(Credit:
TerraCycle)
A New Jersey-based environmental firm has developed audio player speakers made from recycled chips and candy bar packages.
TerraCycle is using its large waste-collection program to turn Doritos and Cheetos bags, as wells as Mars candy wrappers, into funky, foldable speakers.
The Frito-Lay Speakers have a 3.5 mm universal plug and don't require batteries. They sell at Radio Shack and on the TerraCycle Website, where they're listed for $19.99.
Founded by Princeton dropout Tom Szaky, TerraCycle "upcycles" waste into over 100 useful products, such as backpacks made from Capri Sun drink pouches, pencil cases made from Chips Ahoy wrappers, and kites made from Oreo cookie bags.
The company collects waste from groups across the country and donates money to charities for each item received. It aims to save thousands of tons of packaging from entering landfills each year.
Artist Mr. Lou created this OrigAudio speaker design, called Cityscape.
(Credit: OrigAudio)We've seen foldable cardboard speakers before by MUJI and others, but the lively patterns on these OrigAudio versions caught our eyes (or should that be ears?). The foldable, self-powered speakers (no batteries or external power required) come in designs with names like Cityscape, Lake, Daydream, and Surf Break. You can even create custom artwork, but you'll have to order 500 units to go that route, so...
Perhaps best of all, they're recycled, made from old newspapers, phone books, and the like. The speakers, which are 3.15 inches on each side, cost $16 a pop, with a six-pack going for $60, and are universally compatible with any device that has a headphone jack (MP3 players, laptops, cell phones, CD players).
As for sound quality, don't count on using the 1-watt device at your next big house party. The company stresses that they're best used for more modest auditory applications, such as travel, the beach, dorm rooms, and cubicles.
You know that old Motorola Razr that's been sitting in your nightstand for the last year? If you live near Omaha, Neb., you can march up to the EcoATM at the Nebraska Furniture Mart, toss it in, and automatically get an in-store trade-up coupon or gift card.
The self-serve e-cycling station electronically inspects phones, assigns them real-time secondary market value, and provides in-store payment--if the handset still has any monetary worth. If not, consumers can choose to assign the device to the recycle bin, and then it's on its way to getting recycled or refurbished.
(Credit:
EcoATM)
The kiosk at the Omaha store is the first such station to be installed by San Diego-based start-up EcoATM, and it's serving as a test case in advance of a scheduled larger rollout.
The company, formerly called ReMobile, declared the Nebraska machine an immediate success when it went into operation September 21--both in the number of recycled devices collected and the trade-up purchases.
On its first day, 23 phones went into the recycle bin. In addition, "the EcoATM at NFM bought back over $100 in phones on day two, including a perfect BlackBerry Curve," Twittered EcoATM's Eric Rosser, who said in an interview he thinks retailers will appreciate the automation of the EcoATM and consumers will value the speed and convenience.
The company plans to install kiosks at wireless stores and big-box retailers in San Diego, Texas, Washington state, and Vermont this quarter, Rosser said, with a "massive rollout" set for the second quarter of next year. Eventually the EcoATMs should be able to recognize other gadgets, such as MP3 players, digital cameras, notebooks, printers, and storage devices.
The machines rely on a camera-based system to detect signs of wear such as cracked screens, missing keys, and scuff marks, and to determine a device's approximate value. If it's not worth anything, consumers could still get a free gift for their efforts--in Omaha's case, a waterproof phone case. And in a green nod, EcoATM will plant a tree for them.
... Read more
(Credit:
Photojojo)
I'm really glad all the cameras I have are still functional, but I'm sure there will come a day when one of them refuses to fire the shutter, or worse, has a damaged circuit. When that day comes, I'll refer back to this article.
Photoblog Photojojo has a nice writeup on what you can do with your spoiled cameras, though most of it applies only to film-based shooters. The Web site suggests you turn these defunct gizmos into a flowerpot and grow plants in them. From lenses to camera bodies, it seems almost anything can be converted into a unique piece of green art.
In my cupboard I have an old Canon EF 50mm F1.8 lens that has been severely infected by fungus. So perhaps I'll remove the lens and turn it into a flowerpot. Anyone want to see me grow flowers out of my lens? Put your request below.
(Source: Crave Asia)
(Credit:
Modern Mommy Gear)
Food storage bags have revolutionized how we store edibles for longer periods of time, divide bulk bags into healthy portions, and pack lunches for workdays. The problem is that we use millions of them every year, and many of them end up in oceans, rivers, and landfills. Since they're not biodegradable, they end up staying there for a long time.
I'm certainly guilty of using the bags: on any given day, I'll use at least one, whether it's in a packed lunch or to bag dinner leftovers. I try to limit my use of them, but when I do have to use them, this bag dryer will thankfully let me reuse them too.
The Bag-E-Wash is handmade in Canada, and dries up to eight bags at a time. After being washed with soap and water, the bags are dried on the rack, preparing them for their next use. This simple act could cumulatively do wonders for the environment: if you reuse your 25-pack of sandwich bags 5 times, you prevent 125 bags from going in the garbage, and save yourself the cost of 5 additional boxes of 25 bags.
Not a bad bargain for the $16 price tag, if you ask me.
(Credit:
Ecofriend)
For those not IT-savvy enough to build and upgrade their own PCs, what happens is that once the machine becomes impossibly obsolete, the owner will buy a new desktop and ditch the old one. Meanwhile, before buying a new computer, the user is essentially stuck with the same old components unless he can get someone to upgrade the hardware for him.
Hong Kong industrial designer Jocko Chan has a better idea. He created a PC design for Dell that uses no screws at all, making disassembly and upgrades a breeze. Part of his LOOP concept sees the consumer renting the internal hardware (for a fee), and engineers regularly upgrading the internal components for a fee and recycling those that are obsolete. Keeping the same chassis and just changing the essential parts cuts down on waste as well.
It's still a pipe dream at this point, but we must say that even if the LOOP doesn't take off, the PC design is droolworthy enough that we hope Dell will at least adopt this unique chassis in the future.
(Credit:
Ecofriend)
(Source: Crave Asia via Ecofriend)
From the copier to the can.
(Credit: Nakabayashi)Never thought I'd see the day when I would be wiping my rear with used copier paper straight from an office machine. Butt seriously, thanks to Japanese ingenuity, this could soon be smart waste management, employed in corporate buildings to recycle all that paper we're guilty of overusing into toilet paper.
There's just one wee catch. Nakabayashi's pricey $95,000 office machine requires a whopping 72kg of discarded paper (159 pounds, or about 1,800 A4 sheets) to churn into just two rolls of (hopefully pliable) loo paper. At least you can now say you've cleaned your behind with your boss' memo.
(Source: Crave Asia via CrunchGear)
During this week of everything green and earth friendly, we choose to shine a light (preferably compact fluorescent) on the ridiculous side of green gadgetry.
Listen now: Download today's podcast
Subscribe with iTunes (audio)
Subscribe with iTunes (video)
Subscribe with RSS (audio)
Subscribe with RSS (video)
 |
EPISODE 134 |
Solar bra brings conservation closer to the heart
Squirrel light an eco-friendly form of rodent worship
Laser-etched laptop tray made from recyclable materials
Hitachi’s ‘green’ refrigerator turns out blue
Trivia: We spill a lot of gas on our lawnmowers
Pleo (robotic dinosaur) now extinct
... Read more
iWood 3B outgrains the competition.
(Credit: iWood 3B)Forget what I told you before about disguising your iPhone; there are alternatives to feeling embarrassed by your mobile phone. Why not buy one that you can be proud of, maybe even one forged from the ashes of Miss Mother Nature herself? Set yourself up with an iWood 3B smartphone and you'll never again miss "all the times you wood rather stab someone in the eye than talk about 3G anything."
iWood 3B features an intuitive touch screen.
(Credit: iWood 3B)The iWood 3B is the perfect complement for the on-the-go professional who knows when it's time to work, when it's time to play, and when it's time to tap on a 3-inch by 4-1/2 half inch piece of Bamboo Plywood. Amazingly, the entire device is crafted from a single block of wood, and it's contoured at a precise 90-degree angle to fit ergonomically in your hand.
Like its current competition, it has all the internal components you now expect out of a full-time device: accelerometer, proximity/light/infrared sensor, and even its own sensor for sensing sensors around your sector. Best of all, the iWood 3B draws all of its power from a rechargeable gyroscopic battery that should last for approximately infinity hours with just one twitch.
What all-in-one (AIO) would be prepared for the masses without its own set of unique applications? Aside from the standard to-do list, calendar, MP3 player, and Web, the iWood also offers its own line of real-world apps that run autonomously off the OS.
... Read more
If you've got old (working) gadgets to spare, Radio Shack will take them back for store credit.
(Credit: Erica Ogg/CNET)Starting this week, Radio Shack will pay you to bring back your old, unwanted electronics to its stores.
The retailer has launched a new in-store trade-in program that it's describing as a way to instantly upgrade to the latest technology.
It works like this: Bring in working phones, cameras, MP3 players, game consoles, video games, or GPS receivers to a store and an employee will appraise the product's value and offer a Radio Shack gift card for that amount. The gift card can be used right away, but proper ID and a current address will be taken to ensure that the person trading in the items is the actual owner.
While stores will not take large items like high-definition televisions, monitors, and notebook PCs, RadioShack.com will.
A Radio Shack representative adds this tip: Bringing in chargers, manuals, and other accessories that originally came with the device being traded in can enhance the appraisal value.
The trade-in program is handled by a third-party company, CExchange, which says that the old electronics it takes are refurbished and resold. The refurbished items are not resold through Radio Shack, according to a representative for the retailer.
The in-store program is an extension of the online trade-in program that Radio Shack has offered since October 2008.
