Greener bricks, made from cow dung (Or, how Indonesian cows sh*t bricks)

We’ve covered the value of worm poop, and now it’s time for the merits of cow dung to come to the fore.EcoFaeBrick turns cattle waste into bricks that are greener, stronger and 20% lighter than regular clay bricks.

The Indonesian organization was set up earlier this year to tackle the problem of excessive waste in farming areas. From this, the ecological and economical solution of the Cow Dung Brick was born. There’s no visible difference between a traditional brick and the dung brick—and before you ask, there’s no smell either. Instead of using wood fire the dung bricks are fired using biogas, helping to further reduce carbon emissions. The new product also lets land be retained for farming, rather than being excavated for clay for conventional bricks, or becoming a health risk due to ‘too much dung’.

A green product that boosts the wealth of rural Indonesians, it’s not hard to see why EcoFaeBrick came first in the 2009 Global Social Venture competition. The company has identified 22 areas around Indonesia that they want to expand the project to, plus 22 more in other parts of the world. One to support, or otherwise get involved with!

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Socially responsible flip-flops upcycled from old newspapers

PaperFlops create flip-flops made from old newspaper, benefiting the underprivileged as well as the environment.

Recycled and upcycled products feature regularly here on Springwise. Just recently we’ve seen fortune cookie purses, surfboards and even shoes made with waste materials. Now a company in Indonesia,PaperFlops, are next to tread the eco-friendly footwear path with their flip-flop made from old newspaper, benefiting the underprivileged as well as the environment.

PaperFlops are made entirely from biodegradable materials; newspapers, coconut shells, palm tree roots and 100 percent natural rubber. They employ mentally and physically disabled workers as well as street children in Jakarta, Indonesia, providing education and training in arts and crafts to manufacture the handmade products. It takes approximately 1kg of old newspaper to produce a pair of PaperFlops, which keeps production costs low, while a natural sealant is used to ensure they are water-resistant and hard-wearing. Priced at EUR 31 a pair, PaperFlops are available in a range of models and sizes, and are currently seeking funding through Ulule.

Boasting green credentials is becoming a standard requirement for companies looking to boost their public profile. When this can be achieved at the same time as benefiting the less privileged, so much the better. Could your business kill these two birds with one stone through some equally creative thinking?

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Biodegradable milk jugs

I found this idea very interesting that implement recycling principle. The full article is bellow:

Designed and manufactured in Britain, Greenbottle is a biodegradable milk bottle that uses a smart two-part system to aid recycling. The bottles are composed of a cardboard outer manufactured from pulped, recycled cardboard, which is lined with an inner sleeve of biodegradable plastic made from corn starch. The plastic keeps the cardboard from becoming soggy, and the cardboard makes for easy transport, storage and pouring. Once the bottle is empty, the inner sleeve can be pulled out and will decompose in a landfill within six weeks. The cardboard outer can be put out for recycling with other paper or thrown in with kitchen and garden waste for home composting.
Greenbottle just went through a week-long test run at an Asda supermarket, where the new milk jugs sold out quickly. The bottles currently cost up to 30% more than their plastic counterparts, but costs will go down once production steps up.
Three million tons of plastic are thrown away in the UK annually. As manufacturers, retailers and consumers increasingly work to reduce their environmental footprint, now's the time to snap up distribution rights for Greenbottle's innovative (patent-pending) product. One to contact if you work in food and beverage or packaging!
Website: www.greenbottle.com
Contact: info@greenbottle.com
Spotted by: Emma Howarth
Published on: May 30, 2007
Source: http://www.springwise.com

Three's R that help our environment

Everyday we, people of the earth, produce garbage that quickly fill our environment. We are running out of space very quickly. It is the time for us to learn and do about 3R that can help our environment and mother earth. Those 3R's are: reduce, reuse, recycle. Do not buy things you do not need or items that packaging is not environment friendly. Always reuse and recycle whenever, wherever you can.
Several guide to 3R's are:
http://www.recycling-guide.org.uk/
http://www.globalstewards.org/ecotips.htm