Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with ecofriendly

Can I build a hydraulic/etc. press for recyclables on the cheap?

quarantine — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 04:13:13 -0800

I have gotten into recycling in a serious way, to the point of courting others' contributions and working with an outfit (that pays well enough to pay for the longer trip) some miles away. I would like a press -- hydraulic, Archimedes screw, or something that hasn't occurred to me -- that I could use to compress cans, scrap metal, and various plastics into dense cubes, so that I'd only have to load up the gas-guzzling pickup truck once per redemption trip. The biggest criterion -- after "strong and tough enough for the job", of course -- is price. Ideally I'd like the saved gas to pay for the press over some amount of time. The figure that rattles around my head is $100-$200. Is this the sort of thing one can build with a trip to a pick-apart lot and a welding torch? I'm hoping the answer to be something like "Take foo, which is a strong five-sided metal cube, and bar, which is an efficient hydraulic jack, and you're there" -- but I'm not a mechanical guy by any stretch of the imagination, and don't know how to fill the variables.

Thanks!

Best Eco-Friendly Packaging for Soft Goods?

Muffy — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 09:04:49 -0800

I'm looking for good, sturdy, eco-friendly shipping options for soft goods - mostly clothing. Something that won't fall apart or soak through before the customer receives their item, but also something that won't sit in a landfill for 400+ years. We'll be shipping lots & lots of clothing (and other soft goods, which will probably ship in cardboard boxes) soon and I'm looking for some of the best eco-friendly shipping options. I hate to think of all the stuff we send out just getting thrown away & best case scenario being recycled, worst case scenario sitting in a landfill for generations.

I found this thread about "out of the box" creative packaging solutions, and EcoEndure eco friendly plastic packaging and my favorite the ship-n-tote (mailer turns into a tote bag) but don't think we can justify adding $4-5 per shipment for the cost of packaging.

This blog post compares packaging from various tee shirt companies - they all look like varying degrees of clever design on plastic to me.

What good eco-friendly packaging options exist, or have I found all of them? (and I'm not above "why not ship it in a UPS zipper sleeve?" type advice.)

(Ideas for how to "delight" the customer with packaging also welcome.)

Help me find an eco-friendly item that I'm not sure exists

monkeygenius — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 13:01:14 -0800

I'm looking for reusable coffee mug with a lid like the I'm Not a Paper Cup, but made of a different material. This product has the right idea, but it's too thick/heavy. Does anyone know of a another product like this? I drink coffee and tea all day long, but I loathe those insulated travel mugs. Usually I buy a coffee in the morning and reuse the paper cup all day, maybe even for two days, but longer than that and the structural integrity is non-existent. What I'm imagining is something like a to-go coffee cup but made of plastic, where I can use my own reusable sleeve.

How eco-friendly is Crate & Barrel's eco-friendly furniture?

Xalf — Wed, 14 May 2008 10:07:22 -0800

Should I bother trying to buy eco-friendly furniture? Crate and Barrel claims that many of their products are eco-friendly. Although there is much discussion in the blogosphere about the existence of C&B's claim, I haven't found anything in the way of discussion about how eco-friendly the furniture really is. Can someone with more expertise in furniture production help me? (BTW, I'm most interested in couches.) And if the answer is, yes C&B's eco-friendly products really are eco-friendly and the best thing one can do for the earth short of buying used or recycled furniture, can anyone suggest comparable eco-friendly furniture in the same price range? I'm in Chicago, if that helps.

How do I squeeze the most value out of my lifeless corpse?

davey_darling — Mon, 05 May 2008 10:02:03 -0800

When I die, I want to make sure that my body is stripped down and recycled much like an automobile at the wrecking yard. How do I go about making sure this happens? If everything goes well, I'm not going to die for a long, long time.

When the inevitable occurs, though, I want to make sure that a few things happen:

1. Every single useful part is removed and given to somebody who needs it - nothing is off limits here.
2. The rest of the body should be used for medical students to practice on (again, anything goes)
3. Is there some sort of charity that hooks necrophiliacs up with willing corpses?
4. Cheapest, least resource intensive funeral/burial possible. Is it true that when you do the whole "donate your body to science" thing that they pay for your burial?

Ok, #3 was only semi-serious, but the rest of it is legit.

I want to provide the highest possible societal value after I die.

Will the medical/funeral folks know who to contact to arrange for the above? Should I write out a letter detailing all of this?

I'm in Canada and will likely die here, for what that's worth.

Looking for some eco-friendly pillow-construction suggestions.

actionpact — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 14:28:54 -0800

I have a yen to make cool throw pillows to eventually sell, but I'm lost when it comes to eco-friendly materials. Help me, Mefites! OK, so how hard could making pillows be, right? I have an idea for making screenprinted pillows using my illustrations and such-- I have the screenprinting plans down pat more or less but when it comes to materials I'm having some troubles.

Specifically, I'd like to veer away from pillow-forms, and I'd like to go eco-friendly if I can without being too cost prohibitive (I've never been the type of person to charge or spend $90 for a pillow, y'know?). I read a little about buckwheat and kapok, which seem kind of expensive and extra flammable... I thought there must be some kind of recycled material used as stuffing/batting, but Google's failing me-- maybe I'm using the wrong terms. So what are my options? I know if I plan to sell them I can't go tear apart old pillows (and actually given what I just read about mites.... ick), but what else could I use that would stuff a pillow comfortably without being superlumpy or heavy? I read some things about clothing scraps, but that seems like it'd be lumpy.

Also, if you were going to buy a pillow like this, what would you want the outside to be made of? I'm thinking a sturdy but soft cotton, or twill or something-- something that can take a little abuse but still feel comfortable, and be a solid color, not patterned. Bonus points if you can refer me to an eco-friendly or recycled fabric source!

Raffia, the mystery

missmle — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 11:12:04 -0800

Why raffia considered "green" or "eco-friendly"? We're going eco-friendly/green for the holoidays at my office and we need some way to attach a gift tag to items, more specifically some sort of string/thread/etc.
I've been looking all over and I keep hearing/seeing raffia suggested. My question is, WHY is that a good choice? It doesn't seem to be recyled, perhaps the process is sustainable? Or maybe due to free-trade? Or is it biodegradable? Is it just that we see it and relate it to eco-friendly/green products?
Any other suggestions on a way to tie these tags on would be appreciated as well. Thanks.

What is the most environmentally-friendly alcoholic beverage?

unknowncommand — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 15:33:55 -0800

What are the relative environmental impacts of procuring a *single serving* of wine, liquor, or beer? I'm thinking of factors like growing crops, brewing & distilling, packaging, but are there others? Does shipping trump all of these? Draught vs. bottles? Cans vs. bottles? Wine in a bag?

I also know that specific microbreweries (and micro-liquories?) are eco-friendly, but if I'm just at a random bar or grocery store, then what would be the most responsible choice?