensive, convenient and environmentally friendly alternative to bottled water coolers.

Continue reading »

What is the ultimate way of reusing a plastic bag and a plastic bottle together? How about an air-tight, reusable storage container for snacks, cookies, chips, etc…?

This is one of those simple, yet brilliant ideas. All you need is:

1) 1 pair of scissors
2) 1x plastic bottle
3) 1x plastic bag

Continue reading »