Return Pot Turns PLA Plastic into Compost

The Philadelphia Inquirer had an interesting story this weekend about the Electrolux Design Lab competition. A number of interesting devices are mentioned in the article, but I'm most fascinated with the "Return Pot," which uses a magnetic field to turn polylactic acid (PLA) resin into compost for plants. Here's how it works:

"As the user spins the battery-less Return Pot, a ball bearing moves through a coil tunnel, creating a magnetic field that generates electricity to power the return cycle. The result is water, compost and a small amount of carbon dioxide, according to the inventor."

This is basically a home device that turns plastic into plant food. Wow. From a sustainability point of view, that's virtually a miracle. However, there is one major catch. The Return Pot decomposes PLA plastic, not petroleum-based resins, and there just isn't much PLA being used as of yet. D'oh!

If you haven't heard of PLA, it's a relatively new corn-based plastic that is very slowly being adopted in some packaging, such as water bottles and cups. On the downside, it takes corn to create the product, which could be used for food. Also, because the product decomposes, it can't be used in packaging that has to last a long time or stand up to very warm conditions. However, given the right conditions (heat, humidity and micro-organisms), PLA will fully decompose into nutrients for the soil.

I'm going to be writing more about PLA in the future, but in the meantime, do check out the Inquirer article to see the sustainable marvels that some very bright minds have created.

Designed for Coexisting (Philadelphia Inquirer)
Electrolux Design Lab 2007

Green Blog Roundup: I Get Around the InterWeb

Here's your weekly grab bag of blog-a-licious goodness:

• Detroit Whining That 35 MPG Standard Will Kill Muscle Cars (Wired)
• Feel Like a Trashy Mayor today? Play the Garbage Game (No Impact Man)
• Build Those Biceps While You Clean Your Jeans (Got2BeGeen)
• Ireland Bans Incandescent Light Bulbs, Beers Other Than Guinness (Green Blog)
• Is that a Giant Energy Tower or Are You Just Happy to See Me? (TreeHugger)
• La Marguerite Honors Favorite Green Bloggers With Crazy Linkage

Top Ten New Year's Resolutions for a Greener 2008

I've really enjoyed producing this little environmental blog over the past couple of months, and I like to think that I've offered some useful information for people. In the spirit of the holidays, here are the top ten environmental tips that I wrote about in 2007, ranked very (very) roughly by the amount of impact each one can have on your carbon footprint. If you keep your resolution to make even one of these little changes to your life in 2008, you'll have made a real difference.

1. Sign up for Peco Wind or your local alternative energy program
How easy is it? Very, very easy.
How much will it cost you? $5-$20 a month, depending on your energy usage

2. Wash (and rinse) your clothes with cold water
How easy is it? So easy you'll cry.
How much will it cost you? You'll save money!

3. Give composting a try
How easy is it? Easier than you think, but you'll need to read up on it. Don't worry--I'm going to have more composting tips for you in '08.
How much will it cost you? I paid about $200 for my Tumbleweed composter, but you can build your own bin for nothing.

4. Close your storm windows for winter
How easy is it? A lot easier than installing new windows. If you have storm windows, it's a cinch.
How much will it cost you? You will save a bundle in energy costs.

5. Bring your own reusable bags when you go shopping
How easy is it? Pretty darn easy. You just have to remember to do it.
How much will it cost you? A few bucks. Many stores will pay you a couple of cents a bag!

6. You can recycle more than just glass, paper and plastic 1 & 2
How easy is it? Just visit Earth911 to find out what you can recycle and where. It's a little tougher than dragging cans to your curb, but still not that hard.
How much will it cost you? Mostly just a little bit of your time. However, it's good for your soul.

7. Use revolving doors instead of swing doors when possible
How easy is it? Are you kidding me???
How much will it cost you? Maybe you'll burn two extra calories from pushing the door around.

8. Switch to rechargeable NiMH batteries
How easy is it? You do have to remember to keep your batteries charged, and also to unplug the charger when you're done. Other than that, it's a piece of cake.
How much will it cost you? Rechargeables are definitely more expensive than Alkalines right off the shelf, but they will save you lots of money over the life of the battery.

9. Make sure your car's tires have the correct pressure
How easy is it? Simple.
How much will it cost you? Maybe $10-$15 to buy a tire gauge and $.75 to fire up the air pump at a gas station. Wawa air pumps are free to use, much like their ATMs.

10. Don't get divorced
How easy is it? Possibly very hard. Your mileage may vary.
How much will it cost you? A lifetime of flowers, back rubs and dish cleaning.

There you have it, folks. Let me know if you make any of these resolutions for 2008. Best wishes for a green and happy New Year!

Recycle Your Christmas Tree in Philadelphia and Elsewhere

First of all, I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season. Santa was very good to me this year, bringing me Guitar Hero III for the Wii, as well as several good books on environmental issues. I even got a little gadget that measures how much electricity devices draw when plugged into the socket. Very cool. I'll have in-depth reviews of all that good stuff, except for Guitar Hero. So far, I suck at Guitar Hero.

Second, I would like to weigh in on one of the greatest challenges facing the world today--what to do with used Christmas trees? If you followed my advice and got a real tree this year, pretty soon it's going to start turning brown and looking all ghetto in your living room. You can water it to forestall the inevitable, but sooner or later you're going to have to get rid of your tree. That beautiful formerly living thing is one of God's creatures and should return to the earth from whence it came.

Now, most towns have Christmas tree curbside pickup so you can just let the garbage dudes take it away. From there, one of three things is likely to happen:

1. The tree will be composted. (green)
2. The tree will be chipped up and turned into mulch. (greenish)
3. The tree will be chucked into a toxic landfill full of batteries and dirty diapers where its precious nutrients will never enrich the earth again. (not green)

I recommend checking with your local sanitation department to see which of these fates will befall your tree. If the answer is compost or mulch, go ahead and leave your tree on the curb on the assigned day and muse upon the rarely-seen wonders of effective government. If the answer is landfill, then you have to do a little due diligence. Chances are there is an alternative program in your area for recycling trees. You just have to find out where it is and when to haul your tree over there. And then somehow get all of the pine needles out of your car.* Sigh.

For example, in my hometown of Philadelphia, the city will indeed pick up your tree for no extra charge. However, they will dump it directly into a landfill after collection. You would have to do a little research in order to figure that out. You can't just assume that the tree is going to be recycled. Apparently, that's too much to ask. Fortunately Philadelphia does provide a tree recycling option:

"Citizens who wish to drop off their tree for recycling may take it to the Streets Department Sanitation Convenience Centers located at 3033 S. 63rd St. (entrance on 61st St. side), Domino & Umbria Lanes and State & Ashburner Roads during this week only. The sites are open from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm, Monday, January 7 through Saturday, January 12."

If you don't live in Philadelphia, I recommend running a Google search for "Recycle Christmas Tree [your city or state]". That should get you the answers you need. If not, you can always try the excellent Earth 911 database, which lists many of the tree programs across the country.

Finally, if you have a truck, you might offer to haul a couple of your neighbor's trees to the recycling center while you're at it. It might earn you an extra pile of cookies next year and I might also forgive you for owning a truck.

*Try to avoid using your household vacuum cleaner to suck up pine needles. It usually ends up clogging the machine and you end up with a bigger mess than you started with. Try a broom.

Philadelphia Streets Department Christmas Tree Recycling Information
Interesting Facts about Tree Recycling (Earth 911)

Attention Nerds: Correct Tire Pressure Saves Gas

Since lots of folks will be hopping in their auto-cars this week to visit distant relatives, I figured it would be a good time to mention one of the fuel-saving ideas that I employ with my piece of junk Ford Focus Ultralemon 2001. This is a completely unsexy tip, but it's important to make sure that your tires have the correct pressure, especially before embarking on a long trip.

It takes a true nerd to go around testing the pressure in your tires with a shiny silver gauge, but that's what I do, and you should too. It's not good enough to eyeball the tires for signs of flatitude and the gauges at gas station air pumps are dodgy. We want precision! According to the Department of Energy, you lose about half a percent of your fuel efficiency for every 1 psi drop in pressure of all four tires. Also, incorrect inflation will cause premature wear on your tires that will eventually force you to replace them sooner than normal. Not to mention the fact that low tires cause your engine to work harder and wear faster. Are you convinced yet?

Here's how to fill your tires to the correct air pressure, AKA, if you can dodge a wrench, you can fill your tires:

1. Drive your car to a place with a functioning air pump. Wawa has free ones in many locations. Otherwise, this exercise will cost you a few quarters. The closer the station is to your house, the better. You want to measure the tires cold, so that heat won't increase the pressure and skew your readings.

2. As you climb out of the car, take a gander at the inside of the driver's-side door. You should see a placard that lists the car's recommended tire pressure. This placard is sometimes inside the glove compartment door. A lot of people mistakenly use the pressure listed on the tire itself, but that's the MAXIMUM pressure and not what you want. Knowledge is power.

3. Walk around your car and take off the valve caps, remembering to put them in your pocket so you don't lose them as I almost always do. You want to take the valve caps off before you start the air pump, so you don't have to mess around with them while you're on the pump's clock. It sucks to have to stick more quarters in the machine to get it going again.

4. Whip out your trusty tire gauge and test each tire. If the pressure in a tire is a little too high, use the tip of the gauge to bleed of a little air and then retest. If the pressure is below what the placard (I love that word) recommended, fire up the pump and add air to the low tires. The pump's built-in gauge will give you a good idea of where you're at. When you're done adding air, retest the tires and bleed off any extra.

5. Reach in your pocket and put the valve caps back on.

6. Wink at the cutie walking into the station's Quickie Mart. Awww yeah. (optional)

One final tip here. If you get your oil changed at Jiffy Lube or some such place, they usually set the tire pressure at 32 by default, regardless of what's actually recommended. If you checked inside the door and your car needs a different pressure, be sure to let the attendants know. Oh, and if they try to change your air filter for you, say no. Buy one yourself and install it. It's super easy and much cheaper.

Happy Holidays everyone. Please drink responsibly, a lot. Responsibly.

More Tips On Getting Better Mileage From Your Giant SUV

I'm Fully Syndicated, Baby

If you're an RSS-loving guy or gal, you might want to subscribe to my new blog feed. It's all tweaked out with the finest Feedburner features, and I've been assured that the feed burning is much greener than, say, coal burning.

xoxoxo
Brennen

Bringing Your Own Reusable Bags Does Take a Little Nerve

In my very first post on this blog, I mentioned that I am not a perfect environmentalist, eco-geek, greenie, tree hugger or whatever you want to call it. Far, far from perfect. Living a greener lifestyle has been a gradual adaptation for me and I think I'm still at the very beginning of my journey.

I will illustrate this imperfection over and over again in this space, but here's a glaring example. As I've ranted before, plastic bags suck and it's better to bring your own reusable bags when you go shopping. Basic, right? But I have to admit that I forget or ignore my own advice once in a while. There are two main culprits here:

• I accidentally leave my reusable bags at home when I head out to the store
• While I have gotten used to the idea of using my own bags at the grocery store, I still haven't quite accepted the notion of using my own bags at other kinds of retailers

The first culprit is easy to deal with. I now always leave the bags in the car (yes I drive a car sometimes) after I'm finished with them. If I forget to bring the bags into the store, I head right back out and get them. No excuses.

The second culprit is a little more complicated, but I think it boils down to the fact that it's kind of a bold move to whip out your own bag at Macy's or Target. In America, this behavior is still so rare that I sometimes feel a little silly doing it. In all likelihood, the cashier has never encountered someone who brought their own bag and it does tend to raise eyebrows and elicit comments. Usually there are a few moments of confusion as the checker figures out what I want them to do, and I have to explain it again. It's outside of the normal routine and it can slow things down a tiny bit. A conversation might happen, and it often ends with the checker or other people in line complimenting me on my choice. It's a good dialogue and it sets a good example, but honestly I don't really like the attention. I'd prefer to get in and get out with no fuss.

More and more, I'm gritting my teeth and doing what I know is right. My own pride and shyness shouldn't stop me from changing my behavior for the better. Maybe you're not as shy as me and this sort of thing doesn't bother you. But if it does, just remember that you're joining a quiet revolution and other folks like me are taking the bullet right along with you.

The last time I brought my own bag was to a Dollar Store this weekend. The cashier was totally unfazed and it went as easily as if she had used the normal plastic bags. God bless her. Maybe someday it'll always be as easy as that.

Danny at Simply Green has a lovely post about the joys and perils of bringing your own bag, and the many comments are worth reading.