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.
Dumpster chic
Sunday, July 22, 2007Weekly Compactor
Saturday, July 21, 2007
This week in trash news:
- The Washington Post‘s first person singular piece this week features a man who scoops trash out of the Patomic;
- Young garbage collectors risk life and limb in Baghdad;
- A clash between the Teamsters and Waste Management has San Francisco looking a lot like Naples;
- A new study from Greenpeace shows 6.5 million tons of trash floating in the Mediterranean;
- A couple in India discover a discarded grandmother at the local garbage dump;
- A city in California proposes restrictions on curbside trash scavenging;
- The BigBelly solar trash bin gets a little press in the UK; and
- Regional officials in Canada visit Europe to learn more about trash.
Photo by Walter P. Calahan via the Washington Post
The Times Discovers Garblogging
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Photo by Nancy Seisel via the NYT
Jailhouse Jewelry
Monday, July 16, 2007
Inmates in Texas stave off boredom and depression by fashioning jewelry and tchotchkies from trash.
Photo via the Texarkana Gazette.
Trash Tides
Friday, July 13, 2007
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.”
Weekly Compactor
Thursday, July 12, 2007
This week in trash news:
- The U.S. government warns Americans of trash-related health risks in Naples;
- Italians in nearby Mercato San Severino try to clean up their act;
- A San Fran resident and a local columnist hash out the best ways to dispose of organic waste;
- Bears prefer garbage to bait; and
- Brits rescue a pony from a rubbish dump.
Photo via the USDA Forest Service
Why Americans Don’t Recycle
Wednesday, July 11, 2007A 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.
Trashtastic Tuesday with Miss Malaprop
Monday, July 9, 2007
This week Trashtastic Tuesday features Miss Malaprop, a pioneer of “Trashion”.
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everydaytrash: What is a “Trashion street team” and how did you get involved?
Miss Malaprop: Etsy.com, an online marketplace for all things handmade, has all sorts of member organized “street teams” who try to help get the word out about Etsy and their own shops there. The site is just 2 years old and very community oriented, so the street teams are a great way for members who live in certain regions or have similar interests to join up and spread the word about their work.
I believe the Trashion Street Team formed sometime during or shortly after Etsy sponsored an “upcycling” contest this past January. The challenge was for users to create something beautiful and functional out of materials that otherwise would have been thrown away or recycled. There were over a thousand entries, and everyone got really into the “upcycling” idea. Some of us decided to create a street team devoted to this idea, terming our work “Trashion”. As in, trash + fashion = Trashion. Of course for our group that’s not just limited to recycled clothing and jewelry. We have members who create just about anything you can think of using recycled & “upcycled” materials.
everydaytrash: What kind of politics and values go into your work?
Miss Malaprop: The more I get into the green movement and become more conscious of my environmental footprint, the more creative I become. Lately every little thing I throw away makes me think, “how can I turn this into something functional and fun?”
I’ve always been interested in environmental issues (I tried to start an environmental club when I was in 4th grade), but lately I’ve really been trying to make some changes and reduce my impact as much as possible.
Since Hurricane Katrina, I’ve also been creating a lot more New Orleans and fleur-de-lis themed pieces, as a show of support for the area’s recovery and to help remind people elsewhere how far we still have to go. (And that yes, it is worth saving and fighting for.)
everydaytrash: What’s your favorite piece you’ve reimagined from trash?
Miss Malaprop: I think it would have to be the outfit I made from recycled FEMA blue tarp for the Etsy upcycling contest [pictured above]. I won 3rd place in the contest because of it (out of more than a thousand entries, remember), and I got a lot of press and the chance to attend the Maker Faire in San Francisco because of it. Plus I was just really pleased with the way it turned out. I’d made an outfit from blue tarp before, for a local fundraiser, but I really liked this piece because it was made from discarded offical FEMA tarp and it helped bring some attention to New Orleans and the Gulf Coast area.
Related links:
MissMalaprop.com – indie finds for your uncommon life
dismantled designs – original and reconstructed clothing & accessories
Les poupées en plastiques recyclées
Monday, July 9, 2007
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 Grocery List book
Monday, July 9, 2007
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.
WTF?
Saturday, July 7, 2007From the nonsense nyc listserv (I heard about this event after the fact, thus saving myself from weighing trashiosity over nausea):
NYC Chinatown Garbage Taxidermy Tour
You’re invited on a free tour of the New York City Chinatown garbage. Did you know you could make art out of dead animals? Yes! I am going to show you how to collect dead animals from the garbage in Chinatown to make your own personal taxidermy. You will learn how to dig in the garbage for dead animals. You can make art out of these animals. It’s really cool. I’ve found everything from sharks to frogs to plain old unidentifiable crap. Sometimes I find nothing interesting, but that is what makes it fun. You never know. Rain or shine. My name is Nate Hill, a Brooklyn artist who makes new animals from dead animal parts. I sew together random animal parts to make a new animal that doesn’t really exist. Many of the parts I have used over the years have come from Chinatown’s garbage. I will be holding an 8×11 sign that reads Chinatown Tour. I suggest wearing clothes you don’t mind getting dirty. Long-sleeve shirts are also good to keep your arms clean. Also fully enclosed shoes are recommended. You may want to bring a plastic bag if you want to take a souvenir with you. You may also want to bring a flashlight, though I’ve never used one. I search by feel. The following items will be provided: latex gloves, first aid kit, wet wipes, and antibacterial gel. Are we going to dive in dumpsters? No sorry. We prefer not to get that dirty. We just dig our hands in trash containers. We’re not going to be walking far. The tour consists of my favorite spots that are just within a few blocks of each other. After the tour is finished, I invite you to drinks at the bar Home Sweet Home (a taxidermy themed bar). Southeast Corner of Canal Street and Lafayette Street, Manhattan 9p; $free
http://stoproadkill.org/chinatowngarbagetour.html
NOTE: Ladies and gentlemen of the press, we know you lift stories from Nonsense all the time. That’s fine. We’re happy that you read closely, and most of the people here want the attention. But we actually went out of our way to warn this kid that you’d descend on him like pigeons poaching rice from one of those old Chinese ladies at the park. We told him that his event is so absurd that it actually sounds like a prank — specifically the old San Francisco Cacophony prank where they roasted squab in Golden Gate park and told everyone they were eating, yep, street pigeons. He pointed us to the photos on the web and said he was ready. So, have at the story. But if you think about it, maybe send us a note and say thanks, or namedrop us in your story for once. We like to take the high road, but everyone likes a little nod every once in a while.
Weekly Compactor: Blogroll Edition
Friday, July 6, 2007
I took an unannounced vacation this week. Please excuse the inconsistency. You’ll be happy to know that ton of rich garblogging carried on in my absensce. In particular, check out these two links:
1. Carrying around your trash for two weeks is a growing trend in New York City. The practice makes both you and others aware of how much waste each of us produces, and adds incentive to make less. Check out this Trash Talk blog from frog design where Debra Keneally is logging her experiences toting trash and where she has amassed an impressive collection of links to allies and others doing the same thing. Note: This is not the last you’ll hear of this genius fad around these parts, just the last you’ll hear of them before the weekend.
2. Keith over at the Temas blog covered two trash-related stories this past week. First, he investigates a new Mexican disposable diaper claiming to be “environmentally friendly”. Next he updates us on another PET recycling project, this one backed by the government of Brazil in an attempt to construct solar water heaters from trash.
Photo via The Temas Blog
Reminder: Trunk Show Tonight in Brooklyn
Friday, June 29, 2007
Yonkers Chomper
Friday, June 29, 2007
NYC artist Tom Duncan was one of 6 artists to win $2000 plus municipal exposure for his work when the city of Yonkers commissioned murals to cover local garbage trucks. I would have totally missed this item, had my friend Myra not read the regional section yesterday!
Photo by Alison Leigh via the NYT.
Weekly Compactor
Friday, June 29, 2007
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.
everydaytrash 
