everydaytrash

This morning, I came across this Edmonton Journal article on biodegradable corn cups as an alternative to PETE plastic, which few people make the effort to recycle. A Green Bug Blog has compiled some more facts on compostable utensils. It’s a mind blowing concept, if you ask me, corn and potato starch knives, forks and bowls! I tried some out at Blue Hill Cafe upstate this Winter. I don’t know why more places don’t make the switch.

Two resources for the garcurious:

• Lindsay over at wiseGEEK sent me a link to their handy issue brief on bottled water this weekend; and
• In perusing Blue Egg this morning, I see that the ever-trashtastic Elizabeth Royte has compiled everything we need to know about recycling into one comprehensive article.

  It’s a good thing I’m not the only garblogger on the World Wide Web or you trash-hungry readers would be out of luck this dreary Monday. After braving the flash floods of Manhattan Island this morning, I was too cold and wet to hunt for garbage facts this morning. Luckily, colleague and regular tipster Keith R. over at The Temas Blog has enough trashy goodness for the both of us. In the seventh installment of his trash photos series, Keith profiles PET bottle architect Andreas Froese who has built houses out of reused bottles in Honduras, Colombia and now, Bolivia. Nothing like an inspirational use of trash story to brighten a rainy day. Thanks, Keith!

Photo via Andreas Froese via The Temas Blog

I’ve noticed a recent increase in media attention for freeganism.  There was the New York Times feature, “Not Buying It,” already reposted here, a recent New York Press piece that describes the social atmosphere of group dumpster diving, and even a dissmisive and annoyed Huffington Post column on the topic.  This is probably due to several factors, including the catchy name and the current season (it’s summer and freeganism is at a peak, it’s summer and news is slow).  This shit is blowing up like street art and gallery grafitti!  I’m feeling behind the times in wanting to try urban food foraging for myself.  Several recomended dumpsters are not far from my place.  Stay tuned. 

Check out this AFP shot featured by the BBC’s Day in Pictures segment yesterday.

“For the last week, the sea around Juhu beach in Mumbai, India, has been churning out more than 300 tones of rubbish every day because of changes in sea currents and waves.”

A HarrisInteractive poll on sent out on Business Wire today reveals that many Americans aren’t recycling and finds a murky mix of reasons for why this is so.  The good news is that three out of four Americans partakes in some form of recycling.  The bad news is, this is a large and populated country and 1 in four nonrecylers makes for a shitload of wastefullness.  Here’s what the Harris has to say about reasons for not recycling:

 Why Don’t They Recycle?

Among those who do not recycle, the reasons are very varied. One in six (15%) say they do not recycle because it is not available in their area while 12 percent each say it takes too much effort and it costs more to recycle where they live. Just one in ten (11%) say they do not recycle because they don’t believe it makes a difference while six percent say they are too busy and five percent say it is too difficult.

Southerners might be more inclined to recycle if it was cheaper and actually available. One in five (20%) of those who live in the South do not recycle because it isn’t available in their area, while an additional 14 percent say it is because it costs more where they live. For those in the East who do not recycle, laziness may be the reason. One-quarter of Easterners (26%) say they do not recycle because it takes too much effort.

So, we’re cheap, lazy and can’t be bothered.  Not sure I needed a poll to tell me that, but it sounds like a combined category of “apathetic” would account for a third of the barriers keeping Americans from recycling.  Perhaps we should be lobbying for some sort of federal Make it Cheap, Make it Easy Recycling bill.