Worldwide each year, we consume somewhere between 500billion and a trillion plastic bags; but less than 1% of bags are recycled. It costs more to recycle a bag than produce a new one: It costs $4,000 to process and recycle 1 ton of plastic bags.
If we use a "cloth bag" instead of plastic bags, we can save 6 bags a week; that's 24 bags a month, or 288 bags a year. This is about 22,176 bags in an average life time.
The bright side: A lot of countries are either banning plastic bags, free plastic bags, or adding tax to plastic bags to make the consumers try to use a better alternative. On March 2007, San Francisco becomes first US city to ban plastic bags. If more cities or even states commit to this program, we can reduce the number of plastic bags that will end up in the wild.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Sunday, September 4, 2011
More Mushroom Goodness
So I got onto a tangent to see what else is being done with mushrooms. In fact, I just had some mushrooms in some chicken soup I made and they were delicious. Anyway, it appears as thought a new mushroom derived foam is perfectly suited for packaging. Dell was the first to utilize the material in the packing of its servers. The packaging itself actually grows into the shape of the mold in about 10 days! Definitely another step in the right direction for large corporate giants, hopefully other manufacturers will take notice.
Mushroom Death Suit
It seems as though the most novel solutions are often the most controversial. Dealing with the bodies of the dead is not something most designers strive for. However, there are many dirty problems that need to be addressed. one of them being the treatment and burial of the dead. This Bioartist has developed a system which utilizes various types of mushrooms to break down and decompose dead bodies. The goal was to eliminate the need for carcinogenic chemicals and other pollutants. Looking to nature for inspiration can help solve even the most off-putting of problems.
Solar Powered School Bags
Have you ever shown up to school and realized that your Ipod/phone is dead? It sucks, and it makes for a terrible music-less day. Worry no more because these bags charge your electronics with solar energy!
sTREEt, a solar-powered street lighting concept
I think it's such a cool idea having solar tree's in selected neighborhoods that work together to power all of the street lamps within the city limits. I can see this working really well here in California; in Washington, not so much.
Meet Phil!
Check out this podcast discussion on compost use in urban cities. Phil is an experimental case study focusing on changing society's mental behavior on keeping a personal compost bin at home.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Thursday, September 1, 2011
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