So what do we do with our old washing machines and such? We stumbled upon a place that picks up washing machines and other appliances. For free. Could this be real? This place called Rancho Grande, located in the Mission near Bernal Heights picks up appliances (and recently picked up some of our non working washing machines) for free. But where’s the Green slant? In the case of washing machines, they fix the machines (often with the used parts they have collected) and resell the working machnies for a susstantial discount verses new ones. The people at Rancho Grande say that the used machines from the 70s and 80s often last longer than the new ones because the current models have so many plastic parts that don’t last.

For machines that can’t be repaired (or the cost is too much) they first drain the oil (which is then reused) then take the appliance to a local metal yard where it finds new life as crushed metal scrap. Sure, the newer Energy Star models use less energy but like cars it’s probably a better bet to use the old one to its final days before buying a new, more energy efficient version.

So what do we do with our old washing machines and such? We stumbled upon a place that picks up washing machines and other appliances. For free. Could this be real? This place called Rancho Grande, located in the Mission near Bernal Heights picks up appliances (and recently picked up some of our non working washing machines) for free. But where’s the Green slant? In the case of washing machines, they fix the machines (often with the used parts they have collected) and resell the working machnies for a susstantial discount verses new ones. The people at Rancho Grande say that the used machines from the 70s and 80s often last longer than the new ones because the current models have so many plastic parts that don’t last.

For machines that can’t be repaired (or the cost is too much) they first drain the oil (which is then reused) then take the appliance to a local metal yard where it finds new life as crushed metal scrap. Sure, the newer Energy Star models use less energy but like cars it’s probably a better bet to use the old one to its final days before buying a new, more energy efficient version.

In looking for green suggestions on how to handle the old mattress, I googled ‘mattress recycle’.  Nothing really useful came of my web search, however.  Health department laws prohibit donating the mattress to the Salvation Army or another charitable organization, and I could not find a local mattress recycling company.  I could try a local freecycle group, but the health department restrictions would probably come into play again.  So we have a nice, new mattress, and we just don’t know how to handle the old mattress in an environmentally-responsible way.

I invite you, dear reader, to weigh in on this one:  what’s the best way to dispose of an old mattress?

Photo from my personal collection.

If you’ve ever seen the movie Idiocracy, you may have a vague fear of giant landfills toppling over and spilling into the streets. Fortunately, that fear may never become a reality now that the Powermaster ReCyclone is available.

The ReCyclone works by grinding trash into small pieces, thereby reducing landfill space up to 97 percent.

Trash compacted by the ReCyclone can be used to create energy or compost material—organic waste becomes diesel fuel, and plastic becomes oil. The machine can grind up any piece of waste ranging from 20 microns to 12 inches.

For some perspective, the ReCyclone can get more gold out of electronic devices than from a gold mine (one metric ton of circuit boards contains between 80 and 1,500 grams of gold, which is 40 to 800 times the concentration of gold available in gold ore mined in the United States) and 1 kilogram of plastic recycled in the machine can yield 95 percent of 1 liter of diesel.

Read more of this story »

I’ve always professed that every baby should wear cloth diapers; however, with my son wearing one diaper in 24 hours, it takes a long time to make a diaper load of laundry. After a week, these cloth diapers get very rank, and I don’t really want to put them in my washing machine or waste energy and water to wash them more often.  Thus, I’ve resorted to Seventh Generation’s Chlorine-Free Diapers, as it is too late in the game (I don’t plan to have any more children) to invest in gDiapers. I do feel a slight pang of guilt using a landfill, aka disposable, diaper, but I rationalize six years of cloth diapering two kids has earned me the right to one disposable diaper a day.

Read more of this story »

The clock is ticking. On Wednesday, I am to shoot a segment for the Sust Enable film project in which I construct a draft box (alternative to a refrigerator), solar cooker (alternative to a stove/oven), and hot water solar shower, in order to illustrate how easy and cheap it is to build such items for the average person. Once applied, these technologies can divert significant amounts of energy that would normally come from the plugs in your home, to free energy provided by the sun and wind. (Of course, the issue of winter and weather conditions arises, but I believe that every little applied creative technology helps in the approach toward sustainable living.)

But there is one obstacle looming… can I overcome it in the hours before the shoot begins?

How do I sustainably acquire the necessary materials?

If I am claiming to live a 100% sustainable lifestyle, then certainly I cannot acquire anything new–all supplies must be redeemed from the waste stream of others. Or must they? I began to realize that the likelihood of me garbage-picking a 55-gallon drum, spigots, fixtures, tools, aluminum foil and black hose was rather slim in the time frame given, and with the transportation resources I have (i.e., a bike).

Hence, I must consider the tradeoff of my actions as thoroughly as I can. What are the consequences of the manufacturing of a metal spigot, bought new from Home Depot? What’s the tradeoff if I were to continue to use conventional hot water heaters for all of my showers for the next few years of my life?

Read more of this story »

Oregon: the land of volcanoes, beautiful coastline, forests…and trash? Unfortunately, that might be the case if Hawaii gets its way.

According to the Portland Tribune, Honolulu is quickly running out of space in their main landfill. In order to prevent overflow, the city has hatched a plan to send ships full of garbage up the Columbia River in Oregon, where trash will be put on trucks and trains headed to the Columbia Ridge Landfill.

It may seem strange that Hawaii wants to send its trash to a state known for being so environmentally conscious. Interestingly enough, that’s exactly why they want to do it.

Read more of this story »

The company has announced that it’s investigating suitable sites for commercial garbage-to-ethanol facilities — leading baby-owners everywhere to rejoice that they may never again have to feel guilty about throwing out enough diapers each day to put the elephant in this commercial to shame (and can I just be the first to say “WTF?” to that commercial).

Read more of this story »

Read more of this story »

Here’s the green beat: CDs contain aluminum, polycarbonate, lacquer, dyes, nickel, and chemical feedstock from oil, none of which are particularly groovy for the environment. And the jewel case and shrink-wrapping don’t make CDs any healthier for the planet. Plus, with iPods and similar technologies abounding, how often do we buy the CD, upload the songs to our computers, listen to the tunes on our laptops and handheld devices, and never again touch the CD itself? These days, as this green blog puts it, CDs are nothing more than extra packaging for the music we buy. Spare the waste and the toxic materials by downloading your music directly.

By now, High Fidelity fans everywhere are groaning. Forgo the experience of music shops? But consider this a fresh spin: with a music library on your computer and not all over your house, it’s much easier to arrange your music — not alphabetically — but chronologically in the order that you discovered the musician, or however you like.

Many readers will also ask, justifiably, whether it’s actually more environmentally friendly to use a computer or handheld MP3 player to listen to music than it is to buy CDs. Let’s look into this a bit because it’s a good question. As per the computer, we’ll assume that no one actually buys a computer just to listen to music. Rather than buying a CD player and hundreds of CDs, we can get all of our music using a single instrument that we would have purchased in any case. Therefore, even if it takes more juice to run a computer than a CD player, we can safely say that listening to music on your computer is better than buying CDs and playing them on your computer or CD player. Just remember to turn the computer on to use it and turn it off when we’re done. If you mostly like to listen to music on the computer, problem solved.

But what about handheld MP3 players — are they better for the environment than CDs? Greenpeace has an interesting article full of both criticism and praise for Apple’s iPod. The bad news for iPod users? These devices too are made with toxic chemicals, and when they break, they are cheaper to replace than to fix. On the other hand, CDs also have a definite lifespan and will sooner or later become landfill. But here’s the good news: iPods are recyclable. The final factor that gives MP3 players the edge over CDs is simply that they hold so many songs. The iPod classic holds up to 40,000 songs. At about 15 songs per disk, that would add up to over 2,600 CDs. Lastly, some environmentalists will also appreciate iPod features like the downloadable Animal Ingredients List A-Z, a "portable, quick reference for vegans on-the-go." Features like these can make being green a little easier.

Lastly, there’s the question of the energy used by the servers that hold music for people to buy online. They’re left running 24/7 to allow people to buy music at any time of the day or night. Rather than arguing that this energy use is less environmentally taxing than the energy used in manufacturing CDs, let’s do one better and take action on the issue. According to the Climate Counts consumer scorecard, Apple isn’t doing much to address climate change. This could swiftly be rectified if, say, ten percent of Apple iTunes users contacted the company asking it to run its iTunes servers on clean energy. Change has to start somewhere, and this is a good opportunity.

For those of us who are less digitally wired, there’s still the good old radio. A long product lifespan, low energy usage, and dozens of music radio stations give the radio impressive eco credentials. If considering the ins and outs of CDs vs. downloads makes your head spin, relax. We’re here to enjoy being green. Just turn the radio on and let the music flow. Also, it’s worth checking out online radio. One site I highly recommend for discovering new artists is Musicovery.

If you’re using electrical devices for music, don’t forget to turn them off and unplug them when they’re not in use to save energy. For an extra eco touch, you can get a solar charger for your iPod or computer. You can also choose to power your music (and your home) with renewable energy from your local utilities company or an energy offset provider.

So turn up the volume and get your groove on. Dance like nobody’s watching and let the green times roll.

References and Resources:

Apple iTunes Store Environmental Impact | Torants

iPoison + iWaste | Greenpeace

Apple and the Environment | Apple

Compact Disc | Wikipedia

Compact Disc Manufacturing | Wikipedia

Can I Buy Green Power In My State? | US Department of Energy

Photo Source:

Streetart in Lisbon,Portugal | Flickr

The process can take everything from household waste to toxic chemicals and “poof” turn them into nothing. Literally. The by-products are an obsidian like glass, and synthesis gas (or syngas) that can be converted into fuels like natural gas or highly sought after hydrogen.

Plasma gasefication is promising since municipal waste and overflowing landfills are becoming larger problems worldwide. Plus the process doesn’t produce air-polluting emissions like incinerators, a common but controversial landfill alternative.

Popular Science magazine featured a plasma conversion facility in Bristol, Connecticut, headed up by Joseph Longo. Longo is founder and CEO of Startech Environmental Corporation (one of about a dozen companies involved in furthering this technology) who has pioneered waste solutions such as the conventional trash compactor. Now he’s moved on to what could be the next generation of waste disposal.

[Plasma gasification] works a little like the big bang, only backward (you get nothing from something). Inside a sealed vessel made of stainless steel and filled with a stable gas—either pure nitrogen or, as in this case, ordinary air—a 650-volt current passing between two electrodes rips electrons from the air, converting the gas into plasma. Current flows continuously through this newly formed plasma, creating a field of extremely intense energy very much like lightning. The radiant energy of the plasma arc is so powerful, it disintegrates trash into its constituent elements by tearing apart molecular bonds. The system is capable of breaking down pretty much anything except nuclear waste, the isotopes of which are indestructible.

Perhaps the most amazing part of the process is that it’s self-sustaining. Just like your toaster, Startech’s Plasma Converter draws its power from the electrical grid to get started. The initialvoltage is about equal to the zap from a police stun gun. But once the cycle is under way, the 2,200˚F syngas is fed into a cooling system, generating steam that drives turbines to produce electricity. About two thirds of the power is siphoned off to run the converter; the rest can be used on-site for heating or electricity, or sold back to the utility grid. “Even a blackout would not stop the operation of the facility,” Longo says.

Plasma gasefication does sound like a dream come true. What could be better than eliminating massive amounts of waste from the world? The Popular Science article cites critics who point out that there are heavy metals in the obsidian-like glass byproduct, which breaks down easily in water and could contaminate soils and ground water if not disposed of properly. Others doubt the cleanliness of the syngas, which would serverely limit its use.

I wondered about some other unintended effects to this potential “solution” to our increasing garbage load. Even if plasma gasefication is the next step in dealing with the world’s waste, garbage would still need to be hauled to plasma converter sites. While the facilities would be considerably smaller than landfills, and much easier to place in close proximity to waste generating areas, it wouldn’t necessarily change the way waste is picked up (often with polluting diesel powered trucks) but simply where it is taken to.

Another issue that concerns me is that people might recycle less than they already do. One motivator to recycling is knowing that you’re eliminating waste in landfills and you’re promoting post-consumer content in products such as paper, and the reuse of metals such as aluminum. However, if plasma gasefication is implemented on a mass scale, and people stop worrying about the amount of waste generated since that waste will essentially disappear, recycled materials might decrease, prompting the increase of new materials or virgin products (ie. cutting of new trees rather than using recycled paper for new paper products.)

Additionally, the phasing out of landfills (if we get to that point) would also require businesses who have built up their operations using methane gas from landfill sites to find alternate means of generating this fuel source.

Overall, plasma gasefication is a very appealing solution for our increasing global waste problems, and we’ll be keeping an eye on its progress.

Via Popular Science Magazine