The galvanic series (or electropotential series) determines how well two metals will work together to make a battery. When two metals are submerged in an electrolyte, while electrically connected, the less noble (base) will experience galvanic corrosion. The rate of corrosion is determined by the electrolyte and the difference in nobility. The difference can be measured as a difference in…
The common juice boxes and cartons are finding new lift after its juices have been drank. People are making them into wallets and other goods. Juice box wallets are beautiful and useful. A juice box and cartons are made of liquid packaging board which is usually six layers of paper, polyethylene plastic, and aluminum foil. Paper is used to shape the…
Plarn is a yarn made from recycled plastic bags. By cutting the bags in to strips and stringing them together a strong colorful yarn is made. The plarn (short for plastic yarn) can be crocheted, stitched, fused or weaved into a wide range of items. Here we have collected a bunch of the most interesting…
Recycled Orchestra “The world sends us garbage, we send back music” There’s an amazing video floating around YouTube that has brought a ray of sunshine to a very dark week for all of us. It’s the trailer for an upcoming documentary called Landfill Harmonic, which focuses on one remarkable group in Paraguay: an orchestra that plays…
That white styrofoam we use for packaging, coffee cups and other things can be repurposed into a wide range of things. When Styrofoam is mixed with gasoline or other chemicals it will breakdown into a gooey glob that when dried will be a hard plastic instead of the light fluffy stuff we think as styrofoam.…
Dhaka, Bangladesh, is one of the worlds poorest and largest cities. With 9 million people over 3000 tons of waste is generated every day. There is little priority on recycling and waste pickers are the among the lowest class of people and often abused. Due to many factors, less than half the 3000 tons a…
This is kinda techie but interesting if you’re digging deep in to repurposed plastics. I discovered a post on what solvents work with specific plastics. Pure nail polish remover (Acetone) works with most plastics. The process of solvent welding is simple. You apply the solvent to the pieces you want to stick together, push the pieces…
In Bolivia and other Latin nations a group are helping people build their own homes our of plastic bottles. The Casas de Botellas, which translates to Bottle House, are giving people new hope and dignity. The bottles are filled with honey, sand, rubbish, linseed oil and milk. The bottles are added to dirt, livestock blood, cement, lime,…
Across Africa local artisans are making beautiful bracelets, necklaces and other jewelry from plastic, paper and glass saved from local land fills. These recycled treasures are sold thru a variety of web sites. In the Northern African country of Burkina Faso artists are making bracelets from old plastic mats that are used for rugs and prayer mats.…
In many of the worlds slums, people are packed into every available space. Home are built next to each other with no windows to let in light. People live in darkness 24 hours a day. Electricity for lights is either unavailable, sporadic, or too expensive leaving millions in darkness at high noon. Simple recycled plastic…
New York Institute of Technology architecture students funded a plant to build a recycling center in Costa Rica, and fund a documentary film about it. Using KickStarter the students funded their projected. Costa Rica known for biodiversity, national parks, and a thriving eco-tourism sector, has a severe trash problem; lacking appropriate infrastructure and policies, over sixty…
Waste pickers in Pune, India formed SWaCH (Solid Waste Collection and Handling) a cooperative of self-employed waste pickers. For over 10 years, SWaCH has worked in partnership with city authorities, providing door-to-door collection for a small fee and unlike other contractors that favor landfills and incineration units SWaTCH recycles and composts the city’s rubbish. Each week…
Academy Awards nominated Waste Pickers is a wonderful documentary focusing on the plight of waste pickers from Brazil and an artist that changes their lives. The Brazilian artist Vik Muniz based in New York decides to make the difference and travels to the largest landfill of the world outside of Rio de Janeiro, with the intention to…
A man in West Africa created a 3D printer from e-waste he scavenged from local sources. Afate Gnikou of Togo used parts from old computers, scanners, and other e-waste to build what is thought to be the first 3D printer made mostly from discarded electronic items. The 33-year-old, who makes a living repairing cellphones and computers in…
Waste Pickers are persons that make a living or survive by scavenging trash dumps for re-sellable materials. Some estimates state that 15 million people survive by picking waste. A world bank study estimates that up to 2% of the world’s population depends on some form of trash to survive. A good place to start to…
