Long time Olympic advertiser Coca Cola is not purely focused on getting noticed through its various streamers and ads. Actually, they are going beyond promoting their product and focusing on the green efforts.

One such practice is the collection of used pet bottles that shall be recycled and reused with the help of BOCOG and the City of Beijing. So, if you think Coca Cola is just concentrating on making sure that their advertising at the 2008 Beijing Olympics is the only thing going on, they are also trying to be responsibly green while the world is competing for the gold and supremacy at the games.

“Coca-Cola is promoting recycling at the Beijing Games with extensive signage and numerous recycling bins,” reports David G. Brooks, General Manager of the 2008 Olympic Project Group. “And we are very happy to report that all PET plastic bottles collected from all official venues will be fully recycled into valuable reuses, through a Coca-Cola partnership with BOCOG and the City of Beijing.”

(Source) International Olympic Committee

Traditionally we would buy milk in the usual plastic bottles but ever since they were identified as horrible contributors towards the growing issue of plastic, some groups all over the world have developed new ways of packaging as far as consuming regular milk that most people look for today.

The Green Bottle is a solution that aims to eliminate these standard plastic bottles. Not only is it made from recycled paper, it can easily be thrown to decompose by itself if not recycled.

GreenBottle was first piloted in the Lowestoft branch of ASDA in May last year and sold at the same price as the milk in conventional containers.

It will now be a permanent fixture on the shelves and Mr King said there were plans to offer the product across ASDA’s East Anglia stores within a few months.

(Source) Mail Online

Most people today have acknowledged the need to be eco-friendly and recycling waste materials such as plastic, paper, glass and metal is only one part of trying to complete a process of making them reusable. Not all parts of the world are pretty much aware that they can do more after these recyclables are sorted out. They can actually help improve the economy by processing new reusable materials such as paper and at the same time offer green jobs to people who need work these days.

This can be seen as a great process for motivation especially if you think about converting the whole process into a beneficial one. It takes one man to lead by example and hopefully assigned leaders can take their cue from this “Green Mayor”, Mr. Michael Bloomberg.

Aside from some health-safe dyes, the main two ingredients in the conversion of post-consumer waste paper - of which 400,000 tons are remade at the site each year - into fully usable recycled rolls are water and cornstarch.

The waste paper is broken down into fibers in water, the previous dyes are soaked out and then the material is refused together inside a 374-degree Fahrenheit oven.

After 33 minutes, the end product of that milling procedure is a 17-foot-wide roll of brown paper, which can be cut down in size if necessary, and weighs in at about 26 tons.

(Source) Silive.com

We all know that the healthy way to quench our thirst is to drink bottled water. While that would cover one aspect of health concerns, disposal of the plastic bottles has become more of a nuisance. In fact, the piling mess of plastic bottles seems to be more of a problem and costly at that since you can imagine the money you pay for one bottled of water each day.

The great alternative is to look at reusable containers. Remember that when you buy bottled water, a large chunk of the price is because of the bottle itself. If you turn to reusable containers such as this one offered by Project Earth H2O, imagine the savings you can have as well as addressing the growing problem created by plastic bottles today.

Everyone drinks water, but some researchers say you may also be drinking plastic if you re-use certain bottles.

Brian Denton enjoys a nice bottle of water, but he also enjoys the environment.

“Last year I was spending about $20 a week on bottled water, and what had happened was that I knew these bottles weren’t safe to be reused, and they were piling up in my car,” he said.

(Source) Your4State

We have seen various alternative ways to create energy and this one is something worth looking into. From the usual solar energy panels to hydrogen power, imagine energy being generated from potato waste. Now that is something.

In my previous post I already put out a post that some groups in the world today are looking to transform their trash to energy. While there were no specifics, this is because there are a lot of different waste categories to choose from. It is not solely from “trash” alone.

Potato Waste

Farmer Philip Johnson asked Durham County Council for permission to produce electricity – enough to heat 1,200 homes – from potato waste from the Walkers’ crisp factory, in Peterlee.

With the request granted, about 1,000 tonnes of potatoes a year will be pumped through an anaerobic digester, along with about 7,000 tonnes of agricultural crops and 2,000 tonnes of manure.

That will generate 500kw of electricity for the National Grid and 8,000 tonnes of fertiliser.

(Source) The Northern Echo

It may seem that posting on business cards that are made from recyclable materials has been done before but the MOO card is simply something you have to check out. The MOO card is likewise made from 100% recycled fiber, completely recyclable and biodegradable, and totally chlorine free. But you are responsible for the design.

In short, they process your order once you provide the design using their eco-friendly materials. One set of 50 is priced at $21.99 plus shipping.

For the businessmen who have to distribute their cards for distribution, The Moo Green Packs may be something that can work for you.

(Source) Jetson Green

The Niche Awards is an art competition for professional and student craft artists from the US and Canada. The category that most interests me is the Recycled Category. Check out this masterpiece from a past competition!

2007 Winners in Recycled Category

Last year the winners were couple Jim and Tori Mullan, of Mullanium Jewelry and Home Accessories. They both run an artist collective in Pompano Beach, Florida.

The winning entry for Jim and Tori Mullan was the bird sculpture you see pictured above. It is called General Disarray, and is made from recycled metals and other recycled materials. Quite Mad Max, if you ask me. Love it loads.

Who’s Eligible To Enter The 2008 Niche Awards?

Professional program: Any professional craft artist over age 21 residing in the United States or Canada who is actively involved in the design and production of craftwork supplied to galleries and craft stores. Student program: any undergraduate or graduate craft artist residing in the United States or Canada.

To enter and learn more about the 2008 Niche Awards, head to American Craft.

Eco friendly innovators Terra Cycle have a NEW1 bag out, this one is made with recycled plastic bags.

Terra Cycle fuses about 20 grocery shopping plastic bags together to come up with the Plastic Bags Bag. I think they are quite cute. I cant tell how sturdy they are, so i cant vouch for that. But they do look good, and they do good. There are so many plastic bags that circulate in shops, it is so terribly wasteful.

Terra Cycle clever as always re-uses and reclaims. The bag pictured above is not the Plastic Bags Bag, it is the Target Re-Tote.

Google has a store in which they carry clothing, gadgets, and accessories. It was cool to find out that they have added green products to their selection. I went fishing around to see if their green offerings are as cool as their search engine. I found not one, but a few goodies. See my HOT! Google green finds below.

via - EcoFabulous

Google Organic Ladies T Shirt - 100% organic fine jersey cotton - $12.50 (S-XL)

Bamboo Blogger Mens Tee - 70% bamboo and 30% cotton - $19.70 (S-2XL)

Recycled Plastic Google USB - $22.50 (4 colors)

The shell is made from 100% recycled plastic, and comes in all four Google colors

There are more green products @ the online Google store, these are just a few cute ones i found. They also have a bamboo beach towel, and an adorable organic cotton baby onsie.

Any of these green products would make an ideal gift for that eco friendly Google fan or blogger in your life.

Mobile phones are perhaps the frontrunner as far as how to secure new ones and at the same time recycle old ones. The frequency to which phones are changed can really be astounding and for most people, identifying where to throw their old phones (assuming they are busted), has been something people would least care about.

Thanks to Nokia, a well-known mobile phone manufacturer, aggressively promoting their mobile phone recycling program is sure to be welcome news. This is sure to increase the phone recycling issues so that people don’t just throw their phones towards the nearest garbage can they see.

As part of their new aggressive recycling program, Nokia is attempting to educate the public about the recycling of mobile phones. By now everyone has heard about the survey that shows a measly 3% of discarded mobile phones are recycled. Even though we know that the materials can be used for other important products, most of us simply don’t do it - even when it’s easy.

One popular web site that offers valuable information regarding recycling schemes and community facilities is the we:recycle website. The web site can supply information about local recycling facilities around the world and if you are located in the U.S. you can even use this Nokia site to obtain a pre-paid shipping label to return your phone for recycling - all at no cost to you.

(Source) Recycle.co.uk

For the modern Fashionista, it is apparent that unless you see the final product, you will not pay any attention to eco-friendly fashion. Consider using recycled materials such as juice packs and rice sacks and you would normally see people looking the other way around. But given the ample time to design them, you would be surprised at how finished products would grab their attention and eventually be the talk of the town.

Rebagz has done that and for sure, the target market of modern fashion loving consumers is evident.

Two Rebagz lines are currently available: the woven line is made from recycled juice packs that are cut into strips and woven together to make vivid, durable bags. The other line is crafted from artfully designed recycled rice sacks from the Philippines. Celebrities who own Rebagz include Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, Heidi Klum, Halle Berry, Sheryl Crow, Serena Williams and America Ferrera, who has worn hers on several episodes of ABC’s “Ugly Betty.”

(Source) Marketwire

As far as recycling practices are concerned, we all have to start somewhere. At least for Fayetteville which has long been aching for the implementation of a recycling program to help their society, the practice starts now.

With the collective efforts, the population of Fayetteville will start the new curbside recycling program along with the help of the Waste Management of the Carolinas and take them to a recovery facility in Raleigh.

There is an additional fee however of $42 to make it happen. Considering that it can improve the environment around, this is a small amount to pay for helping make Fayetteville a better place rather than letting waste spill around.

(Source) News 14 Carolina

For most of us, recycling is as easy as being able to throw away used stuff such as cans or paper in the trash bin. But most countries today are also employing various measures to make sure that such practices as waste segregation to help the recycling and waste problem control process are met.

While we all know which materials can be recycled, our duties as concerned citizens sometimes tends to take a backseat. It is either we are doing it on purpose or are really lacking the understanding of what recycling really is. With the influx of Recycling police, a crackdown on erring people and the need to assist people who fail to realize what recycling does mean is a good way to help keep things in perspective.

With the launch of Manukau’s new recycling service this week the detectives have been going ahead of collection trucks checking recycling wheelie bins.

When they discover rubbish, plastic bags or anything else that can’t be recycled inside the wheelie bins, they slap a sticker on the bin so the truck doesn’t empty it.

They also leave a reminder about what can and can’t go in the recycling wheelie bins.

(Source) Stuff.co.Nz

In an effort to help sort out and identify the recyclable materials, blue trash bins have become a way to allow local citizens in Auckland in helping the recycling effort. They are now placed there so that people can help in the trash sorting process. Only recyclable materials are allowed to be placed there. Otherwise, they will not be collected.

But to date, many Auckland folks are still ignoring the real use of these blue trash bins. Stickers have been placed to remind them and should they continue, they will just find their trash piling up.

Perhaps this is a good example we can follow especially if we in our local areas are having trouble contributing to the entire green effort.

The city’s new collection service began on Monday, but blue crates still lined the kerbs alongside new 240-litre wheelie bins.

A council spokeswoman says recyclables put out in the old crates won’t be collected.

Instead a sticker is being put on the crates to remind residents to use the new bins.

“Rubbish detectives” have been going ahead of trucks this week to check for contaminants in the bins, and leaving notes for offending residents.

(Source) Stuff.co.nz

There are a lot of people out there who love to drink wine and perhaps with this eco-friendly wine offering by Fairhills, the avid wine collector and drinker may want to get one. What makes them eco-friendly is focused more on their overall packaging.

Fairhills uses a 100% recyclable bag-in-box and is processed under better work conditions for farmers and their families. Add to the fact that it is lighter to carry wherever you may go, Fairhills is a good example of a company wanting to lower their carbon footprints these days. One Fairhills wine costs $12.31.

“This is a really important step for Fairhills Wine,” said CEO Bernard Fontannaz. “As the largest Fairtrade wine supplier in the UK we feel it is our duty to take environmental issues into account when packaging our wine. Our bag-in-box is not only a convenient addition to our wine range it also features a recyclable cardboard outer and is lighter to transport around the globe, resulting in a lower carbon footprint.”

(Source) Just-Drinks