Subscribe to My Feed
Loading ...Using Crafts to Promote Recycling and Employment
Monday, October 1st, 2007Last week I introduced you to some cool purses made in Rio de Janeiro and Maranhão from recycled materials, such as banana fiber and PET from drink bottles. Here’s more, this time from Curitiba, the capital of Paraná. Curitiba has a longstanding and well-deserved reputation for promoting recycling through environmental education. Thus it is not […]
Trash Photos XIII: Cool Purses
Wednesday, September 26th, 2007Last year while discussing what I like to call "creative recycling," I introduced you to a purse made of used drink can tabs liberated from the waste stream, plus thread and a thin chain. At the time, I invited readers to alert me to any more examples of "an interesting or ingenious product made of […]
Trash Photos X: A Stunning Christmas Tree Made with Recyclables
Monday, December 11th, 2006Hope you are not yet tired of pictures of the creative way people are taking everyday used recyclable material and turning them into Christmas trees and decorations. I just found this one, and it’s stunning! The 64-year old Brazilian grandmother who decorated this tree did so with used wrapping paper, yogurt cups, PET bottles and […]
Trash Photos VIII: More Christmas Trees Made from Recyclables
Monday, November 27th, 2006I’ve found some interesting examples of elementary school competitions in Brazil getting classes to construct Christmas trees from recyclable packaging waste — whether plastic bottles (whole or sliced up), plastic bags, metal cans, or even aseptic drink boxes (Tetra brik). They are, of course, accompanied by discussion with the kids of the different materials, why […]
Recycling Coconuts II: Need Anything Be Wasted?
Tuesday, October 31st, 2006In Part I I looked at how some projects have sprung up in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) to convert those “empty” coconut husks discarded after agua de coco is served or bottled/packaged into useful products, such as flower pots, plant basket liners or “growing walls.” But the market potential for such products may […]
“Trash Photos” II: Creative Recycling
Saturday, September 9th, 2006From tiny seeds mighty trees grow. — Old Proverb Here’s some more in my series of photos about trash and recycling (see the prior post of the trash bin made from recycled Tetra-brik packaging). Take a close look at the one on the right — it’s a “disco purse” made of used drink can tabs liberated […]