Super Eco

Photo credit: Green Your Decor

Headed to a Fourth of July backyard bash this weekend? You could bring a bowl of fruit salad, or some chips and salsa, or some little knick-knack that's red, white and blue—or you could go green, instead, and bring some really kickin' patio cushions. We are so psyched at this find (which we discovered through our friends at Green Your Decor): weather-safe, made-to-be-outside accent pillows of recycled (and recyclable) fabric, stuffed with 100% recycled plastic bottles. And no, we're not leaving you high and dry by bringing up this find at the last minute, because these little babies are available for just $19.99 apiece at your local Target!

Of course, post-consumer recycled products create a win-win for everyone. Have you noticed how many different things are being made out of plastic bottles lately?

• cell phones (props to Motorola)
• men's business suits (way to go, Sears!)
• sailboats (yes, really)
• bulletproof fabric (who'd-a thought?)
• CD cases (beautiful and inspiring!)
• even more plastic bottles (greenwashed, yes, but marginally better than 100% "virgin" plastic)

When you toss a couple of new eco-cushions from Target into your bag as a hostess gift, be sure to add a reusable water bottle, too. Don't get stranded someplace hot and sweaty with no alternative except bottled water. Every little bit really does count: according to the Container Recycling Institute, although some 636,000 tons of PET plastic beverage bottles were recycled nationwide in 2006, more than three times as much (a whopping 2 million tons) of PET went to waste. Stay hydrated this holiday both stylishly and sustainably—with Super Eco, you're part of the solution!

Photo credit: psd, flickr

Would you feel less green guilt drinking from a Dasani bottle if it were made with a touch of PET plastic derived from lab tweaked sugar and molasses? Coca-Cola Co.'s "Team Greenwash," as so many so lovingly call them, is banking on your profitable “yes” … and your thirst for all trends eco.

As if you wouldn’t give a rip that the rest of Coke's new "PlantBottle" is still made of the same old, same old—toxic petroleum-based plastic (70%). Consolation prize: it’s entirely recyclable, or so their flacks claim.

Did we mention that the global cavity supplier recently earned the first-ever Polaris Institute Corporate Greenwashing Award? Let’s all celebrate by sharing a Coke, a smile and swallowing their new “earth friendly" plastic bottle, or is it just more corporate consumer waste stream garbage being masqueraded as "green"?

Just what we need, more drink container trash, partly made from—no kidding—sugar and molasses, two empty calorie ingredients that the world’s biggest sugar-water producer just happens to enjoy unparalleled wholesale prices on. Too predictable.

What’s to applaud? While slightly "greening" Dasani bottles (with Coca-Cola brand sodas and vitaminwater soon to follow) is a bittersweet sip in the right direction, it’s not nearly enough. Did Coke miss the memo that plastic, even when made from so-called "plants," is still—hello!—plastic?

And are we talking bleach-white refined sugar here, the unnatural result of highly chemical industrial processes? The kind that requires bone char (a carbon filter created from purified cow bones) to make it all pretty and white?

What about molasses, the other “natural” ingredient in Coca-Cola’s “PlantBottle”? Technically, the sludge is the waste residue from the toxins used to refine cane sugar. Not much better ... or directly “plant based.” Outside of quick-crash carbs, neither sugar nor its thicker, dirtier cousin supplies much in the way of essential nutrients. And does Coke source either from GMO or organic, sustainable suppliers? How renewable are they? We’re also left to wonder if Coca-Cola's new bottle is biodegradable? Compostable?

Alas, there is one fizzy bubble not to burst here. “PlantBottle”’s sugary, “plant-based” ingredients supposedly reduce its carbon emissions by 25%. Also, the company plans to eventually roll out bottles made from 100% percent recyclable and renewable materials.

When? Coca-Cola's not saying. They’re too busy helping Coke drinkers “Open Happiness” 3 million times a day. Cheers!

Photo credit: How can I recycle this, flickr

Ship in a bottle? Not quite. This is a ship (a 60-foot catamaran to be more specific) made almost entirely FROM bottles—recycled plastic 2-liter soda bottles—and is destined for a 100-day, 11,000-mile Pacific voyage from San Francisco to Sydney. Why?

Because they can. The sailboat, dubbed the Plastiki (yes, that's a Kon-Tiki reference there), is the brainchild of eco adventurer David de Rothschild, who wants to provide a message about the infinite recyclability of one of the globe's most ubiquitous and pervasive substances: plastic. And not melted-down recycled, either: these bottles are used as is (well, washed, delabeled, and filled with dry ice powder that turns into CO2 gas to pressurize the bottle, and then resealed).

Except for the masts, the entire boat will be made from PET plastic: the twin hulls will be made from 12,000 to 16,000 bottles, covered with a skin of recycled PET fabric. Only about 10% of the boat's construction will be from new materials. The sailboat will have a cabin that sleeps four (de Rothschild and three crew members/scientists will be aboard). Power for the crew's laptops, GPS, and SAT phone will be provided by two wind turbines and a bank of solar panels.

The Plastiki plans stops in Hawaii, Tuvalu, and Fiji before arriving at its ultimate destination in Sydney, to be dismantled and—you guessed it—recycled again into sweaters, more bottles, whatever. And the message is clear: consumer waste is a resource, one that can be used in often surprising ways.

Now, if only something useful could be made out of all that trash in the Pacific Ocean ...

Photo credit: the prodigal untitled13, flickr

Some days are Jonathan Days and some days aren't. Let me explain. I log on to Super Eco every morning, excited to see what new environmental news is out there, what new discoveries may have been made, or scientific breakthroughs achieved. Some days bring with them unavoidable disappointment. The only headline to catch my eye will say something like "Budapest Dirt Festival Draws Record Crowd, Lyle Lovett." Sigh, I think, another dirt festival.

Today is not one of those days, for at this very moment, I am looking at a headline, the contents of which could fill not just several blog posts, but perhaps a graduate student thesis. The headline: "Rubber Duckies Cause Lower Sperm Count." Thank you, blogging gods. I do a non-acid-rain dance in your honor.

It's true. Apparently many children's toys, beauty products and industrial solvents contain phthalates, endocrine disruptors that can decrease sperm production and have even been shown to reduce penis size of newborn boys if the pregnant mother sees prolonged exposure. A study of men suffering from infertility showed that many of the men had an above-average level of phthphthalates (sp?) in their urine, making it likely a contributing factor to the condition.

The phthaphthlanaphthates (who made up this word? Sylvester the cat?) are added to plastic products to increase their flexibility. They're a major ingredient in plastic water bottles, though this probably won't cause you much shrinkage unless you carry your Aquafina in your pants. Still, every new study of this kind raises the public consciousness, and the lawmakers are starting to listen. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law a ban on toys that had high levels of phthalates. Let's hope other states quickly follow suit. Phthufferin phthuckatash!

Photo credit: ultramega, flickr

While writing this week's feature on the recycling process, I struggled to come up with extra tips on how to reduce, reuse, and recycle effectively. Thankfully, our dutiful and growing group of Super Eco readers had some great ideas to share.

Reader Beth Bates managed a paper recycling center in the 1990s, and reports that most "low-quality" paper like newspapers, magazines and phone books are disposed of instead of recycled. Unused office paper and cardboard can more easily be bundled and resold to paper manufacturers, though if it's damaged or stained it becomes less valuable. Beth's comments suggest even more reason to use paper plates and cups sparingly.

Dawn Foster referenced the refillable soda bottles available in the 1950s and 1960s. According to the informative link she provided from the GrassRoots Recycling Network, a glass soda bottle was reused an average of 21 times in 1959 before they were finally thrown away. After four decades of gleefully throwing away or recycling glass bottles, it would be quite a change for Americans to sign up for a glass-refilling program. The thought of reducing our glass bottle consumption by 95%, however, is an attractive thought. I'd be in favor of soda producers bringing back the standard 6 to 8 oz. glass bottle, as opposed to the wasteful 20 oz. plastic bottle that has been the industry's preference for the last 15 years or so.

Thanks for all the great feedback on this feature. Keep the comments coming!

Photo credit: Mansee, SXC

Men, please click away; this doesn't concern you. Okay. Are we alone here? Good. Because we need to talk about some serious greening. Uh, monthly greening. If you get my drift. Oh, stop. I'm not going to suggest that we spill our menstrual blood under a tree to return it to the good Mother Gaia (but if that's your thing, go to it!), but there's some serious wrong stuff happening down there, stuff that needs correcting and fast, for a lot of reasons.

Are you ready for some stats? How about this: according to Alternet, there are 85 million women of menstruating age in North America; the average woman disposes of between 10,000 and 15,000 tampons, pads and applicators in her lifetime. OMG. Twelve billion tampons and pads are thrown away every year in the U.S. and Canada, decorating our landfills and waste treatment plants.

Photo credit: Aine D, flickr

Every Wednesday night I roll a big bin on wheels out into the street. The bin is large, blue, and it's where I throw all my empty bottles, cans and used paper. It never occurred to me that a paper envelope might be different from a paper cup, so I dump it all in there. This is how I recycle.

On Thursday morning when I get dressed (2:00 p.m.?) I go outside and roll the bin back up behind my apartment, and it's magically empty! I don't know what happened to it; all I know is that the contents are gone and I did my civic duty by making sure empty bottle after empty bottle was recycled into... I don't know... pixie dust? I've previously been under the impression that everything in the recycling bin gets put into a large compactor à la Star Wars, crushed into a giant cube, then dumped into a tube made of magic that produces brand new glass bottles and aluminum cans.

For all of you who think the same way I do, it's time to take a science-y stroll down Manufacturing Lane to learn the wonders of the recycling process.