Subscribe to My Feed
Loading ...Rio’s Commitment to Tackle Sewage and Trash
Friday, December 26th, 2008It’s a bit of an open secret that the state of Rio de Janeiro, beautiful as it is, has a serious trash problem. Litter is ubiquitous. Trash (particularly drink containers) choke many waterways and drainage systems. While the state has a reasonably good record in providing waste pick-up services to its residents, disposal has been […]
Trash Photos XI: A Visit to the Landfill
Thursday, February 8th, 2007Someone recently asked whatever happened to my “Trash Photo” series. No, folks, I did not run out of trash- or recycling-related photos — not likely to happen anytime soon! No, I didn’t tire of posting in the series. I’m always ready to “talk trash.” (All right, keep the groans about my puns to a minimum!) […]
Quiz: Who is 5-Time World Champion Recycler of Aluminum Cans?
Saturday, January 13th, 2007Brazil is five times champion of what? Well, yeah, football (futbol, or soccer as my American friends insist on calling it). But something else too: Brazil has led the world in recycling aluminum cans five years in a row (so it is not a anomaly or “blip”!). In 2005 Brazil recycled 96.2%, higher than Japan […]
Recycling Coconuts I: More Than Just a Vessel for Agua de Coco
Saturday, October 28th, 2006The Next Time You Have a Cool Agua de Coco… Photos Courtesy of Coco Verde Have you ever stopped at a street vendor’s stand, a kiosk along the Malecon or at a shopping mall to have a coconut hacked open by machete so you can sip a cool agua de coco? And perhaps after you […]
Trash Photos IV: The Carioca Model
Monday, October 2nd, 2006I took the above photo in the offices of Rio de Janeiro’s Municipal Urban Sanitation Company (Companhia Municipal de Limpeza Urbana – Comlurb) this past spring. Every year when in Rio I meet with a friend in Comlurb who is a well-known and well-informed waste expert. Sometimes we meet at Comlurb’s main office in Tijuca, […]