recycle

Japanese turn used bras into fuel

Don't underestimate the power of Japan's brassieres.

We've seen Japanese bras that can grow rice, pressure men to propose, double as a golf green, and even offer messages of support in a crisis.

Now Japanese underwear makers are turning bras into an alternative fuel.

Triumph International and Wacoal have been collecting used bras from customers and turning the raw materials minus the metal into refuse paper and plastic fuel (RPF), which is used to power industrial boilers and power generators. … Read more

New study shows 88 percent of auto repair shops recycle tires

From 1989 to 2001, a company called Used Rubber USA operated a retail store, offering cool gear to city-dwelling hipsters, on the corner of Fillmore and Haight streets in San Francisco. The company still turns old tires into book bags, wallets or belts and other merchandise--now online only.

Recycling used tires isn't a new idea, and now a study shows that most auto repair shops recycle tires rather than send them off to a landfill.

The organization Car Care Council has been urging auto repair shops to recycle more vehicle parts and engine fluids, in a consumer education campaign … Read more

Apple wants to buy your old iPhone, iPad

Despite all the new products constantly flowing out of Cupertino, Calif., Apple has a program to get some of its old stuff back. And it will even pay you for the pleasure.

Apple has been recycling old batteries and computers at its stores for years. When I worked at an Apple Store several years ago, we would fill our battery recycling boxes a few times each month to send away. We also brokered quite a few old PC recycling program transactions (free when purchasing a new Mac).

Now, Apple has incorporated its smaller devices into the Reuse and Recycle program. … Read more

The 404 878: Where we don't give a truck about freeze (podcast)

Jay-Z and Kanye West unleashed their collaborative album "Watch The Throne" yesterday, but how did they keep it from leaking before the release? We'll tell you on today's episode of The 404 Podcast.

We'll also tell you where the new Star Trek amusement park is being built, why parents should download the first iOS app built by the FBI, and who's to blame for the four-car pileup that included Google's first driverless vehicle.

The 404 Digest for Episode 878

Duh: Facebook use and narcissism correlate in teens. How Jay-Z and Kanye West kept their new album from leaking. There's going to be a Star Trek amusement park--guess where? FBI releases child ID iPhone app. Finally, the first Google autonomous-car crash. Has Starbucks had enough of laptop loungers?

Episode 878 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

High-speed rail to get $336 million more from feds

Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood on Wednesday announced his office is dispersing an additional $336.2 million in funds toward the massive U.S. high-speed rail public works project underway.

This time, the money is going for the trains themselves.

Including this latest release, $782 million has been dispersed for purchasing 33 locomotives and 120 bi-level train cars for California, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, and Washington.

The federal government has now allocated a total of $10.1 billion, set aside via the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009, for the introduction of high-speed rail as well as updates … Read more

5 great uses for your old Windows computer

Some of us go through computers like we go through socks, while some keep them running long after their warranties expire. All of us have at one time or another had to deal with an old (but still-working) computer that needs a new, post-retirement gig. Even years-old PCs can deliver some serious power, so as long as the hardware is all (or mostly) working, here are some great ways to squeeze more years of useful life out of last year's model: 

Media center nervous system. It's dead simple to hook up your old machine to your fancy … Read more

'Mobile Man': Nokia green envoy made of old phones

I really want to believe this Nokia robot made of used cell phones is just out to promote green living. But what if it's sitting there quietly on the bench reading Go Green magazine just to throw us off? Nokia couldn't let it read "Robopocalypse" in public or we'd be on to its true intent.

OK, maybe I've just been listening to too many Eric and Donald podcasts.

For now, I'm going to take Nokia at its word that it built the aptly named "Mobile Man" to promote cell phone recycling in Asia as part of its global push to get consumers to reuse and recycle old handsets rather than toss them in a drawer, or--worse yet--the trash.

In collaboration with the postal service in Beijing, the Finnish mobile giant is giving free movie tickets to those who turn in old phones at more than 40 Beijing post offices.

All they have to do is put their handset in a designated envelope and they'll also get a receipt that lets them stay updated on the status of their phone as it gets dismantled and recycled. Cell phone materials that can be recovered and reused include plastic, nickel, copper, iron, and aluminum. … Read more

Ford uses recycled tires, soy for seals and gaskets in several 2011MY vehicles

Ford Motor today announced it has combined rubber from more than 2.2 million pounds of recycled tires with other material, such as soybean oil, to produce what it says are environmentally friendly gaskets and seals for new cars.

Teaming up with Detroit-based supplier Recycled Polymeric Materials, Ford has turned 210,000 used tires and 150,000 pounds of soy into material for the new gaskets and seals.

"The gaskets and seals are derived from 25 percent post-consumer, recycled-tire particulate and 17 percent biorenewable content from soy," Ford said in a press release.

"The sustainable gaskets were … Read more

Amazing room made of old PC parts

Ever wondered where old PCs go to die? Apparently, some of them disappear to a place called the Dead Computer Room. Designed by Polish sculptor and designer Marek Tomasik, this room consists entirely of wood and old computer parts.

According to Tomasik, the 16x13x15-foot room contains at least three years worth of PC-related junk, ranging from cooling fans to computer casings. He added that this room would be part of a bigger art project, though he didn't offer more details.

We'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking. Lastly, check out Tomasik's 3D interactive map if you want to see the entire room.

(Source: Crave Asia via BitRebels) … Read more