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.  

  Women’s eNews reports this week on a Burkinabè women’s group who turn old plastic bags into dolls to sell to tourists.  This story involves so many happy elements: artistic recycling, microfinance, women’s empowerment, the great city of Bobo-Dioulasso and the just desserts of selling trash back the West at boutique prices.  The day job is taking me back to Burkina Faso in September, so I’ll be sure to look them and blog back then. 

Photo by Emily Bowers via Women’s eNews

The canon of literary trash is ever-growing.  Bill Keaggy over at The Grocery List Collection has a new book out. 

“That’s right, I made a real book out of the best of the best found shopping lists on my site. Only the funniest of the funny, the weirdest of the weird, the saddest of the sad and the unhealthiest of the unhealthy made it into the Milk Eggs Vodka, published last month by HOW Books,” he says.

I might just check it out.  If you’ve never read the blog, I highly recommend clicking over to grocerylists.org and reading some of Keaggy’s amazing collection of found grocery lists—readymade art and poetry.

  This week in trash news:

• As the economic crisis endures, Zimbabwean trash pickers find fewer and fewer quality throwaways;
• Meanwhile, Paris Hilton’s trash sells for millions;
• Boston municipal waste haulers are caught side dealing;
• The Kerala High Court slaps a company’s wrist for illegal dumping;
• San Francisco may have too many trash cans;
• Fujifilm starts a landfill to energy project;
• Pittsburgers discover freecycling; and
• Waste haulers in Guyana won’t collect trash until they are paid.

Photo via Benettontalk.

  In addition to producing yummy yogurt, Stonyfield Farm cultivates indicators for ranking companies’ climate policies.  Their new guide, Climate Counts, gives grades of “Stuck,” “Starting,” and “Striding.”

Based on 22 criteria, the guide scores on a scale of 1-100 companies’ progress in measuring, reducing, supporting progressive legislation and publicly disclosing their contribution to global warming. 

For some examples:  Burger King is “stuck” at zero, Google is just  “starting” with a score of 17 and Nike is “striding” with a surprisingly high score of 73.  Stonyfield also ranked themselves as “striding” with 63 points. 

Download the pocket guide here.

Story via Waste News; photo via Climate Counts guide. 

  Apparently due to lax border checks between EU countries, German companies were able to illegally dump thousands of tons of trash in Hungary last year.  Wise to this scheme, Hungary is now sending back the trash, or at least half of it.  In addition, the Hungarian companies who let this happen are also being fined.  On the positive side, it’s nice to see we can resolve these things with check books and not guns these days.

Map via The Project Gutenberg eBook

 I guess I’m not the only one who finds trash a fascinating and entertaining topic.  A British paper reported today that ten reality show hopefuls have taken up residence at a local landfill as part of a competition to see who can best live off the fat of the land.  Contestants will have to live like freegans, including making their own shelters out of landfill waste.  The idea is to raise awareness (and ratings) around the vast amount we throw away.  Sadly, as taping has only just begun, my hunch is that the DVD release is years away!

Image via Stencil Punks.