By Miriam Wilcox-Barsalou,on October 19th,2010%  I remember a time when facebook was to connect with friends not to play “social”games. The latest game I have heard of,is a recycling game created by Greenopolis,a company founded to reward the population for recycling. In the game,called oceanopolis,the user is trapped on an island paradise and must collect and turn in recyclables on the island. As they collect items the user is educated about recycling,earns points and can purchase items. I tried the game for a few minutes and found it even less appealing than most regular games . . . →Read More:A Facebook Recycling Game By Miriam Wilcox-Barsalou,on October 15th,2010%  Several years go I picked up a book called Stirring It Up:How to Make Money and Save the World. I loved that book.It was about how environmentally responsible business can make a profit while being good for your body and for the environment. The author,Gary Hirshberg,is the CEO and founder of Stonyfield farms,an organic yogurt company based in New Hampshire,USA. We have always been happy with the quality and flavor of their products and are proud of the success of a NH company. The book was published in 2008 and at the . . . →Read More:Stonyfield’s new plant based yogurt cup By Miriam Wilcox-Barsalou,on October 13th,2010% all the things you can put in the compost bin- CTBarimoore A few months ago I wrote a post about the federal regulations regulating marketing claims of “green plastics”. This post only briefly touched on the testing standards surrounding these claims. Last week,after hosting a great Webinar titled A New Life for Plastics:End-of-life Solutions in the Age of Greener Materials, greenbiz.com published an article about the lack of standards in the bioplastics industry titled Improved Standards Needed for Bioplastic Claims. With a lack of standards that match how facilities are really operating, . . . →Read More:Bioplastic Standards By Miriam Wilcox-Barsalou,on October 12th,2010% Workplaces are starting to pay attention to sustainability and want to develop a “green”workplace. While many are addressing this by reducing paper output and encouraging reuse of coffee mugs,many are putting recycling programs in place. How do we increase the rate at which employees actually use these office recycling bins? Here are a few ideas I have,comment below if you have any ideas I have missed. Label recycling bins clearly with what may be placed in the bin. Many office recycling programs accept different materials than the surrounding communities curbside pickups. Eliminate confusion, . . . →Read More:Increase the Success of Your Office Recycling Program By Miriam Wilcox-Barsalou,on October 8th,2010% I love learning more about bioplastics by watching other people’s explanations on the materials and their value. BASF has released a video advertising their ecoflex material. The video is German subtitled in English. I have quoted the video below for those who don’t have the patience to watch the clip. The scientist at BASF has several points about how biodegradable can fill certain needs of plastics,but for some items more durable materials may be needed. Worth the watch,although I’m quite sure that the European infrastructure is much more biodegradable polymer friendly. When scientists refer to plastics . . . →Read More:A video by BASF –Using Biodegradable Plastics Intelligently By Miriam Wilcox-Barsalou,on October 7th,2010% Microstructures made from designer proteinsBASF –The Chemical Company An important family of bioplastics and one that is often unfortunately synonymous in the mind of the general public is biodegradable plastic. But what is meant by biodegradable? Merriam Webster dictionary defines biodegradable as follows capable of being broken down especially into innocuous products by the action of living things (as microorganisms) But being biodegradable means much more than simply being broken down. A plastic can be degraded to pieces smaller than grains of sand and still be polymer chains. . . . →Read More:Terminology – Biodegradation By Miriam Wilcox-Barsalou,on October 6th,2010%  If you are already a bioplastic insider,you have certainly seen the recent articles around the web about the expected growth of bioplastics through 2015. It’s exciting news,not only for those of us interested in the plastics industry but also for people who are environmentally conscious. The according to the BCC Research Report titled:Bioplastics:Technologies and Global Markets published in September 2010 the usage of bioplastics is expected to grow at a 41% annual growth rate through 2015. This means a growth from 571,712 metric tons in 2010 to 3,230,660 metric tons in 2015. The graph in . . . →Read More:The Booming Bioplastic Industry By Miriam Wilcox-Barsalou,on October 5th,2010% When new acquaintances find out that I’m interest in bioplastics and their applications,I’m often asked about what I think of the Sunchips bag. While I think the innovation is fantastic and a step in the right direction,I guess too many consumers did not appreciate the change. In exchange for being compostable in a backyard setting,the PLA bags were loud. Far too loud for some consumers. I was told by one friend that he couldn’t eat them anymore because he couldn’t sneak them after dinner. The crinkling sound alerted the whole household that he was cheating on . . . →Read More:Sunchips to Ditch Noisy Bags By Miriam Wilcox-Barsalou,on October 3rd,2010% Have an interest in making a non-petroleum based plastic for fun? Have a pre-teen looking for a science fair project? Perhaps you are a science teacher and want to wow the few students who care in your classroom? There are several recipes online to make bioplastic in your own home. Source:Kabelfresser,on Flickr Before we begin,please realize that there is a reason companies spend millions on material research. You are not going to be making patio furniture out of what comes off your stove. In fact you probably wont get much else than a . . . →Read More:Do It Yourself Bioplastics Experiment By Miriam Wilcox-Barsalou,on October 2nd,2010%  Recycling bins are available in more and more locations. However there is no standard signs for recycling. Every time an individual encounters a recycling bin they must first recognize that it is a location for recycling and then determine what can be recycled at that location. This may cause confusion that leads to a reduced recycling rate. As reported on Treehugger yesterday,Recycle Across America is trying to encourage standardized labeling for recycling. They hope that by providing standard labels an increase in consistency will be seen in schools,malls,workplaces,public buildings and homes. Free PDFs are . . . →Read More:Standardized Recycling Signs to Reduce Confusion | CreditsBlog design elements by Kate HadfieldUsed as non-profit generating blog TOU |
