Vespa scooters enjoyed a high place during their heydays, but as time passes, these classics from the past get old, rusty and useless, not to mention that their fuel efficiency would be too poor by modern standards. All that aside, there’s still a lot of people in love with the old scooter. Bel & Bel give people a chance to own the Vespa, albeit in an entirely different way.

(more…)

If you're new here and you like our articles, how about subscribing free for our updates via RSS feed.

Here’s a statistic that I bet will surprise you:

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that for every one barrel of residential trash, 71 more were created before the products that produced that waste reached consumer households.

What’s more, a new report from the EPA shows that ordinary consumer products and packaging account for 44% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.

Can you imagine how much waste and GHG emissions could be eliminated from the production-consumption cycle if products could be re-designed to use less material, be longer life, repairable, reusable, and safer?
(more…)

A greener apple ...

Gadget makers have often been accused of being wasteful and excessive, leading to giant carbon footprints. Organizations like Greenpeace have been very vocal of these practices and now even consumers are beginning to take notice.

Apple, like other companies, has moved to reduce its carbon footprint, and has vowed to reduce it dramatically over the next few years. Apple, though currently ranked above competitors like HP and Dell, is still placed below the fold by Greenpeace.

(more…)

Paper is a vital, everyday product that undoubtedly we could not live without. In fact, it is hard to imagine a world without the countless newspapers, magazines, books, posters and photographs it is used for. The impact of this incessant paper-making, however, means that our planet is suffering as a consequence.

Every year, entire forests full of trees are cut down to produce the approximate 300 million tons of paper used throughout the world. Furthermore, used and unwanted paper is often dumped in landfill, meaning part of it ends up in the environment, contributing to green house gases.

(more…)

It is hard to believe sometimes the amazing and simply astounding designs, shapes, patterns and accessories that a DIY contest can throw up. Nothing shouts out reuse better than this wonderfully shaped and cozy looking Drops Chair designed by Camilla Hounsell Halvorsen of Norway.

Crafted from what looks like a giant tube of some thrown-away wheel’s inner-tube and wrapped with elegance using recycled upholstery material, it looks like one giant doughnut on a four-legged stainless steel stand. With a simple, minimalist feel that exuding plenty of charm with its comfortable appearance, it’s available in blue but you can always try it with black and white strips.

There is absolutely no reason why anyone cannot craft up something similar with very little time and energy spent on it. Right? [via Inhabitat]

If you’ve been wondering what to do with all those paper rolls, pizza boxes or shopping bags instead of recycling them the old fashion way, Japanese Yuken Teryua has a brilliant solution. An elegant and highly attractive collection of recycled materials that has been turned into eco-art. Yuken seems like a gifted artist with a vision, that finds beauty in the ordinary. That toilet paper rolls tree that could hang delicately in any contemporary home or the bag tree with the green light are definitely our favorite. An amazing mix of functionality and awareness. No? [via booooooom]

If you were told that a recycled desk would cost you $5000, then you would obviously think we are crazy or kidding. But that’s no ordinary desk. The creative folks from Reestore have once again conjured up recycling innovation with aviation trash to create a desk out of an old airplane wing. Dubbed Deborah, it looks unusual for an office desk, but the appeal of setting your files on an old Boeing 747 wing is an alluring prospect indeed.

Initially crafted for business tycoon Theo Paphitis, Reestore is now going commercial with this expensive, yet exclusive desk. Supported by stainless steel legs and topped with toughened glass, the desk measures in at 2100mm x 1000mm x 900mm.

Recycle and reuse is a concept that is not very popular in the aviation industry and that is one of the reasons why it gets plenty of slack. I guess Reestore is giving them a whole new way of reducing waste and making some profits too! [via Inhabitat]

With each passing day it is getting harder for us to imagine a world that is devoid of the television, laptop, PC, mobile phone and even the MP3 players and the gaming consoles. Sure, not everyone sports them al, but most of us are addicted to electronic gadgets and gladly enjoy the comfort and convenience they have to offer.

The problem though does not crop up from the usage, but the fact that you ultimately need to throw them away after they become old and less fashionable. And acccording to the Environmental Protection Agency, 1.5 million to 1.9 million tons of electronic waste was deposited in U.S. landfills in 2005. So is there a better way to deal with this looming hazard for the planet? Sure thing!

The problem is that e-waste contains hazardous chemicals and toxic metals such as flame retardants, arsenic, mercury and cadmium; making it lethal. With that in mind, initiatives like the European Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) are taking shape in Europe to force consumers to recycle them responsibly and to dispose them in a manner that does the least damage to environment.

There are many companie’s that offer WEEE Compliance schemes and pick up trash from your doorstep so that it is dealt with in the appropriate fashion. This might cost you a tad bit, but it’s very little compare to what ill-disposed electronic waste causes to the planet. And of course you can always choose to donate the waste to your local church or school community which will gladly use your old laptop or even mobile and put it to good use.

Since most of us discard the old gadgets for new ones just to stay in style or because our technical requirements have outgrown the product, there is no reason why someone else could not use your perfectly good old device. And have you thought of those computer recycling programs offered by companies which are selling the products in the first place? You can mail your old monitors and systems back to the producer and most often they will deal with that responsibly.

A cool new initiative is being offered by Apple which appeals a lot to all the techno geeks who end up creating most of the electronic trash. Apple is willing to take in any old mobile phone or MP3 player and it will even send you the packaging.

Ilegally and obviously not morally correct to dispose off electronic waste in any other fashion, US and Europe are waking up to the fact, with large developing nations like China and India are turning into hot beds for poorly disposed electronic waste.

Images by maiac and zilpho

Remember the “funny” guy with the British humor that was talking to his bin? Well the story continues and this time we can understand more about the recycling campaign that mayor Boris Johnson is promoting for London.

“Despite recent reports of a downturn in the market for recycled materials the Mayor is confident that the recycling market will recover. Over 60 per cent of the rubbish we throw away can actually be recycled and yet Londoners on average are recycling 20 per cent of their waste. Now everyone in London can recycle paper, glass and cans at the very least and the message from the Recycle for London campaign is to reassure people and encourage them to recycle more.”

There is something we can do, right?

The Brits really do have an unique sense of humor. Check out this campaign aimed at making the Londoners aware that they should recycle. “Please? No!”

Not sure about you, but if I were to see it on TV with no explanation I wouldn’t know it’s for a green cause. More like a Muppets show that is due next week. What was the impact on you guys?