This summer British explorer and environmentalist David de Rothschild will set sail with a crew of scientists from San Francisco to Sydney, covering approximately 12,000 nautical miles. His boat, Plastiki, is a high tech 60 foot research catamaran made from reused plastic bottles and recycled plastics.

Plastiki hosts solar panels and turbines to power it’s electrical needs. There is a hand operated water desalination system to supply fresh water and it uses a nitrogen-extracting waste system that composts waste and kitchen scraps into fertilizer for deposit at ports.

The goal of this expedition is to raise awareness of our ocean’s unsolicited challenge of accommodating our plastic waste, which by some estimates creates an island of debris as large as 600,000 square miles!

The boat is being built at Pier 31 in San Francisco and is scheduled to set sail this August.

USS NewYork

Unfortunately in this case we not only recycled the steel but also our attitude towards fear. It would have been nicer to recycle that steel into something useful and compassionate. Like emergency housing for Katrina, perhaps?

via Cool Hunting

Well, what does the number 7 mean anyway? Sometimes it tells us right on the product: OTHER.
Well, what is OTHER? Literally, anything other than numbers 1-6.

Here is a list of the recycling codes
You can find extended descriptions of each resin category from the Plastics Web

1: PET, Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET, PETE, APET, RPET)
2: HDPE, High Density Polyethylene (HDPE, PEHD)
3: PVC, Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC, Vinyl)
4: LDPE, Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE, PELD)
5: PP, Polypropylene
6: PS, Polystyrene
7: Other, including but not limited to
Polycarbonate (PC)- common plastic associated with BPA exposure
Copolyester- the increasing popular substitute for polycarbonate water bottles, usually advertised as ‘BPA free’
Polylactic acid (PLA)- a biodegradable plastic derived from renewable resources such as cornstarch or sugars.
Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS)- petroleum based plastic used to make light but rigid products
Nylon (PA)- generic name for a family of polyamides makes anything from pantyhose to skateboard wheels
Acrylic (PMMA)- petroleum based plastic, light and cheap, but brittle under impact

The list can go on, but the point is all number 7’s are not created equal. How can one tell? Sometimes if you read the package it will tell you. Many manufactures that use PLA (the biodegradable plastic) want to advertise the fact that they used a renewable resource for their product. If you are not sure, you can contact the manufacturer as ask them. You deserve to be an informed consumer!

First shown in the Art to Wear fashion show earlier this spring, Liz Bradford’s trash dress seems to make a statement against pollution both of land and body.

The Rail Readers played on the stage, along with the Rosebuds, Kickin Grass and other great local groups.

Our friend and colleague, Ty, was the Grand Marshal of the Trash Brigade. There was a parade at 2:15, and it was so popular, there was a reprise at 5:30.

As the tagline of the Planet Earth Celebration states, “Respect Your Mother.”

Americans generate an average of 4.6 pounds of garbage per person each day.
Read on to learn how you can reduce your consumption and put your waste to good use!

Household Recycling (food, junk mail, cards, packaging, appliances, furniture, home-made cleaning products)

Personal Recycling (clothing, shoes, eyeglasses)

Local Recycling Services (Triangle, NC area)

Business/Home Office Recycling (electronics, batteries, cell phones, computers)

Transportation Recycling (cars, bikes)

Building Recycling (paint, materials)

Non-Toxic Cleaners

www.habitat.org Your old cabinet parts, drywall, plumbing fixtures, doors, flooring, and windows are not just recyclable, they’re reusable. Habitat for Humanity is always looking for usable building material (and tools)

http://www.habitatwake.org/reuse/index.html visit the Habitat ReUse Center in Raleigh, NC

Paint: Few large-scale programs exist to make use of leftover interior and exterior paint. In Oregon, Paint Back uses donated paint to cover graffiti. You may find a taker locally if you check with churches, theater groups, schools, or Habitat for humanity. To store leftover paint-for your own or someone else’s use-place a sheet of plastic wrap under the lid, shut it tightly, and then store the can upside down in a cool place. The paint forms an airtight seal that will keep the contents fresh for years. Contact: Paint Back, 503.588.5169, ext. 5991; www.habitat.org, www.timetorecycle.org to find out more about recycling paint in your area.

• Use carpools or public transit to extend the wear of cars and tires and reduce car maintenance wastes such as used oil.

Automotive:

www.donateyourcar.com For a substantial tax write-off, consider donating instead of selling or trading in your old car. The IRS allows you to deduct the retail value quoted in any widely used guidebook, as long as it’s under $5000. (If it’s over $5000, you’ll need an independent appraisal.) Your write-off value will probably be much greater than the trade-in-value, and you won’t need to waste money on repairs or time haggling with dealers or buyers.

www.guidestar.org You can also donate your car to a shelter, church, or theater group. These groups often need cars to pick up clients or transport supplies. Make sure the group you choose is qualified to receive tax-deductible contributions before making the donation, and ask them to provide a written acknowledgment that includes a description of the car. Guidestar offers a list of 850,000 IRS-recognized nonprofit organizations.

www.recycleoil.org Recycling the motor oil from one oil change protects a million gallons of drinking water, according to the American Petroleum Institute. Most service stations that change oil will also take and sagely dispose of used motor oil free of charge.

http://www.burlingtonbiodiesel.org/ Why burn gas when you can burn leftover cooking oil?! Read more about biodiesel benefits and uses.

Bicycles:

www.ibike.org/youth.htm, www.ibike.org/freebike.htm, www.scn.org/bikeworks No matter how old or beat up, there are lots of organizations that want your old bike. Most community bike shops across the country host Recycle-a-Bicycle or Earn-a-Bike programs that try to get kids off the street by teaching them to restore bikes and eventually giving them one to fix up for themselves. In Seattle, the International Bicycle Fund (IBF) sponsors the Village Bicycle Project, which will take your old bicycle, repair it, and send it to Africa, where people are in desperate need of reliable transportation. The IBF also provides links to “bike libraries” (which lend bikes in cities like Denver; Portland, Oregon; and Olympia, Washington) and youth bike programs around the country that are looking for donations. In addition, most Kiwanis Clubs collect and give bikes to disadvantaged children as Christmas gifts.

www.greenlinepaper.com America’s Green Office Supply Store allows to purchase a variety of recycled products for your home and office.

ELECTRONICS

Batteries:

www.rbrc.org for mores about rechargeable battery recycling

www.batteryrecycling.com The best strategy is to buy rechargeable batteries whenever possible and reuse them (you can buy a re-charger for $15 to $40 at home centers and office supply stores). When they’re finally spent, recycle rechargeables at Best Buy, Target, Circuit City, Radioshack, Wal-Mart, or Home Depot. Battery Solutions Inc., a Michigan-based company, will ensure that single use batteries don’t end up in landfills. For a one-time fee of $8, they will ship you a 2-gallon container so you can deposit your batteries (the container holds up to 25 pounds) and mail it back. They hand-sort the batteries, recycle them, and return the container to you. You pay for shipping and a fee based on the quantity and type of batteries you’ve sent, typically about $17. Return automobile batteries to auto shops. They’ll recycle or dispose of them for you.

www.greendisk.com Supplies you with TechnoTrash cans to fill with byte-sized technotrash and return to the GreenDisk for recycling. Also sells cds in recycled jewel cases, other recycled techno-products.

Cell Phones:

www.wirelessfoundation.org

www.collectivegood.com If you’ve got one or more of the estimated 250 million unused mobile phones in America right now, don’t throw it away—cell phones contain toxins that can contaminate water supplies. Call to Protect, a joint initiative by the wireless industry and the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, collects cell phones, fixes them, and donates them to women at risk for abuse. The cell phones are programmed with emergency numbers and links to local shelters. You can also send phones to CollectiveGood, a nonprofit that gives them to economically disadvantaged people in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Computers:

www.cristina.org

www.sharetechnology.org Like cell phones, computers contain toxins such as lead and mercury that can leach into groundwater supplies if left in landfills. The National Cristina Foundation in Greenwich, Connecticut, collects and donates used computers to hundreds of prescreened foundations, such as Patch Worx (which donates computers to critically ill children so that they can communicate with each other and the outside world). You can also donate a computer through Share the Technology, an organization that lists specific equipment requests from schools and community organizations. You might be giving away exactly what they’re looking for. Don’t forget to check with your local county recycling program to see if they can accept your old computer or monitor!

Before you make that purchase:

• can you borrow or rent the item?
• Can you purchase with a friend and share?
• Do you have a broken one that can be repaired?
• If you really have to buy, can you buy something that can be upgraded rather than be replaced in the future?
• Can you sell your old one on FreeCycle, Craig’s List, or eBay, rather than discarding? Or can you donate it to someone in need

Groceries:

• Bring strong, reusable cloth bags on trips to the grocery store. Neither paper nor plastic is as good as a shopping bag that you can use over-and-over again.
• Buy whole fruits and vegetables, rather than pre-cut selections that come in plastic bags or containers. Apply this basic principle to other types of pre-prepared selections.
• Choose cereal in bags, not in boxes. When you get a box of cereal, you’re usually getting cereal that comes in a plastic bag, and is then placed inside a box. That’s just a waste. Try to find products that contain the minimum amount of packaging necessary to get the job done.
• Stay away from individually-wrapped items. There are times when “snack packs” and cans of soda are particularly convenient, but you can save oodles of money and packaging waste by purchasing the big bag of chips or the two-liter bottle.
• Buy bulk. When purchasing laundry detergent, bottled water or what-have-you, the largest package possible typically has the lowest unit cost and utilizes the least packaging material. You also save time, money and energy by having to take less frequent trips back to the store. (Don’t need that much? Get together and share with friends!)
• Preference items packaged in materials that are easily recyclable. It doesn’t matter that some strange plastic can be recycled somewhere. Know what materials are conveniently recycled in your own neighborhood. Other materials are too likely to end up in the trash.
• Reuse what you can. Things like glass jars and plastic bottles can be re-used before they’re recycled. Many grocery stores — particularly co-ops — will sell generic items like beans, grains, honey, syrup, peanut butter and more at a discounted bulk rate if you bring your own.
• Buy concentrated products to reduce packaging. Examples are concentrated fruit juice, laundry detergent, fabric softener and window cleaner.
• Avoid buying packaged foods with disposable, nonreheatable microwave dishes. If you must buy them, the dishes can be re-used as picnic plates, plant saucers or pet dishes.
• If your favorite brands have excessive packaging or are not as durable as they should be, contact the manufacturers and express your concern about reducing waste and conserving natural resources.

Household Items:

• Buy durable products instead of those that are disposable or cheaply made.
• Repair/restore used items before replacing them.
• Buy items you can re-use.
• Buy items you can recycle locally through curbside collection or recycling centers.
• Put paper towels out of easy reach so they will be used only when needed. Set up a countertop or wall holder for sponges, rags and cloth towels.
• Buy products that are durable, well-made and repairable. Check warranties, repair services and availability of parts and accessories. Read consumer magazines (your library probably carries copies) to learn which products are more durable and have longer warranties.
• Reduce toxic waste by purchasing paints, pesticides and other hazardous materials only in the quantities needed, or by sharing leftovers.
• Use plug-in appliances instead of those that operate on batteries. Disposable batteries are discarded after one use. Rechargeable batteries are the largest source of cadmium in the municipal waste stream.
• Americans throw away about 2.5 billion disposable razors every year. Use an electric shaver or a quality razor with replaceable blades.
• Bar soap generates less packaging waste and is less expensive than liquid soap in plastic bottles with pump dispensers.
• www.tenthousandvillages.com Purchase accessories and household items made from recycled products

Excess Paper/Junk Mail/Credit Card offers:

• Too much junk mail? Contact the Mail Preference Service, Direct Marketing Association (PO Box 643, Carmel NY 10512-0643)
• If you receive mail from a marketer who does not subscribe to the Mail Preference Service, write directly to the company to remove your name. Enclose an address label from previously sent mail; the coding on the label will help the company locate your name on their list.
• Letters and other correspondence that are printed on one side only can be cut along the folds and re-used to make shopping lists.
• Cancel subscriptions to magazines or newspapers you don’t actually read, especially if you could read them at the local library. Give old issues to friends, co-workers, nursing homes, laundromats or libraries.
• There’s also a toll-free number to stop mailings of credit card offers. One call to 1-888-5-OPT-OUT will reach the major national credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian and Trans Union. Have your Social Security number ready — they will ask you for it to confirm your identity.

Greeting Cards:

www.stjudesranch.org Whether you’ve decided to purge your old birthday cards or you’re buried under hose blank cards charities send out at this time of year, you don’t’ have to throw them out. Send them to St. Jude’s Ranch for Children, a home and recreation center for abused, neglected, and disadvantaged children in Nevada. Volunteers among the kids take the fronts (unwritten on) from used cards and attach them to new backs to make recycled cards for sale. A portion of the proceeds goes directly to the kids and their college fund. Contact: St. Jude’s Ranch for Children, 100 St. Jude’s St., Boulder City, NV 89005-1618

Packaging Materials:

Mail Boxes Etc. (and other packaging stores) Most Mail Boxes Etc. stores accept clean foam packing peanuts and bubble wrap.

Appliances:

www.recycle-steel.org Take your oven, washer, dryer, or other large electric and steel appliances to a Steel Recycling Institute drop-off site. Some cities even have yearly pickup weeks. Recycled appliances are reduced to scrap, which is melted down in steel mills and foundries to produce new steel. If the appliance is in good working order, call local soup kitchens or shelters to see if they can put it to use.

Furniture:

www.rmhc.com Ronald McDonald House charities provide homes for the families of hospital-bound kids and are always looking for gently used furniture. Local homeless shelters often need sofas, desks, and chairs.

Artwork:

www.elizabethgalecke.com Raleigh photographer also makes beautiful, rustic photo frames from found objects.

www.heartofclay.com Raleigh artist Jeanne Rhea creates amazing sculpture from found objects.