Chuck’s Studio has developed this wastepaper basket for offices, made from recycled cardboard. They are available in two models and the paints used on the wastepaper basket—which has been nicknamed Chuck—are water-based and have very low VOC emissions (volatile organic compounds). The basket with the green print is not available yet, but the model with the botanical print is available at Chuck’s for US$ 9.99.

Source: Inhabitat

There I was—happy, cheerful and content—driving back from the Sao Paulo countryside after the Carnaval holiday when I suddenly saw a sign: “Ecological rubber tire asphalt.” I smiled from cheek to cheek. How nice!

There are several kinds of asphalt. If I’m not mistaken, all of them use some oil in their composition. The difference is that 20% of eco-asphalt is made up of old, ground up tires, according to the Setor Reciclagem website.

According to a company called Greca Asfaltos, 54.5 million tires were manufactured in 2006. In 1999, it was estimated that more than 10 million tires had been disposed of. Note. Midas Elastômeros do Brasil, a company that turns tires into rubber ground, says that their technology is Brazilian.

And more. Besides the obvious advantage of using something which could otherwise pollute the environment, the eco-asphalt is 40% more resistant than conventional asphalt—some researchers say that it can last up to 5.5 times longer too, see source here.

So, here’s the question that everybody wants to ask. If this alternative is more efficient and ecologically correct, why don’t all of the cities and road operating companies opt for rubber asphalt?

Each time we dispose of an electronic product, we create a serious environmental problem. Where does that old TV, stereo, or computer that we no longer use and which is full of chemical and toxic components go? Greenpeace has been researching this topic in depth and calling attention to the export of electronic waste from Europe, America and Japan to poor countries, particularly those in Africa and Asia. The environmental organization conducted a test: in England, they took a broken, practically useless TV to be recycled. The result? The device was ‘exported’ to Nigeria. A con, pure and simple.

Check this out below:

Find out more here.

Or in the video below:

Pablo Handl and Terra Boa composters

Yesterday, I visited The Hub-SP, and learned that in addition to being a collaborative entrepreneur, Pablo Handl also has a very nice eco-enterprise called Rio-Sol Eco-opportunities. The company was incubated within the Artemisia Foundation, which promotes the construction of social business models; its first product is a composter that can be used in apartments: the Terra Boa.

The system is free and very easy to use at home. Three resistant and stackable plastic boxes transform all of the organic waste by using select earthworms to digest the waste.

Each Terra Boa composter has 1 box to collect the animal fat (with a faucet, at the bottom) and two digestive boxes. The main digestive box has a thin layer of humus and select earthworms that transform the organic waste deposited in the box into good soil, or terra boa in Portuguese. You can lay some dry leaves or shredded paper on top of the organic residues, and close the lid. In another expanded ceramic box, you can add humus and continue the process when the first one is full. The decomposition of this material generates leachate (a liquid byproduct of the decomposition). The leachate is practically and cleanly stored in the collecting box, and can be used to fertilize your plants.

The small set, shown in the photo above, costs R$ 250. It is ideal for families of up to 4 people. Orders can be placed by e-mail.: ecooportunidades [@] gmail.com

This article belongs to Ladybug Brasil. If you have found it on another blog, please, contact me.

French Artist Gilles Eichenbaum has created projects that reuse household items, also known as “Garbage.” His works are mostly comprised of lamps made of teapots, forks, funnels, pots, lids, and other items.

Read this post at Rodrigo’s Barba Blog: Lamps that reuse household utensils