CasaSugar

Casa Verde: Eco DIY Ideas

CasaSugar — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 09:15:29 -0700

Recently, I interviewed Tyler Velten, whose apartment had been featured in a New York Times article about designing on a student's budget. Tyler has a lot of cool, creative ideas for making eco changes on a budget. Check out some of his household experiments in the slideshow. Photos Courtesy Tyler Velten

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Midday Muse: Surf This Wave

CasaSugar — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 12:00:49 -0700

I recently spotted this very cool sculpture, made from old record albums, on Make magazine's website. Titled "Sound Wave," artist Jean Shin melted and manipulated records to form this wave. I love the use of recycling in this sculpture, as well as the punny title. It also makes the observer reflect on the changes in media, and ponder the fate of all of the LPs and mixtapes sitting in thrift stores, closets, and garbage dumps across the world. It's nice to see a few, at least, being put to good use.

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Casa Verde: What Not to Recycle

CasaSugar — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 13:00:45 -0700

In the past, I've given you the lowdown on which plastics can be recycled and told you 21 surprisingly recyclable things. But aside from the question of pizza boxes, I haven't gotten around to telling you what not to recycle. We all know that recycling is important, and San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom even thinks those who fail to should be punished. It's also pretty darn easy, especially if you've got a proper recycling bin system. However, tossing trash into your recycling bins can really complicate things for your local recycling crew. You'll have to check your local recycling guidelines to see what restrictions apply in your neck of the woods, but to get a general idea of what is not allowed in recycling, read more.

This list, from San Francisco's recycling program, offers good guidelines on what not to put in your recycling bin:

Batteries
Electronics
Ceramic dishes or cups
Coat hangers
Compostable plastics
Food soiled paper (i.e. paper cups, plates, napkins, towels, takeout boxes. and greasy pizza boxes)
Light bulbs
Liquids
Mirrors
Plastic bags or plastic films
Soy milk or juice boxes
Styrofoam
Waxed cardboard
Window glass

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Casa Quickie: Recycling Paint Cans

CasaSugar — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 14:00:08 -0700

If you've recently painted your house, or have plans to, don't throw those paint cans in the trash. Despite the drips and drabs of paint that may be left on the cans, they can still be recycled. According to Benjamin Moore:

Always check your local recycling regulations, but in general, once they are dried out, they are safe to recycle in your regular recycling.

Eco-stylist extraordinaire Danny Seo recently painted his house and was left with "who-knows how-much paint from Benjamin Moore's Aura Exterior line," so he did some research to find out the regulations. This is great news!
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How-To: Repurposing Your Magazines

CasaSugar — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 14:00:22 -0700

Since it's eco chic month, I can't tell you to avoid reading all of your favorite fab fashion magazines (or shelter magazines), but I will give you a few tips on what to do with your mags when you've finished. It's always nice to pass them along to friends, but if your friends aren't eco-conscious, it's likely they'll end up in a landfill. So, here are a few suggestions on what to do with your light reading when it starts to get heavy.

Make a mobile out of them.
Make a box out of them.
Transform them into an art-like wall-hanging.
Turn them around and around into a bowl.
Weave them into a clutch (and have the MoMA sell it).

There are many, many more where these came from, so read more.

Craft them into a square mirror or a round mirror.
Make them into round placemats or rectangular ones.
Roll them up to use as a vase or utensil holder.
Frame your pretty face with them.
Make a waste basket out of them.
Wear a recycled magazine bracelet on your wrist.
Turn them into bows to wrap your presents with.
Secure your invites to the fridge by gluing them to magnets.
Make paper beads from them, or paper bead fine art.
Create disco madness.
Make a collage and hang it on your wall.
Or, use them to store more magazines!

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Casa Verde: Recycling Bins

CasaSugar — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 14:00:11 -0700

You can't expect yourself to recycle if you don't designate a location for your used items. Your needs may vary depending on how many people you live with and what products you buy, so I thought I'd offer you several recycling bin options for home. Unless you have a city recycling program that lets you mix recyclables, you should be separating your recycling products (paper, plastic, glass, aluminum, etc.), so you might need a
bin or basket for each type. And, if you haven't yet, get yourself a composter, and get in the habit of composting. Also, consider whether you'll be keeping your recyclables inside your house or outdoors before you buy. After you choose what recycling system works best for you, make sure you know how your curbside recycling program works, and what type of plastics it accepts. If you don't have a curbside recycling program, definitely find out where your local recycling center is, so you can drop it all off!

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Casa Verde: Know Your Plastics

CasaSugar — Fri, 30 May 2008 05:30:42 -0700

You may have noticed some numbers surrounded by chasing-arrow symbols on consumer packaging like water bottles, plastic bags, bottle caps, toys, etc. If you have, good! That's step one. But, do you know what they mean? Contrary to what you may think, these icons do not mean that the products can be recycled, or that they're made of recycled plastic; they actually identify which types of plastic a product is made of. Once you know this, you can determine if it can be recycled or not. Unfortunately, not all plastic can be recycled. Most recycling centers accept types one and two, types four and five are less commonly recycled, and types six and seven are rarely, if not virtually never, recycled. For a rundown, read more.

Type 1 (PETE): Polyethylene Terephthalate. Soft drink and water bottles, some waterproof packaging. Commonly recycled.

Type 2 (HDPE): High-Density Polyethylene. Milk, detergent, and oil bottles, toys, and some plastic bags. Commonly recycled.

Type 3 (V): Vinyl/Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC). Food wrap, vegetable oil bottles, construction materials, shower curtains. Not recyclable, can leach chemical additives and is known to offgass in the air!

To find out the rest, read more.
Type 4 (LDPE): Low-Density Polyethylene. Many plastic bags, squeezable bottles, garment bags. Recycled at most centers but not curbside programs.

Type 5 (PP): Polypropylene. Refrigerated containers, some bags, most bottle tops, some carpets, some food wrap. Recycled at most centers but not curbside programs.

Type 6 (PS): Polystyrene. Throwaway utensils, meat-packing, take-out containers, protective packing. Recycled at some centers but not curbside programs, and banned in some cities.

Type 7 (OTHER): Composite plastic. Nalgene bottles, milk cartons, toothpaste tubes. Can't be recycled, must be landfilled.

That wasn't so hard, was it? Now if you can just keep these in mind when shopping and stick to more commonly recycled products and packaging, you can help trim down those landfills. Of course, avoiding plastic all together would be best, but we all know that's a pretty difficult task as it stands.

For more details, check out the Consumer Recycling Guide, Planet Green, and the Plastics Web.

Casa Verde: Recycled Texas Houses

CasaSugar — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 08:30:59 -0700

Yesterday I told you about some cool tiny Texas homes, and today I'm back with an amazing story about one Texas couple's vision to help anyone who wants to own a house to do so, with lots of hands-on work and about $20,000-$50,000. Phoenix Commotion was started in 1996 by Dan and Marsha Phillips, who mortgaged their house to start a business building affordable houses from free, salvaged, and recycled materials. The company caters their homes to the working poor, including single mothers, who need energy-efficient, affordable, comfortable homes. The homes are built with such unexpected materials as wine corks and frame samples, which are used in beautiful and innovative ways.

This program recently partnered with the program Brigid’s Paradigm, and built their first home together in Huntsville, TX. The next project will be a number of homes in Houston's 5th Ward.

To qualify for the project, potential participants must provide $500, good credit, and proof of a stable job. The homes are built by the future owners, along with mentors who help to guide the unskilled workers. A 1-person home will only be built at 240 square feet, which increases energy efficiency, along with the homes' uses of insulation, tank-less hot water heaters, and rain barrels.

To see a video about Dan's work, just read more.

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Casa Quickie: Rinsing Out the Recycling

CasaSugar — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 09:00:53 -0700

I always rinse out my cans and bottles before I toss them in the recycling bin, but according to Ideal Bite, it's unnecessary. In fact, you'll be saving water if you don't rinse out your recyclables. The Ideal Bite team advises that you scrape out any peanut butter stuck in the jar, but any scouring beyond that is both excessive and unneeded. For more great green advice, check out Ideal Bite, or better yet, sign up for their online daily newsletter.
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Crave Worthy: Woodnotes Newspaper Stand

CasaSugar — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 09:29:35 -0800

Nearly everyone could use a little help beautifying her recycling area - I certainly know that mine needs some. That's why this Woodnotes Newspaper Stand ($150) is so perfect. Woodnotes, a Finnish design company, makes this great product out of kraft paper yarn. The simple and streamlined design provides an understated and elegant solution to paper bags in corners or unsightly recycling plastic tubs in the back hallway. Available in beige and white, this stand keeps newspapers and magazines in one spot, and thanks to the removable fabric part, newspapers are easy to take to the recycling point.

Wire Pull-Out Recycling Basket - $39.99	Stainless Steel Two-Compartment 30-Liter Recycling Bin - $49.99
iTouchless Sensor Recycle Center - $119.99	2-Bin Recycle Center - $169.00
Ecopod Recycling Center - White - $319.99	Can-O-Worms Household Composting System - $119.00
Garden Composter - $70.00	Continuous-Use Composter - $299.00
Stacking Recycling Bin - $19.99	Recycling Bags - Set of 4 - $30.00
All Food Recycling Compost Kit with Bokashi - $75.00	Recycling Bin & Labels - $8.00
Stacking Recycling & Storage Bins - $8.99	Chrome Newspaper Stacker - $34.99