Sustainable Innovation
Last week, we featured 10 projects that reuse and recycle plastic bottles – this week, we’re looking at some amazing things created with reused cardboard. From bridges and bikes to furniture and homes, cardboard is becoming a preferred material for innovative recyclable products. We’ve even included a few cardboard reuse projects you can make at home!
Image by fhemerick
Plastic bottles are produced, consumed, and trashed each and every day. Of the 28 billion bottles of water bought by Americans each year, more than 22 billion sit in landfills. Only 13% of our plastic bottles are recycled.
Those statistics on plastic bottles don’t include the ones that have been rescued for amazing reuse projects! We’ve discovered more than 340,000 plastic bottles in the creations below – from chic plastic vests to floating islands, the possibilities for reusing bottles are endless …
No matter how hard we try, a paperless world just doesn’t seem possible. From newspapers and magazines to printed memos and note-taking, we still depend on paper – so why not find an alternative to our traditional tree-based paper? Here’s what a few innovative companies are doing to solve the paper problem…
Robotics are quickly becoming a normal part of our everyday life. There are cleaning robots, military and space assistants, and medical robotics; some look like odd machines while others strangely resemble humans and animals. Whatever form they may take, robotics will play a big role in our future as well as sustainability. Take a look at these ecobots and the tasks they are designed to perform….
Prefab homes are great – but recycled buildings are even better! Whether it’s a new construction from rescued garbage or or a creative conversion of an existing structure, these recycled buildings are minimizing waste and improving the planet. They’re also creatively awesome examples of how unique green architecture can be!
Green transport and sustainable fuel alternatives have come a long way in the past decade – but the auto industry still has a long way to go. In the meantime, there are plenty of creative individuals coming up with their own way to make their driving a little eco-friendlier. From fat and feces to liquor and sawdust, there are some weird alternative fuel sources currently powering cars around the world…
Biodegradable products are making a big difference in green living. We’re using biodegradable trash bags, frequenting restaurants that care enough to use biodegradable take-out containers, and have switched to biodegradable soaps – but what about biodegradable cars, clothes, bikes, and motor oil? Take a look at some of the weirdest biodegradable products we’ve come across…
There’s always something new in the realm of indoor and outdoor lighting. Though we’ve featured many spectacular lighting innovations in the past, here are some more for your viewing pleasure – everything from illuminated umbrellas to soy fat lightbulbs to cell phone-controlled street lights.