Repurpose With Flula!

flula has some great tips for re purposing monkeys and other great recycling ideas

Cell phone recycling for Goualougo Apes!

News from the Minnesota Zoo and the Goualougo Triangle Ape Project:

"Dr .Tara Harris (Conservation Biologist, Minnesota Zoo) is spearheading a cell phone recycling campaign to benefit the Goualougo Triangle Ape Project. Goualougo will receive a small donation for every cell phone received through this program!!!

A group of video production students from the University of Minnesota filmed a public service announcement which features Tara promoting the cell phone recycling program: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huZUyzq51hg

People anywhere in the USA can send in phones for free through the mail by printing out the mailing label at www.mnzoo.org/cell and all of the proceeds benefit the Goualougo Triangle Ape Project!!!

We would really appreciate if you could help us to promote this program! Many thanks to Tara for the great initiative!

All the Best,
Dave, Crickette, Jean Robert, and the GTAP team!"

More info can be found at the Minnesota Zoo website

Recycling: Toshiba to Extract Rare Earth Metals From Uranium Waste

...or will they?

Toshiba to Extract Rare Earth Metals From Uranium Waste
from Autotech daily
(thanks to Z for the link!)

(For a little background on rare earth minerals check out: Pay dirt: Why rare earth metals matter to tech)

Toshiba Corp. is developing a low-cost method to recover rare earth minerals and other metals from liquid waste generated by uranium processing, The Nikkei reports. It says Toshiba aims to commercialize the technology in about two years. The Japanese newspaper says Toshiba will conduct trials of the new process with partner Kazatomprom, Kazakhstan’s state-run nuclear company. Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp. is providing part of the project’s financing. Toshiba will use electrolysis to extract dysprosium and neodymium, which are used in high-strength magnets for electric motors in hybrid vehicles, and rhenium, which is used in jet engines, The Nikkei says. The process reduces waste and costs about one-fifth as much as mining rare earth.

Automakers and other manufacturers have been looking for new sources of rare earth metals after China restricted exports of the material earlier this year. China has 37% of the world’s rare earth reserves. But it has supplied more than 95% of the
material in recent years as other countries shied away from the toxic nature of such mines.

Earlier this month, Toshiba signed a memorandum of understanding with Mongolia to explore the potential for mining uranium and rare earth minerals there.

Biodiversity film competition - deadline Nov 17th!

Thanks to Carol D for the link!



Go to tv/e for more info!

Choose a category from their three categories and think how you might make a 2-minute film. Send them a proposal about the film you would like to make using the online form before 23.00 GMT 17 November 2010. Pitches will only be accepted in English.

A judging panel will select the best 12 proposals and provide funding of US$300 to help you make your film. Funding will only be awarded on delivery of the film.

The deadline for the delivery of the final 12 films is 15 December 2010.

The 12 films will be uploaded to tve's YouTube channel and the three films with the most views by 31 January 2011 will each receive a US$1500 prize. You have until 23.00 GMT on 17 November 2010 to submit.

Go to tv/e for more info!

every piece of plastic ever made still exists today!

From the WWF Canada facebook page:

Use Less Plastic from TakePart on Vimeo.

(FYI: the song is: "Pot Kettle Black", Written by Kianna Alarid, Neely Jenkins, Derek Pressnall, Jamie Lynn Pressnall & Nicholas White, Performed By Tilly and the Wall, http://www.myspace.com/officialtillyandthewall)

~*~*!*~*~

In response, to the above posting, Dieter L linked me to this VERY tongue in cheek mockumentary on the majestic plastic bag, its sadly excellent!

China's 45 Billion Disposable Chopsticks Require 100 Acres of Forests Every 24 Hours

I never thought about it, but its so true! If you are going to IPS this year you may want to think about bringing your own chopsticks or buying a pair when you get to Japan as a great souvenir and to help reduce the waste disposable chopsticks cause. SCB gave away free chopsticks to all its participants at the 2008 and 2009 meetings, man do i love that organization, so forward thinking! (although a bit much, i bet if you get a set of these you are less likely to dispose of them at all) - MA


From treehugger.com
by MICHAEL GRAHAM RICHARD

That's a Lot of Chopsticks
Apparently China's Ministry of Commerce has had it with disposable chopsticks. It sent out a warning to chopstick makers in June to warn them that: "Production, circulation and recycling of disposable chopsticks should be more strictly supervised." The reason? With about 45 billion disposable chopstick pairs made every year in the country, or about 130 million a day, a lot of wood is being wasted, and that in a country that is trying to increase its forest coverage (from about 8% in 1949 to 12-13% today, compared to 30% for the USA).

Greenpeace China has estimated that to keep up with this demand, 100 acres of trees need to be felled every 24 hours. Think here of a forest larger than Tiananmen Square -- or 100 American football fields -- being sacrificed every day. That works out to roughly 16 million to 25 million felled trees a year. Deforestation is one of China's gravest environmental problems, leading to soil erosion, famine, flooding, carbon dioxide release, desertification and species extinction. (source)

If you compare 100 acres per day to the size of China's forests, it still isn't that much (it's a big country), but chopsticks are far from the only thing pressuring Chinese ecosystems. It's one more thing the country's forests could do without.

Sadly, change has been slow so far. The Bring Your Own Chopsticks movement has been gaining momentum, but is still far from succeeding in changing people's minds (or even being on most people's radar). But there is some hope on the horizon: As China grows richer, more restaurants will be able to afford the equipment to wash and sterilize reusable chopsticks.

Using doggie poop to light park lamps

This is fabulous - I have had this big moral dilemma recently about picking up my dog's poop when he poops somewhere where there is no risk of anyone stepping in it: like in the bushes on the side of a street. It smells so i should pick it up, right? but even if i use biodegradable bags, I generally throw these in the trash at the first garbage can i see, so really im just filling landfills with dog poop that is totally biodegradable. This seems like a GREAT solution to me! Only problem i see is how to make people not throw other stuff in there or just poop directly into it, cuz folks can be nutty like that- MA

from TreeHugger.com via the Tree Hugger facebook page
New Design Turns Dog Poop into Gold- Well, Methane.
by ALEX DAVIES

Scenario A: You're in the park walking your dog. He sniffs around, finds the perfect spot, squats and poops. You, being the responsible owner, break out the biodegradable plastic bag you brought and pick it up, then throw the bag in the nearest trash can.

Scenario B: You're in the park walking your dog. He sniffs around, finds the perfect spot, squats and poops. You, being the responsible owner, break out the biodegradable plastic bag you brought and pick it up, and throw it the Park Spark Methane Digester. The methane in Fido's poop is then piped to another location, where it is burned for energy to light the lamps in the very park your dog just pooped in.

The Park Spark is the brainchild of Matthew Mazzotta, the creator of the TreeHugger approved Buscyle. The idea of the human and animal waste digester is hardly new, but Mazzotta's design takes it to an interesting new place, seeking to make it part of our everyday lives, not just a love of Ed Begley Jr.'s. Digesters work using the natural process of anaerobic decomposition. Organic matter sealed in an air-tight container produces methane, which can then be separated from the rest of the matter and used as fuel.

The goal of the Park Spark is to make people rethink the idea of waste- epitomized by bags of dog poop- by turning it into something useful. Mazzotta imagines that upon installation, the methane produced by the Park Spark will burn as a sort of "eternal flame" for everyone to see. The idea is that once everyone sees the energy that comes from dog waste, someone will be bound to propose a more practical use for it.

It's an idea that's a bit of a long shot to catch on nationally or internationally, but that's not saying we're pessimistic. Even one Park Spark will go a long way towards changing common perceptions of waste and energy, which is a great start.

Old Ink Cartridges Form Bike Path in Australian National Park

From TreeHugger.com via the Tree Hugger facebook page
by JAYMI HEIMBUCH

The folks at West MacDonnell National Park in Australia had a brilliant idea for a new bike path connecting Alice Springs and Simpsons Gap. They made it out of junked ink cartridges. The material can last far longer than timber, and is a great way to reuse plastics. Plus, it looks great, and all for a fraction of the cost.

Red Ferret pointed us to a news article in the Centralian Advocate, which reports that the 17km path and a new viewing platform were completed for just $130,000 thanks to the use of recycled materials. Because this material will last so much longer than wood, it will save the park a lot of money in the long run.

Parks and Wildlife Minister Karl Hampton stated, "Every year more than 120,000 people visit the magnificent West MacDonnell National Park, and by investing in our parks we are able to ensure visitors have a unique experience while we protect our environment... In keeping with our government's commitment to sustainable development, the bridge is made from recycled plastic decking or Replas, saving landfill, trees and ensuring a longer life with less maintenance. Alice Springs has a great bike culture and with the upgrades complete, residents can enjoy a short ride after school or work or longer weekend explorations, while tourists can get to know and enjoy the natural environment around the town."

We've also seen ink cartridges used as "eLumber" from Lexmark, which processes collected ink cartridges into materials perfect for building decks and landscaping. And we can't help but notice that they make lovely lamps: