Recycling: "It could be you or could it?"

This simple video is strangely emotionally powerful or I am just going soft in my old age?



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Object graveyards - in pictures

Always a believer that a picture is worth a thousand words some of these "piles of rubbish" pictures show clearly tell us something about capitalism and society.

Exactly what is tells us is something to think about - answers welcome.



Object Graveyards: The Afterlife of Everyday Things [Webecoist]

The world is rife with ‘stuff’, and the simple fact is we’re producing new homes, vehicles, gadgets, gizmos and other designs faster than we can get rid of the old ones. Tires, airplanes, bicycles and cell phones don’t just magically disappear once they outlive their usefulness. Sometimes they’re gathered together and turn into recycled urban trash art, photographed as trash or stripped down and recycled, and sometimes they’re just left to sit and rot for decades on end. Much like abandoned buildings and cities, these places can haunt the collective memory. Here’s a look at the afterlife of everyday objects, piled into staggering mounds that resemble nothing more than cemeteries for stuff.

Eco-Nightclub to open in London

Forget the G8 summit where the future of the planet is being thrashed out - an eco-nightclub is to open in London.

What is an eco-nightclub you may well ask? Then read on.

The fatal flaw to this plan I believe lies in the following quote from the first paragraph of the article.

where cyclists and walkers get free admission

The question is whether any self respecting hardcore hedonist clubber wants to dance the night away with other patrons wearing cycle clips and rucksacks. To raise 60% of your energy through the dancing activities of paying customers will require more than 3 men and a dog standing in a corner and shuffling the feet occasionally.

Eco Nightclub Set for Launch in British Capital [PlanetArk]

LONDON - Welcome to Surya -- self-styled "world's first ecological nightclub" where cyclists and walkers get free admission to a club with dancefloor so high-tech it generates its own electricity when people move on it.

The brainchild of 35-year-old property developer Andrew Charalambous, aka Dr. Earth, Surya has its own wind turbine and solar energy system, with the plan to donate any surplus electricity to local residents.

When clubbers need a rest from strutting their stuff on the dancefloor they can relieve themselves at the latest air flush, waterless urinals and low flush toilets as well as taking the opportunity to freshen up with the club's automatic taps.

Recycling gone too far? Used condoms

In a follow up to our detailed study of the economics of recycling yesterday comes news that China is taking recycling to new heights (or is it depths).

The concept of recycling used condoms to wear as hair bands may not appeal but remember that someone has the job of collecting and processing the said used condom. Whilst we are on the subject, where would a budding used condom entrepreneur source his or her stock? Sounds like a spoof story to me.

China recycling used condoms as cheap hair bands [Yahoo news]

BEIJING (AFP) - Used condoms are being recycled into hair bands in southern China, threatening to spread sexually-transmittable diseases they were originally meant to prevent, state media reported Tuesday.

In the latest example of potentially harmful Chinese-made products, rubber hair bands have been found in local markets and beauty salons in Dongguan and Guangzhou cities in southern Guangdong province, China Daily newspaper said.

"These cheap and colourful rubber bands and hair ties sell well ... threatening the health of local people," it said.

Despite being recycled, the hair bands could still contain bacteria and viruses, it said.

"People could be infected with AIDS, (genital) warts or other diseases if they hold the rubber bands or strings in their mouths while waving their hair into plaits or buns," the paper quoted a local dermatologist who gave only his surname, Dong, as saying.

A bag of ten of the recycled bands sells for just 25 fen (three cents), much cheaper than others on the market, accounting for their popularity, the paper said.

A government official was quoted as saying recycling condoms was illegal.

China's manufacturing industry has been repeatedly tarnished this year by a string of scandals involving shoddy or dangerous goods made for both domestic and foreign markets.

In response, it launched a public relations blitz this summer aimed at playing up efforts to strengthen monitoring systems.

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All you want to know about "Recycling"

The Economist does recycling.

The truth about recycling [Economist]

As the importance of recycling becomes more apparent, questions about it linger. Is it worth the effort? How does it work? Is recycling waste just going into a landfill in China? Here are some answers

The conclusion:

If done right, there is no doubt that recycling saves energy and raw materials, and reduces pollution. But as well as trying to recycle more, it is also important to try to recycle better. As technologies and materials evolve, there is room for improvement and cause for optimism. In the end, says Ms Krebs, “waste is really a design flaw.”