saving the earth through sheer laziness

as a level zero tech geek, i’ve been seriously torn between buying new gadgets and not contributing to the nasty crap that gets discarded in our (asia’s) backyards when i throw my old stuff away. that’s why i’m feeling last year’s model. it’s basically a bunch of tech geeks tweeting about how they’re gonna stick with the ipods, netbooks and blackberrys that they already own instead of upgrading.

it has a pretty sweet cardboardy look to it too!

update: had a convo with bridgette about this today and found that she’s doing a lot better at this than i am (being that i just bought a new berry).

awesome star trek DIY projects!

via threadbanger

don’t be a planetfucker: are you recycling correctly?

i really enjoyed saul griffith’s description of himself and us “planetfuckers” at this year’s greener gadgets convention. here is my first video urging you to change your earthfornicating ways.

Don’t be a Planetfucker: Are you recycling correctly? from yuka yoneda on Vimeo.

my grandpa pwns me by recycling styrofoam

this is my grampa.

he’s not my real grampa, which is probably why i didn’t inherit his tragically good looks, but look! we do share a love of plaid!

like most japanese grampas, ojiichan, which is what i call my grampa because i have no idea what his real name is, does not know much about planet green, eco-blogging, or even really what the internet is for that matter. so when i went to my grandma and grampa’s mansion (this means apartment building in japanese - so odd!), i was blown away by the magnitude of eco-innovation that exists in their little household. in japan, it is not unheard of for thick booklets of more than 20 pages to be distributed showing people how to sort their trash, and community crusaders have been known to dumpster dive to investigate the whereabouts of improperly sorted garbage so that they can return it to the non-compliant owners.

since i usually pride myself on being the annoying eco-cop in any group, i almost swallowed my muscat flavored gum when i confidently tossed away a thin, plastic wrapper from some noodles (you know, the kind that comes on cup-a-noodle), only to be pwned by ojiichan who showed me the six bags he set out to sort trash. six! he told me to throw the wrapper into one bag and a twist tie that i was trying to throw out into another. a twist tie!

but here is the clincher - japanese people recycle styrofoam!

jepsra’s mascot: his darn pants are part of his shell. he went as far as to recycle his shell! how can i possibly compete?

anyhow, i found this info on the japan expanded polystyrene recycling association or jepsra’s website, and thought it was both interesting and envy-inducing.

the collection method:

note: epsy plazas are recycling bases for styrofoam. the “eps” stands for expanded polystyrene and the “y” is to make it sound cuter.

how the eps gets recycled:

these are the most current charts i could find about eps recycling in japan. if anyone has any newer information, please share!

cardboard box duvet set - is bum-chic the newest trend?

i think i can say with near certainty that no one has walked up to a bum and said “bum, i would like to live vicariously through you.” unless it was someone who was a more boring bum.

but now we have this:

a crystal clear commentary on life on the streets, i must admit that the “home” duvet by peggy van neer is dripping with verisimilitude. the price for just the single duvet cover, £33.95, is quite a bit more than what a hobo would be able to shell out, but people seem to be willing to pay for the cheeky “relevance to our times” factor.

i wonder if ms. van neer was influenced at all by the “i’m not a plastic bag” bag or the “i’m not a paper cup” cup which were both designed with the environment in mind. while i can’t say that the home duvet cover is doing the earth any favors because last i checked, bedspreads weren’t on the top landfill polluters list, i like the fact that it pays homage to what i consider recycling’s unsung heroes by donating 30% of the gross profits go to centrepoint, the uk charity for homeless young people aged 16-25 which provides support and housing for 800 vulnerable homeless young people every night.

pre-order yours here.

thanks for the heads up geekykhan!

how to recycle pretty much anything

ever wonder how to recycle a prom dress or frying pan?

lime’s guide to recycling pretty much has it all:

check it out here.

why is this a site?

swyyne has always been an experiment for me. with all of the other super eco sites out there, i've been feeling like i want to contribute something just a bit different. so for now, here are my random musings.