Very Interesting Use of Plastic Bottle
This may be the most resourceful use of an old Pepsi bottle we’ve ever seen. An initiative in the Philippines called ‘Liter of Light’ from the MyShelter Foundation aims to brighten up one million homes outside Manila by 2012. According to statistics from the National Electrification Commission in 2009, 3 million households still remain powerless outside Metro Manila. And even in the metro, families still continue to live in darkness. Meanwhile, authorities claim a large number of Manila’s fire- related incidents result from faulty electrical connections.

With that in mind, the MyShelter Foundation has developed a technique to turn old plastic bottles into solar light bulbs. Genius!

Last year we wrote about beekeeping programs at Düsseldorf International Airport and seven other airports in Germany, where bees have helped monitor local air quality since 1999. Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport is now the first US airport to have an apiary, with 1.5 million bees that call the airport home. In May, the Chicago Department of Aviation partnered with a community group to start a 2,400 square foot apiary on-site, now with 23 beehives that are expected to yield 575 pounds of honey this year.

Sweet Beginnings, the group that is managing the project, trains felons in the art of beekeeping and the process of making honey, candles, and lotions, which are sold under the brand Beeline. Shops at O’Hare’s will start selling the hyper-local honey products soon. “It is the perfect example of a green business operating and growing in Chicago, while also providing opportunities to those who need a second chance,” said former Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley.

Related LTT posts on bees.

[Source: GOOD]

Would you buy your Absolut in a carton? How important is that bottle to the brand experience, to the perceived value of the product? Should it be about the brand and the contents of the product? It’s an interesting set of questions raised by a designer in Germany who is repackaging major spirit brands to see if people’s product decisions would be affected by replacing their signature glass bottles with Tetra Paks. The resulting series is called ‘Ecohols’, which includes Jack Daniels, Absolut Vodka and Jägermeister packaged in ordinary beverage cartons.

We can’t see ‘Ecohols’ being the solution, as brands rely too much on packaging to differentiate themselves from one another, and consumers rely equally on packaging cues to justify price points and inform their experience. But what if Absolut and others offered ‘refills?’ Buy the signature glass bottle, but buy the tetra pak to refill your supply. It works in other industries (see Method homecare products), could it work in higher end consumer products?

via PSFK: http://www.psfk.com/2011/07/ecohols-reimagining-alcohol-brand-packaging-with-tetra-paks.html#ixzz1Tmzrb0fD

On the LTT inspiration radar, we focus on ‘pace, space and interface.’ Here’s an irreverent intersection of all three. Train commuters in the Netherlands now have the option of the taking the stairs or using a slide to access the station platform. An adult-sized playground that seems to pose the question: is this commute owning you, or are you owning this commute?

[Source: PSFK]

Related LTT post:  Ben & Jerry’s: Corporate Whimsy In Design

We spotted these inspired designs by Russian artist Denis Milovanov, turning salvaged wood into one-of-a-kind furniture. For Milovanov, a “tree stump is not something dead but full of creative potential,” and he seeks out only wood from dead or damaged trees, “some of which are 250 to 300 years old.” See more recycled tree stump designs here.

[Source: TreeHugger]

We love the artistry and practicality of living walls. The National Gallery in London has taken it to the next level, with a replication of Van Gogh’s A Wheatfield, with Cypresses using over 8,000 plants and more than 26 varieties of greenery. The project is part of the museum’s carbon reduction strategy and is a collaboration with GE, who sponsored the creation of this living masterpiece.

For more check out our sources below.

[Sources: ANA Living Wall Systems, The National Gallery, Treehugger]

It’s music festival time of year, and these days concert goers are getting a mix of music and green thinking. Festival organizers must consider the logistics of creating (and then dismantling) stages and structures for events that only last a few days, and in the interest of reducing waste some are coming up with some interesting solutions. Bernardes Jacobsen designed a more sustainable event space for Rio de Janiero’s Tim Festival by using shipping containers as the backdrop. Read more here.

[Source: Inhabitat]

Related LTT posts:

Rothbury Festival: mixing music and green thinking

Can we indulge in life’s little luxuries and toe a greener line? Gucci is making a go of it, teaming up with eyewear producer Safilo for an August launch of four sustainable models of innovative acetate sunglasses. Compared to ordinary acetate frames, Gucci says these are “made from a higher percentage of natural ingredients” and “produce significantly less CO2 in the manufacturing process than traditional glasses.” Vague, but all “chic” is slightly mysterious.

Related LTT Post:

LTT Opinion: greening life’s little luxuries

Last fall, we added a 40kW solar installation on our roof, with the idea that we could power all the computers, monitors and printers in our building with renewable energy. So it’s with considerable interest- and appreciation- that we read about a town in England that has set itself the goal of becoming the world’s first solar powered town. Wadebridge, a town of 10,000 people North Cornwall, aims to meet at least one-third of its energy needs by solar energy by generating 1 MW of solar power by 2012 and 7 MW by 2015. It has formed a Renewable Energy co-operative that will provide free solar panels to any member to install on his roof or property. The electricity produced from these panels will be used by the member and the “feed-in-tariff” that the electricity company pays will go to the Co-operative for recovery of the initial costs.

[Source:  Edie via EcoFriend]