CasaSugar

Mandatory Composting Begins in San Francisco Today

CasaSugar — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 06:15:23 -0700

Beginning today, the city of San Francisco will require both businesses and residences to compost food scraps and biodegradable products or risk a fine for not properly sorting their garbage. While other cities require recycling service and participation, the law, which Mayor Gavin Newsom signed into effect in June, is the first nationwide to require the collection of food scraps and other compostables.

A study by the Department of the Environment found that 36 percent of what San Francisco sends to landfills is compostable, primarily food scraps, and 31 percent is recyclable - which is mostly paper. Seeing that SF already has an impressive 72 percent recycling rate, the legislation could send that rate soaring to 90 percent.

To facilitate the program, the city will offer free green compost carts to apartment buildings and businesses, as well as free kitchen pails for renters. Fines will be capped at $100 and are meant primarily to raise public awareness and encourage compliance. Has your city or town made any moves to require composting? Has your city had success with any recycling fines or mandates? Tell me by commenting below!

Source: Flickr User MayorGavinNewsom

Casa Quickie: Take It Outside

CasaSugar — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 19:32:41 -0700

As we all know, furniture, even high-quality furniture, is not everlasting. Years of wear and tear will get the best of your tables and chairs. But that's not the end of them. So long as it is stable, a ghastly, dinged-up, chipped sideboard can find new life outdoors. Consider using your old tables, storage units, and seating in your garden or garage or as a potting station. A worn finish will integrate flawlessly with your potting soil and those aged terracotta planters. Turn your own home into a recycling plant!

Photo by Trevor Tondro

Cool Idea: Isabel Quiroga's StoryTeller Book Rack

CasaSugar — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 15:00:00 -0700

I imagine some furniture lovers might find Isabel Quiroga's Storyteller Book Rack to be sacrilegious. Considering how many tables and desks sit abandoned on sidewalks and in thrift stores, many with dated or worn finishes, I think it's brilliant. Not only is this book rack made of old tables a great way to repurpose something that's no longer needed, but it proves that there's strength in numbers. While one coffee table may have held a couple art books and a set of coasters, the sum of them can house a whole library. Storyteller is the sort of the thing that'll make your friends say, "Wow. I wish I'd thought of that." Get out your chain saws.

How-To: Recycle Paint Cans

CasaSugar — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 08:00:00 -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.

Do you recycle your paint cans? Or are they stacking up in your garage?

Casa Verde: schubLaden Furniture

CasaSugar — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:00:48 -0700

What's old and alone is new and accompanied again when you throw Berlin-based furniture maker schubLaden (meaning "drawers") into the mix. The innovator creates one-of-a-kind storage pieces using vintage, unmatched drawers. Pieces range from small landing strips for around $720 to large consoles and office storage for around $4,000. Berliners can have bespoke furniture made by choosing for a large selection of drawers available in the storeroom, or bringing in their own drawers for something more personal. Recycling never looked so stunning. To get a peek at the collection, read more.

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Cool Idea: Sorting Garbage Can

CasaSugar — Thu, 14 May 2009 15:00:00 -0700

If you read my post on the Ovetto recycling bin, you'll know that while I dug the concept of a sorting recycling bin, I hoped for one that blended in better with our kitchens - less of a design statement. Well, I think the Constance Guisset Tri3 may be just the thing. Like Ovetto, this garbage can sorts with one compartment for waste, one for plastics, and another for glass, in addition to a trash bag dispenser. Each compartment opens outward from a central axis via one of three charming blue pedals at its base. Functionally, this design seems to fit the bill - although I might use the discard compartment for cans instead - and it's quite easy on the eyes as well. Resembling a stack of three drum shades, it is modern, but being completely white, it would sit quietly in most kitchens. To see more photos, read more.

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Casa Verde(?): Fabriano

CasaSugar — Fri, 01 May 2009 11:00:35 -0700

Italian designers Riccardo Nannini, Domenico Orefice, and Emanuele Pizzolorusso created Fabriano, a waste basket made entirely out of recycled paper. The muffin-cup-shaped basket consists of 50 pleated-paper disposable bags nesting inside one another. Each can be extracted and used as trash bags themselves when the bin is full, leaving the layer below ready to collect more paper/trash. My first thought was that this is an eco-friendly alternative to plastic trash bags. But on second thought, I realized that it's a waste paper basket meant for paper, which would eventually be tossed in a recycling bin. So, it seems that the basket wastes more paper than necessary. But in the long run, a recycled paper bag, which can be recycled again, is more eco-friendly than, say, a standard waste basket, which would likely end up in a landfill when it's no longer needed. What do you think? Is this product eco-friendly?
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Etsy Find: Recycled Album Jacket Coasters

CasaSugar — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 08:00:03 -0700

If you're decorating a masculine bedroom or a hipster dude haven, or if you just want to show off your taste for rock 'n roll, add a set of Recycled Album Jacket Coasters and a Vinyl LP Bowl ($29) to your home.

Etsy seller Inoudid's Attic is repurposing her husband's vintage vinyl record album collection into these one-of-a-kind coaster and bowl sets (side note: my husband would never forgive me if I started deconstructing his vinyl collection). Each set has nine coasters, made by laminating the album jacket to a piece of Baltic birch plywood. They're then protected with a clear, moisture-resistant finish, and have felt pads underneath to protect your tabletops. Are these your style?

Love It or Hate It? I Dream of Greenie Pillow

CasaSugar — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 06:15:51 -0700

I'm all for recycling, but I'm not sure we need to be so obvious about it. The I Dream of Greenie Pillow ($65), which is made from 75 percent recycled cotton, makes a nice effort at drawing attention to environmental concerns. But, since it's not made of 100 percent recycled cotton, perhaps it should stop singing its own praises. Then again, it does have a hip sort of masculine industrial design.

How-To: Recycle or Reuse 7 Household Items

CasaSugar — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 10:00:04 -0800

By now, I bet a lot of you are old pros at recycling paper, plastic, bottles, and cans. (If not, you can review my tips here.) But what about the more difficult and odd household items? What should you do with those? To discover how to reuse or recycle some common, difficult household products, check out my slideshow.
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