Biùtiful Cauntri

My friend Jenny in Italy sent me this link to a film called Biùtiful Cauntri, an Italian trash documentary. We’re still searching for a subtitled version for those of us who need them. Jenny sent this note after a recent trip to the front lines of the trash war:

“The situation in the area around Naples is still devastating, this is what this documetantary talks about. The mafia has been dumping toxic waste into farm land for over 14 years, what we are seeing in the papers isn’t news to the neapolitans.”

Teen discovers how to make plastic rot

An eleventh grader in Waterloo has figured out what makes plastic decompose and how to speed up that process—to three months. The trick was figuring out which bacteria are responsible for breaking down plastic over time and then to grow those.

“Almost every week I have to do chores and when I open the closet door, I have this avalanche of plastic bags falling on top of me,” the 16-year old-told The Record. “One day, I got tired of it and I wanted to know what other people are doing with these plastic bags.”

Via Treehugger via The Record

Beer bottle roof detail

Remember that guy who made solar panels out of beer bottles to heat his mom’s shower? Well, the Green Garbage Blog found another photo of the project, which shows close up how it was constructed. Yay for garblogging. Here it is.

Weekly Compactor

This week in trash news:

• The People Improvement Organization opens a school in one of Cambodia’s largest dumps;
• The WSJ discovers eco-consumerism;
• Latin America Press profiles the carteneros;
• Germans find profit in the Naples trash crisis;
• Also in Italy, Sardinians block trash hauling in Cagliari; and
• Kyiv, Ukraine is the 26th dirtiest city in the world (Baku, Azerbaijan is #1).

Photo of Baku via advantour.com (apparently it doesn’t look dirty at night and from the sky).

The Trash Map

I’m not even going to attempt to rip an image for this post.  To get the full effect of this amazing interactive map of trashumentary photography, you’ll have to click here and peruse the recent contribution from Last Night’s Garbage to The New York Moon.  Thanks for the tip, Joe!

“Crap” PSA from Dumpster Taoist

Here’s the link, pass it on!

Sitting on your trash

I came across these whimsical shopping cart chairs and a whole mess of other cool shit via a Popular Fidelity link to this dense and entertaining WebUrbanist post entitled “20 Eye-Catching Pieces of ‘Recycled’ Urban Furniture:  Geeky and Green Adaptive Reuse Projects”.  I’m not sure I want to perpetuate a term like “adaptive resuse,” but I do want to spread the word about these artful and functional trash creations.  Aside from what’s pictured here, my favorite are the couch made from an old bathtub and the abstract coffee tables made from bent bike tires.

Photo via WebUrbanist.com

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Reminder for Thursday in NYC

Happy 3-day weekend, hope you’re outside!

Photo by Cristen at Beth and Don’s annual extravaganza

Collegiate eye/stomach ratio

Jonathan over at Wasted Food has posted part one of a two part story on food in college cafeterias. Some students at Virginia Tech have an interesting research question: if you remove the trays onto which kids pile more food than they could possibly eat, will students take less food and create less waste? Control week results are in. Check them out and stay tuned for the exciting finale.

Photo by Andy Sarjahani via Wasted Food.

LA, Save the Date for June 1st

At 3pm, June 1st, a raft made of a salvaged plane and 15,000 plastic bottles will set sail from the Long Beach Aquarium, pointed toward Hawaii. Tipster Anna Cummins invites anyone in the area to see her financee and his partner head off on an exciting expedition to raise awareness about ocean debris. Track the journey on the boat’s blog.

Via everdaytrash comments and Shifting Baselines.

Recycling bras into an ambulance

Veolia Environmental Services has figured out an interesting model for funding the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.  They collect old bras from local ladies and sell them in West Africa.  When I first started seeing bra recycling headlines from Ireland and England this week, I assumed people were collecting the underwire.  This, however, is a good example of how recycling pays!

Via letsrecycle.com

Giraffe

Remember the adorable “air bear” created by art student Joshua Allen Harris?  Check out his giraffe.

And, perhaps a predecessor, in this one a German artist uses simple plastic bags in a cruder street installation.

Breaking news

Oh no, the trash crisis in Naples isn’t over.