Click the photo for a closer view of this clever poster by artist Klas Ernflo who points out that shark bites should be the least of our concerns when it comes to underwater mayhem. I like the condom fish and paper bag squid.
Archive for the ‘Trash Politics’ Category
Not so marine life
Sunday, September 7, 2008Zero Waste Sex
Saturday, September 6, 2008
E magazine has an intriguing article this month entitled, “Make Love, Not Waste” about greening your sex life. At a cursory glance, I got a little nervous reading about the fact that latex condoms aren’t biodegradable and that hormonal methods may have a negative impact on the environment. The fact is, the condom and the pill are two of the most effective methods out there, helping women prevent tons of unintended pregnancies. And even without getting into the population control argument (more babies make more trash), the simple fact is that avoiding unintended pregnancies in the first place conserves a whole lot of energy. And that, I think we can all agree, is better for the environment. I agree it would be nice if there were ways to have safe sex that didn’t contribute to landfill waste. But until microbicide research moves along, don’t knock the condom! It can’t be beat for convienance at staving off pregnancy AND disease. Luckily, the article came around to similar conclusions. So, check out E magazine. It’s neat. Oh, the article also addresses another important issue, the need for greener sex toys.
Weekly Compactor
Friday, September 5, 2008
It’s been far too long to call this feature “weekly”. But I know you’re a forgiving readership. This week in trash news:
- The Trash King of New Orleans makes millions off of hurricaine clean-up;
- Oregon composts roadkill;
- A dentist in Pennsylvania is caught illegally dumping syringes and other nasty supplies;
- A stinky trash plant leads to popular protests and then a government apology in China;
- Canadian half-marathoners will be forced to carry home their own trash; and
- GM makes big promises to recycle.
Photo of squished porcupine by Sarah Britain via the East Oregonian
Stop Trashing the Climate
Friday, September 5, 2008
A new report published by the Institute for Local Self Reliance lays out the links between climate change and the amount of trash we produce. The central argument made is that a “zero waste approach” or heavy promotion of reuse, recycling and composting, is the most practical way to cut back on the amount of waste we generate that is inturn sent to incinerators and landfills which, as we know, are yucky.
If you’re into scary statistics, here’s one for you: “If we continue on the same wasting path with rising per capita waste generation rates and stagnating recycling and composting rates, by the year 2030, Americans could generate 301 million tons per year of municipal solid waste, up from 251 million tons in 2006.”
Fear not. If policymakers and citizens would just head the recomendations made in this document, the amount of solid waste produced could drop 90% over the same time period, which would reduce the amount of greenhouse gases created by 406 megatons CO2 eq per year. I’m not sure what the unit megaton CO2 eq. refers to, but it sounds significant, doesn’t it? According to the report, it would be the clean air equivalent of shutting down over 80 smoke stackin’ coal burning plants.
I’m interested in your thoughts on the 12-step plan laid out by these good people. Reports full of numbers like this one make fantastic meat, but we have a lot of burgers to sling policy-wise to get this shit into law and daily practice. Here’s a link to the press release.
Note to NYers: the Office of Recycling Outreach and Education is great for practical facts on what the city recycles, hosts random recycling-themed events and is a lifeline to wonky reports such as the one covered in this post. Yay listserves!
Photo of children ripped from the OROE site.
Sorting through political waste
Friday, August 29, 2008Hundreds of college students are voluntarily sorting trash at the DNC. Very cool.
[This post will remain photoless as a protest to the handful of lame how-green-are-the-Dems-really? articles fluttering about the Internet, all with snoozy images. I mean, Plenty seem to be the only ones trying and their clip art has nothing to do with the environment.]
Trashfinder’s Ball, the movie
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Ever heard of the Trashfinder’s Ball? Me neither. From what I can tell from this very local online article, it’s a party in Beverly, Mass., where people come in and present treasures found in the garbage to a panel of judges who then pick a winner and hand out prizes, all in the name of raising funds for the local bookmobile. Sounds amazing so far. From the looks of the photos on flikr, the fundraising part happens, at least in part, in the form of a raffle (which is great, beacause I have a knack for winning raffles. It’s a special talent I share with my sister). Also, some fashion-forward guests wear their trash (hello! Finally, a chance to contact the trashionistas and ask for help putting together a look the way an Oscar hopeful might call a couture designer).
Last year’s ball was such a hit the organizers are planning a second annual shindig and this time a local filmmaker will shoot it to complete a documentary already in the works. The movie will include interviews with prominent trashies as well as, presumably, local peeps talking about their dumpster diving finds, all pegged to the dramatic core of the ball itself. Let me know if you come accross any more info on this event. My new goal in life is to score an invite. You only think I’m kidding.
Photo of the judges found on flikr
Trashtastic Tuesday with Bryant Holsenbeck
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
My friend Lydia recently tipped me off to the work of artist Bryant Holsenbeck and was kind enough to put me in touch with the creative environmentalist for a little Q and A on the motivations behind her whimsical works creating bright and lively installations out of trash.
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everydaytrash: Do you see your work as political?
Holsenbeck: Yes–I see my work as from the gut, personal, political. People do not want to see their trash. The quantity component of my work is very important. We just have so much (use it once or 20 times for that matter) stuff. Use it and then trow it “Away” Where is Away? In the US, most people are not concerned with this.
everydaytrash: I love the idea of wildlife made from trash, what brought about your Wildlife installation and what other birds and beasts have you created from discarded materials since?
Holsenbeck: Wild life–because we are taking up the space for wild animals. We like to see deer, but not in our gardens. What animals will be able to survive as we take over all of the wild and natural habitats. I feel very fortunate when I see birds soaring in the sky. Wild. Where do they live? As developers bulldoze and we stamp on all insects because they are “in our way” We are ruining our habitat as well. I am lucky to live in a neighbor hood where I see rabbits and chipmunks–and yesterday close to town–I saw a fawn running for the woods–white tail up. Our worlds are getting closer and closer–I hope we can live with wild animals–They do not have a voice. “WILD” is about watching for wild animals–being glad when I see them. Keeping my eyes open for what is there.
everydaytrash: Your bottlecap pieces are so intricate: how long do they take to create and what’s your process for collecting materials?
Holsenbeck: I have collected bottle caps for about 10 years. I have reached current maximum storage capacity of about 100,000 caps. The collection was mostly easy–It was continual. Certain friends family and neighbors designated themselves as collectors. For some people, it just became part of their recycling process. I am used to arriving home to a bag of “stuff” on my front porch. I am grateful to all of these people for collecting. Each cap is a record of something consumed–and we are doing this all of the time. The hard part for me has been keeping the caps sorted by color and making sure they are clean.
Here is what is important–not that many families collected for me–but over time, it mounts up. How many jars of apple sauce did you and your family eat last year–then multiply times 10–any product over time–we eat to survive and the caps are the non-biodegradable record
Photos ripped from the artist’s site.
Scando trash video
Wednesday, August 20, 2008Senior tipster Dumster Taoist sent me this amazing video in five parts today. It’s a TV documentary on Manila’s City of Garbage. Reserving commentary until I’ve had a chance to watch it in full.
Don’t throw your trash in the aisle
Monday, August 18, 2008I found this Dexter video on YouTube while rooting around for a Monday story. I’m not sure if it’s a good or bad thing that this is one of the first links to appear when one Googles “trash policy”. I’m going with cute.
Poems about bears and trash
Thursday, August 14, 2008
After reading this sad story about a “garbage-conditioned” bear “destroyed” by police for getting caught breaking into someone’s house looking for yummy trash, I commenced an internet search for “bear aware” and found this amusing poetry contest. Entries had to be a haiku using the words “bear,” “garbage” and, improbably, “shorts”. Shorts kind of killed it for me, but whatever.
Photo via the Yellowstone Park News blog
Polka dotted trash
Monday, August 11, 2008Check out this post over at Olympia Dumpster Divers where the fabulous Ruby Reusable has collected some neat links on fancy trash bags migrating about NYC this summer.
The project, TRASH: Any color you like, uses 100% biodegradable bags naturally scented with peppermint and bugglegum to repel vermin. Reminds me of how my grandmother used to use stale Juicy Fruit to kill moles, but that’s a story for another day.
Sugar!
Thursday, August 7, 2008
In a serendipitous series of mouse clicks, I was listening to the song “Sugarman” by Scorcher [insert grime/trash joke] when I opened up a post on biodegradable packaging made from Sugarcane over at The Temas Blog. I interpreted this coincidence as a sign that I should post both links for you and turn you on to two great sites, in case you’re not already in the know: Last.fm for free music streaming and The Temas Blog, for all things trash in Latin America.
Photos ripped from Myspace and Temas respectively
Mexico City Trash
Tuesday, August 5, 2008Many of my friends are in Mexico City right now for the International AIDS Conference. I’ve been a little jealous this week, picturing them all sipping fresh fruit margaritas and loading up on free condoms without me. I was looking forward to a few political pun buttons or a postcard, but then my friend Maxwell sent me the best souvenir ever: trash pics!
These are from El Bosque de Chapultepec, a park in Mexico City where Max noticed that all the trash cans in the park had “organicos” and “inorganicos” containers to separate organic and inorganic trash (though he notes not everyone uses them properly). Check out the trash truck, also equipped to separate organic and inorganic waste and the SUPERCOOL trash can made of plastic bottles. Sadly, Max adds: “I just read in the travel book I purchased before this trip that Mexico only recycles about 6% of it’s trash. So perhaps the park is a haven of reasonable trash policy.”
So many good things in one
Friday, August 1, 2008
A recent email from the Wooster Collective highlighted this lovely post from their archives on how to make a plastic-bag eating giraffe, authored by the fabulous Mark Jenkins. You know how I love street art, giraffes and creative ways to reuse plastic bags and promote their extinction!
everydaytrash 