Phase II of the Umbrella Inside Out competition starts today. If you thought the winning fashion design was impressive, prepare to be amazed by these durable and biodegradable umbrellas of the future.
Author Archive
umbrella extravaganza
Monday, September 18, 2006women in trash
Sunday, September 17, 2006
While reading through the latest newsletter from DSNY, New York City’s trash authority, I came across a tiny item in the congratulations section that mentioned the recent promotion of two women to the rank of deputy chief. I guess the city of New York felt the story was bigger than garbage, because the mayor’s office issued a press release, not the department of sanitation.
I don’t have much commentary to add to this story. It’s a mid-level administrative rank and not surprising that women have not yet surpassed deputy chief given the staunch old-boys-club nature of both sanitation and New York City.
It is interesting, though, that garbage collection in our country is such a male-dominated industry given the widely-held cultural belief that wives should pick up after their husbands and sons and not the other way around.
A cursory Google for international comparisons reveals that:
- In India, garbage-free village initiatives offer job opportunities for women;
- Women in Jordan used a Global Fund grant to go door to door collecting trash, then turned their local garbage dump into a community greenhouse;
- Egyptian women sort trash and sell what they can to fund women’s health programs;
- And local teams of women environmentalists in Mozambique spend their mornings getting rid of cesspools of trash and their afternoons educating their neighbors on how to avoid malaria and cholera by coming up with new ways to dispose of household waste.
It would appear that women the world over are taking the tidyupper sterotype and, if not rejecting it entirely, at least turning it on its head.
Famous trash in American history
Sunday, September 17, 2006
When I mention to people that I have a trash blog, I am often told the story of a garbage barge that circled the world looking for a place to dump its contents. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that people remember this tale from the late eighties. After all, who could forget a story that involves a standoff between a tugboat hauling Long Island waste and the Mexican Navy? Today, while looking into the Marbro barge and the tugboat Break of Day (the dynamic duo that star in the infamous tale), I discovered that a set of paper recycling principles has since been named for the barge.
The tugboat captain, incidentally, was from Louisiana, a state which refused to let in the trash and which, today, suffers more than ever from garbage problems of its own.
toxic slop smells like rotting eggs
Saturday, September 16, 2006
People living in Abidjan are angry and turning violent over the hundreds of tons of shipping sludge illegally dumped near their homes. In the past few days they have beaten up the minister of transport and burned the home of the port director. Twenty-six thousand Ivoirians have sought treatment for headaches and vomiting and difficulty breathing. The BBC took this powerful photo and reported that burning barricades have been set up around the city.
Meanwhile, Côte d’Ivoire’s President Laurent Gbagbo is un-rsvp-ing to a UN meeting on the future of his country next week. His opposition to the meeting seems to be that he 1) doesn’t want peace and 2) doesn’t like the part of the plan that calls for open presidential elections within a year.
Related posts:
Village Underground
Friday, September 15, 2006
And no, I’m not talking about the West Village jazz club. The British organization called the Village Underground is a new charity that’s reusing long-forgotten tube carriages (or subway cars to those of us on this side of the Atlantic) by turning them into studio workspaces and small shops for start-up businesses.
via the eco street blog
see also this amusing resource on the underground
Update on Côte d’Ivoire
Friday, September 15, 2006
It seems there has been yet another death by trash this week. A seventh person died yesterday from the ill effects of toxic waste dumped in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. Earlier this week the entire parliament resigned over the scandal. The ministry of health now estimates 1,600 others are sick from “fuel slops” dumped by a ship described in varying news reports as “Panamanian” “Greek-owned” and “Dutch-based”, though I suppose it could be all three. The UN and French officials have confirmed that 400 tons of the toxic waste was dumped at several sites around the city.
Despite the known risks, trashpickers are returning to work.
Hedgehog Wars
Thursday, September 14, 2006
I just read on the Grist List (yet another kick-ass sidebar link) that McDonald’s has changed the packaging it uses for McFlurry ice cream to something more “hedgehog friendly”. Clicking through to the article, I learned that hedgehogs were squeezing into the containers and getting stuck inside.
It seems there is an entire organization in the UK dedicated to saving hedgehogs from just this sort of garbage-related peril and what’s more, they have a rival group out to kill the little guys.
Just goes to show you, under every trash lid is an entire world of quirks, nuance and issues. How does “Hedgehog Wars” sound as a working title for the first everyday trash documentary production?
the wee hours and teamstergate
Thursday, September 14, 2006
After seeing yesterday that Waste Management and the Teamsters were joining forces, I noticed the following headline on Solid Waste.com (one of many excellent sources of information and amusement linked from the side bar):
“Teamsters Appoint Morales Director of Solid Waste, Recycling”
You see, in my sleepiness, I misread Morales as morals, so you can imagine my surprise when I clicked through to discover that Morales is a person and not a sense of right or wrong.
I was also surprised to see that Jimmy Hoffa’s son is president of the Teamsters (yeah, I know, where have I been) and that he rose to power after a scandal called Teamstergate knocked out the competition. I think I vaguely remember this ‘gate, but man do I need a Labor 101 course or to spend some quality time on wikipedia, the poor woman’s grad school.
ceci n’est pas un parapluie
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
It’s down to three finalists over at the Umbrella Inside Out competition and there’s still time to vote!
Weekly Compactor
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
In trash news this week:
- A Native American chief in rural Utah is angry that nuclear waste WON’T be stored on his tribe’s land. Clearly he hasn’t been reading everyday trash;
- Some asshole in Delaware throws away a dog, while Tampa finds its third dead baby of the year in a trash can at a Target;
- Waste Management signs a deal with the Teamsters (not sure who the underdog is in this partnership);
- Bulgarians unintentionally build a wall of trash (pictured above);
- Israeli gas stations to get recycling bins (no promise on gas, though).
- And, not to be outdone, Qatar installs a hazerdous waste treatment plant and sets environmental regulations to keep Gulf air clean. Or at least as clean as it is now.
tax breaks for good recyclers
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
The U.S. Senate Finance committee is currently considering the Recycling Investment Saves Energy (RISE) Act, a tax bill introduced by Senator Jeffords of Vermont in July. Jeffords proposes we offer companies tax incentives to recycle and reuse materials and that we make buying recycling equipment tax free. The bill has a long way to go before it’s even considered by the full Congress and may go through many changes from the Senate Finance Committee or even get tossed out. Meanwhile, the solid waste industry supports the plan and has sent Jeffords a letter to make sure he tucks in juicey perks.
death by trash
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Last week, my friend Kimberly suggested I add a category to everyday trash that would cover those killed by trash or in trash related incidents. My hesitation isn’t that I think the material is lacking, on the contrary it’s everywhere, but rather a fear of trivializing the seriousness of death by trash. As Kimberly pointed out to me today, it’s no picnic to live in the away to which other people throw their unwanted things.
umbrella inside out
Monday, September 11, 2006
Today’s the day when Treehugger has promised to start posting the five finalists from their inspired Umbrella Inside Out contest. The idea is to make good use of all those umbrellas thrown away due to poor contruction and turn them into either a better umbrella or fashion item. Either way, the winner will be shown at an ethical fashion show in Paris.
Sidenote: When I was little, my mother read an article about a man who went around collecting broken umbrellas after rain storms and made them into kites. She got us some kite-making books from the library and the next time it rained, we walked around the neighborhood picking discarded umbrellas out of corner trash baskets. I made a bat kite from a black umbrella. She made a more beautiful, but less flyable red box kite. I don’t remember how long it took us, but I do remember many afternoons in the park flying our creations. Also, I remember the pride I felt as a child explaining to anyone who asked that we had made our nifty kites ourselves from things we picked out of the trash.
Kia ora, baby
Saturday, September 9, 2006
Today was the last day to drop off registered entries in the Waitakere City Council Trash to Fashion show in New Zealand. If last year’s winners are any indication, competition this November should be fierce.
Garbage Land
Friday, September 8, 2006
From the promotional website of the very next book I plan to read:
“In Garbage Land, acclaimed science writer Elizabeth Royte leads us on the wild adventure that begins once our trash hits the bottom of the can. Along the way, we meet an odor chemist who explains why trash smells so bad; garbage fairies and recycling gurus; neighbors of massive waste dumps; CEOs making fortunes by encouraging waste or encouraging recycling–often both at the same time; scientists trying to revive our most polluted places; fertilizer fanatics and adventurers who kayak among sewage; paper people, steel people, aluminum people, plastic people, and even a guy who swears by recycling human waste. With a wink and a nod and a tightly clasped nose, Royte takes us on a bizarre cultural tour through slime, stench, and heat-in other words, through the back end of our ever-more supersized lifestyles.”
everydaytrash 
