Green business is paying people to recycle
April 20th, 2010
Los Angeles is starting an innovative new pilot program. About 15,000 homes will be eligible for the program. Their recycling bins will be tagged, and with every pickup the weight of the stuff they recycle will be recorded. Based on how much they recycle, each household will earn “points” that can de redeemed at businesses such as CVS, Bed Bath & Beyond, and El Pollo Loco, among others. Apparently, the total tally could reach the equivalent of $400 a year per household.
According to behavioral psychologists, people will do all kinds of things for a reward, even a small one. That key insight enabled RecycleBank to convince hundreds of thousands of households to recycle more of their trash in exchange for ReycleBank Points, which can be redeemed for discounts with hundreds of vendors, for everything from groceries to sporting goods. A chip embedded in a home’s recycling crate allows RecycleBank to track exactly how much each household contributes.
The system works so well that RecycleBank doubles to quintuples recycling rates, says CEO Ron Gonen, who founded the startup in 2004 in New York City. Philadelphia served as a pilot city, and today the company operates in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Vermont, and Massachusetts. By 2013, Gonen plans to have RecycleBank in 10 million households across the United States, Canada, and Europe.
The company doesn’t only benefit consumers, but municipalities, as well. It’s becoming increasingly expensive for cities to dump our trash in landfills. Every pound of waste RecycleBank diverts from the landfill saves local governments a few cents—and the company takes a cut.It has also succeeded in getting past the tendency of green projects to remain a hobby for those who can afford it: The program has been as successful in low-income neighborhoods as affluent ones. “People in low-income neighborhoods don’t have the [same] opportunity to participate in the environmental space,” notes Gonen, “but we’ve given them something that’s tangible and impactful.”
10 best low radiation cell phones
March 30th, 2010
According to Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) 2010 Cellphone Radiation Report
New cell phones in 2010 are loaded with new features. For some models, like Motorola’s Droid, Blackberry Bold 9700, LG Chocolate Touch and HTC Nexus One by Google, consumers pay a hidden price: exposure to the highest legal levels of cell phone radiation. Other new phones emit significantly less radiation.
Which is which? You won’t find out from those pricey ad campaigns or even the labels. Makers and vendors aren’t required to disclose their products’ radiation output at point of sale.
Recent studies found significantly higher risks for brain and salivary gland tumors among people using cell phones for 10 years or longer.
In the meantime, it’s smart for consumers to buy phones with the lowest emissions and follow the simple safety rules of using a cell phone. Before you buy, check out devices you’re considering for radiation output. Levels vary widely, from 0 .3 to 1.6, the legal limit, measured in watts per kilogram of body weight, also known as SAR (specific absorption rate), the amount of radiofrequency energy absorbed by the body when using a wireless device phone.
10 Best Phones
Listing is based on phones currently available from major carriers.
1. Sanyo Katana II [Kajeet]
2. Samsung Rugby (SGH-a837) [AT&T]
3. Blackberry Storm 9530 [Verizon Wireless]
4. Samsung I8000 Omnia II [Verizon Wireless]
5. Samsung Propel Pro (SGH-i627) [AT&T]
6. Samsung SGH-t229 [T-Mobile]
7. Helio Pantech Ocean [Virgin Mobile]
8. Sony Ericsson W518a Walkman [AT&T]
9. Samsung SGH-a137 [AT&T, AT&T GoPhone]
10. LG Shine II [AT&T]
How Renters Could Buy Electricity to Charge Their Electric Cars
March 25th, 2010
Apartment building owners typically meter the electricity of each of the apartment units they rent out individually, unlike the “common area” places such as the parking lots typically provided for their renters in general.
But that might change. We are approaching a future in which parking lots could be providing electricity, not just to keep the parking lot lights on, but to also provide electricity to charge up any electric cars that will parked there at night.
How to get repaid for that soon-to-be greater use of “common area” electricity?
SemaConnect, a Maryland based company has the solution. Apartment owners and even homeowners might want to make vehicle charging an option, but need to be repaid for the electricity used.
While Coulomb Technologies and the other big players in vehicle charging are focusing on the municipal or large business charging market for cities, SemaConnect is looking out for the little guy.
This small wall mounted unit utilizes a smart card reader to charge for access to electricity. Those who wish to use the system will secure a smart card from the owner of the system. The smart card is swiped for access and the user is assessed a fee.
Each unit costs between $2,500 and $3,000, and could easily collect from $125 to $150 a month for its electric charges, in which case the break even to repay the investment in the unit would be just a couple of years.
Depending on electricity costs in the region, there would some profit each year afterward. Probably enough to pay back an investment in solar panels on the parking lot roof, so the electricity provided is all clean wholesome sunshine power.
reference: Autoblog Green, cleantechnica.com
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Eco Easy: 2010 Crusial Consumer Trend
March 20th, 2010
According to the trendwatching.com ECO-EASY becomes one of the crucial consumer trend for 2010.
To really reach some meaningful sustainability goals this year, corporations and governments will have to forcefully make it ‘easy’ for consumers to be more green, by restricting the alternatives.
While the current good intentions of corporations and consumers are helpful, serious eco-results will depend on making products and processes more sustainable without consumers even noticing it, and, if necessary, not leaving much room for consumers and companies to opt for less sustainable alternatives to begin with.
Which will often mean forceful, if not painful, government intervention, or some serious corporate guts, or brilliantly smart design and thinking, if not all of those combined.
Think anything from thoroughly green buildings, to a complete ban on plastic bags and bottles, to super-strict bluefin tuna quota — anything that by default leaves no choice, no room for complacency, and thus makes it ‘easy’ for consumers (and corporations) to do the right and necessary thing.
Some recent, random and hands-on ECO-EASY examples, from governments to B2C brands, to get you going (or better, to copy or build on):
The small town of Bundanoon in Australia’s New South Wales has banned the sale of bottled water for environmental reasons. The community voted to replace branded water bottles with empty bottles labeled “Bundy on tap” that can be filled and refilled with water from taps and fountains on the main street.
In September 2009, French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced plans to introduce a carbon tax to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in France. Polluters will have to pay EUR 17 per ton of carbon emitted, which includes not only businesses but individual households as well. The tax will cover 70% of the country’s carbon emissions and bring in about EUR 4.3 billion of revenue annually.
The government of Mexico City recently passed a law restricting businesses from giving out plastic bags that are not biodegradable. Mexico City becomes the second large metropolitan area in the Western Hemisphere to outlaw the bags. San Francisco enacted an ordinance in March 2007 that gave supermarkets six months and large chain pharmacies about a year to phase out the bags.
UK sandwich chain Pret a Manger decided to stop selling tuna sandwiches after the Earth Day 2009 release of End of the Line, a documentary exposing over-fishing of the world’s oceans.
Move with Rent-a-Green-Box and Save Big
March 2nd, 2010
Over 20 percent of the American population packs and moves each year- generating massive quantities of waste, that ultimately ends up in a landfill.
It’s a huge problem and we haven’t had a choice or a green sustainable solution in over 230 years. New or used cardboard boxes are just too expensive, very inefficient, extremely wasteful and really bad for our planet.
Spencer Brown, the founder and brain child behind Rent A Green Box has re-invented the cardboard moving box from 100% hard to recycle plastic trash mined from local landfills. His invention is called The Recopack and it stands for [recycled ecological packing solution]. Available in 3 sizes and delivered direct to your door on our fleet of super green eco-trucks powered by waste vegetable oil and bio-fuel.
The company delivers them a week before you move and pick them up a week after giving you 2 full weeks (14 days) to pack and move. Delivery and Pickup are included in your price. Think about all of the time and effort it takes to build all of those cardboard boxes. No handles and messing with that fussy tape. They have re-invented a better, faster, easier and cheaper way to pack and move.
All you need to do is make one call and they’ll drop off your Recopacks on the delivery date. You pack, stack and move. When the Recopack are empty, just call back and they’ll come over to your new place and pick them up. It’s just that simple.
The company convert massive quantities of post consumer trash to make really cool earth friendly packing and moving products that replace traditional and expensive supplies like cardboard boxes, bubble wrap, and Styrofoam peanuts that are really bad for our Earth. Currently 7 unique products are available, made from various types of post consumer trash. We mine landfills and recycling centers for hard to recycle hdpe #2 plastic bottles, millions of used baby diapers, end of life cardboard sludge, end of life newsprint sludge, post consumer packaged food boxes like cereal boxes and frozen food packaging, end of life recycled aluminum cans and tons of plastic bottle caps to make our earth friendly moving products.
Go Green Tips, Go Green and Save Money, Green Home, Re-use it. New green life for old things
Call For Action: I do 30 – do you?
February 26th, 2010
Biotech company Novozymes calls for action, urging consumers to “do 30” when doing their laundry.
“I do 30” campaign was launched by Novozymes on July 2010. The campaign asks consumers to turn down the temperature on their washing machines to reduce their CO2 emissions, while still getting their clothes clean.
”By doing something as simple as this in our daily lives, each and every one of us can support the fight against climate change, encourage fashion to be more sustainable, and take better care of our precious clothes at the same time,” says Eva Kruse, CEO of the Danish Fashion Institute. “This is why we have chosen to support ‘I do 30’, and I hope many of the fashion people gathered here in Copenhagen will do the same,” she says.
Help make your planet as clean as your pants
A number of leading figures from Danish fashion, media and politics have already signed up to the campaign.
Join ”I do 30”, spread the word, and send a message
The campaign is counting the number of people who sign up via facebook or at www.ido30.org. For the moment more than 16 thousands people joined this green campaign. “I do 30” is about sending a clear message: we want a cleaner planet, we want climate-friendly products, and we are ready to make it happen!
Help fight climate change
“’I do 30′ is about washing clothes at low temperatures, but it’s also about something bigger than that,” says Steen Riisgaard, CEO of Novozymes. “It’s about raising awareness that there are already many technologies that can be used to help fight climate change. ‘I do 30’ asks consumers to make a statement that they’re willing to make climate-friendly choices in their daily lives,” he says.
Europe alone can save 12 million tons of CO2
By washing at lower temperatures, moving from 60 or 40 °C to 30 °C, Europeans can save 12 million tons of CO2 a year, the equivalent of taking 3 million cars off Europe’s roads – all this and the chance to save on the electricity bill too!
If you have your own Go Green Tips – share them with the world! Post them here and you might get featured on the LiveGreenStyle.com home page!
Refreshing Green Idea from Pepsi
February 16th, 2010
Cause marketing is a type of marketing involving a “for profit” business and a non-profit organization for mutual benefit. It differs from corporate giving (philanthropy) as the latter generally involves a specific donation that is tax deductible, while cause marketing is a PR relationship generally not based on a donation.
This is a powerful marketing tool that business and nonprofit organizations are increasingly leveraging. The Pepsi Refresh Project is a groundbreaking effort to foster innovation in social good. This year, the company will award $20 million to the best ideas for moving communities forward. Beginning last January 13th, individuals apply for grants to benefit projects of their own design in one of six categories: Health, Education, Food & Shelter, Neighborhoods, Arts & Culture, and the Planet. Through an online, democratic process, the public will determine the winning grants every month.
In a partnership with the Good organization, they’re looking for people, businesses, and non-profits with ideas that will have a positive impact for the planet as a whole. From Education to Health and the Environment. These ideas should be feasible and completed 12 months from the date you receive the first funds. They also must benefit projects taking place and serving the US. Each month, a maximum of 1,000 ideas can be submitted and there will be up to 32 potential Grant Recipients selected.
Unfortunately for the rest of the world, only legal residents of one of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia are eligible to apply.
Pedestrian Footsteps Converted Into Energy
January 29th, 2010
If the energy people expend dancing and working out can power cellphones, lights and other electrical appliances, why not apply the same concept to all the energy spent by millions of people every day simply walking along city sidewalks? That’s exactly the premise behind Pavegen slabs, which can be inserted among regular sidewalk sections to capture the kinetic energy people spend just walking.
Each rubber slab from UK-based Pavegen Systems gets depressed by about 5 mm each time it gets stepped on. Using just that small movement, it can convert the kinetic energy used into electricity, which is then stored in the slab. Specifically, 5 percent of the energy harvested is used to make the slab’s LED glow, making it clear to users that their energy has been captured. The rest can be used to power pedestrian lighting, information displays and many other applications. Pavegen’s patent-protected green technology has also been used to harvest energy from users’ footsteps on stairs; custom branding is available.
Following recent tests in East London, Pavegen is now seeking both investors and additional testing sites for its eco-iconic innovation. One to get in on early…?
Library of Green Building Materials
January 27th, 2010
For architects and industrial designers, finding sustainable materials to use in building projects has long been a challenge, with providers and information scattered all across the web. Ecolect, which just launched last fall, aims to provide a single, central library of sustainable materials that makes it easier for designers to be “green.”
Rhode Island-based Ecolect, which was founded by two Rhode Island School of Design graduates, hopes to save designers time and money by answering three important questions: where to find sustainable materials, what makes them sustainable, and who else is using them and how. Toward that end, the site features materials with sustainable attributes—eco paints and bamboo flooring, for example—complemented by content that stimulates discussion about sustainability. Case studies illustrate the successful use of sustainable design, and users can contribute reviews and images of materials in use. The site’s blog, meanwhile, discusses how ecology affects the world. Ad-supported Ecolect is free for users.
“We saw a unique and unmet need in the marketplace,” explains Matt Grigsby, one of the site’s cofounders. “From there, we set out to not only create the world’s first free and accessible sustainable materials library, but also build a tight-knit global community, where individuals from around the world can go to learn and connect around the issue of sustainable design.”
Grigsby won last year’s Rhode Island Innovation Awards Rising Star Innovator title for his role in developing Ecolect, and the company itself has been named a finalist in the 2008 SXSW Web Awards, the winner of which will be named next month. The trend toward sustainability isn’t going away anytime soon, so the opportunities are many in supporting and informing those who make it happen. Since the distribution of building materials varies widely by country/region, this is definitely one to set up in your own neck of the woods. Or how about applying the concept to other industries?
Green design: Agua Table by Domingos Tótora
January 25th, 2010
This gorgeous table is a stunning example of natural, sustainable, green design at its best. Made by the Brazilian independent artist Domingos Totora, the Agua Table is just one example of his gorgeous, yet functional sustainable designs.
Amazingly, those giant rocks supporting the table are actually made from recycled kraft paper and natural pigment. As with all of his creations, the material is completely sustainable, the design completely organic.
Totora works from his studio in Brazil, where he embraces sustainable design in all of his works. From kraft paper furniture to sculptural vases , he attempts to preserve the natural beauty and elements of Brazil.
You can see more of his work on his website, which is unfortunately written in Portuguese, or at Touch, where they sell a number of gorgeous, sustainable designs from emerging artists around the world.
It may look like a rock, and it may even roll like one, but this glass is not being held up by rocks
Raw material cardboard
Substance of cardboard and glue
Moulding of the pieces
Finishing the pieces
Studio of Domingos Tótora
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