And:
“Meanwhile, all of the disposable cups, utensils, food packaging and food leftovers generate millions of pounds of kitchen-related waste that goes out the door every year.”
Which means, the Greenbiz.com article continues, “the typical cafeteria represents a huge opportunity for companies to target in their next big green initiative.”
Microsoft, for example, once “used and threw away” more than 24 million polystyrene cups a year.
But no more. Now the software giant uses paper products – cups, plates, and so on – made from plant starch, which means the items are very biodegradable.
“The company now uses only plant starch-based compostable paper cups, and has since replaced all plates, bowls and even utensils with compostable products. That prevents 20.3 million pieces of cutlery, 18.5 million bowls and plates, and 22.1 million cups from going into landfills each year, or the equivalent of 109 tons of plastic.”
(We’ve seen and used these cups and plates and we can attest to the fact that they are, indeedy yes, very biodegradable. Leave a cup overnight on your desk and you’ll come back in the morning to see the lip and a portion of the side starting to turn brown, as in, it’s started to degrade already, fer cryin’ out loud )
But we digressed.
Seriously, we cheer anything that can keep tons of plastic from landing in a landfill and staying there for years upon years. All hail cornstarch
Staying with a plastics theme, of sorts, it appears, Swiss company Recycline has given those ubiquitous plastic water bottles a new life as....new things.
Recycline has taken products made of polyethylene terephthalate (also known as PET) and
made them into different useful objects. Candle holders. A slender magazine rack. A bottle bank. Vases. Sand-filled dumbbells. Napkin rings. And even into... water bottles.
And, lastly, and ending with a Christmas theme, why not build yourself a gingerbread house this holiday season? But we’re not talking just any ol’ gingerbread house. Why not get together with the kiddoes and make yourself what Treehugger.com is calling a “McMansion” gingerbread house
We like to talk about sustainable building here at GreenOfficeProjects.com. But this gingerbread building would “sustain” itself around our house for, oh, maybe a day or two once Mom gave us permission to dig on in.
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