We’ve all heard the “recycle, reduce, reuse” mantra.  However, to really combat the current problem of overconsumption and reduce unnecessary waste, this saying should be flipped on its head: “reduce, reuse, recycle.”  Recycling is reactive, and society needs to combine it with a proactive solution, because recycling alone will not “fix” our current consumption problem.  The first step should be reducing (more…)

“Plastics are bad but it’s impossible to avoid them completely”. This is my conclusion after 30 days of staying away from plastics. I was almost rebellious when I was refusing to use plastic materials for the past month. However, I have to admit I have violated my rules more than once.

Within the past month, I was served plastic straws two times with my drinks, used four plastic garbage bags for throwing away my ‘wet’ garbage, purchased shaving (more…)

I was recently asked by a friend whether I was able to create an impact through my anti-plastic propaganda. I told him how easily I was able to reduce my plastic consumption in a couple days and how supportive the people that I spoke to are. He kept asking me whether my individual environmental care would result in a dramatic reduction of global plastic usage. Good question.

For one month, I have talked to managers of stores and restaurants who sell plastic forks, knives, bags and (more…)

Trade fairs – even those presenting green technology – are not exactly known to be environmentally friendly. Every trade fair causes a variety of emissions starting with the production of trade fair stands, transport and other logistics and a lot of waste during and after the fair when a large quantity of material, including the major part of a fair stand are simply thrown away. Photovoltaic manufacturer, Yingli Green Energy was looking for a way to ‘green’ its event and trade fair material (more…)

(Reuters) – Taiwan aims to transform several of its outlying islands into models of green energy production as part of a 10-year effort to cut its overall greenhouse gas emissions, the government said on Monday.

Industrialized Taiwan, a major semiconductor, chemicals and steelmaker, will invest heavily in wind power on the Penghu islands in the Taiwan Strait. The aim is to raise renewable energy production to half total consumption of the 90,000 population, officials said.

On the Kinmen islets, also known as Quemoy, T$3 billion ($90 million) will be spent to develop solar power, recycle water and push eco-friendly architecture for the 70,000 people who live there, the Environmental Protection Administration said.

The agency said it was hoped the investments could deliver a rapid transformation of the energy supply on the islands and help drive efforts on the more industrialized main island, with a population of 23 million. (more…)

I wasn’t thinking about my plastic diet, when I walked into the store and bought a chocolate bar yesterday. Obviously eating chocolate is not the healthiest thing to do for your body, but today I learned that the packaging material of chocolate bars is also not the best for the environment. It’s tricky because it is difficult to determine what materials were used in the production of the chocolate and candy wrappers.

Similar to milk and juice cartons or potato chip bags, the candy wrappers are generally laminated foils which are prepared by coating a paper base with wax, bonding a thin metal foil layer with an adhesive and dampening with a plastic solution. (more…)

For almost two weeks, I have been consciously reducing my plastic use and advocating a plastic-free life. I stopped buying plastic bottles or plastic bags and every time I go to grocery shopping I carry my own reusable bag or containers. By doing so, I have been quite successful to reduce my plastic consumption compared to last month. In fact, it started becoming an addiction to re-use everything that I have, including the plastic zipper bags and containers. As a good alternative to conventional plastics, I started believing in compostable plastics that would replace most areas in our daily life. (more…)

Living four days without consuming plastics hasn’t been such a challenge yet; nevertheless it became more fun. As a quick reference to my last blog post, I aim to reduce my plastic use significantly for 30 days and reuse the products that I already have. My main motivation to do this is to help drawing attention to the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” and other marine debris around the world.

Plastics can live longer than human beings. It takes 100 years for a plastic bottle to degrade in a marine environment. Given that plastics were invented only in the 19th century, almost all of the plastic content that was produced still exists somewhere in the world.

It is indeed very easy to live without plastic bags and plastic bottles. I bring my own shopping bag when I go grocery shopping and I reuse my old bottles and try to avoid plastic bottles in any kind. It was hard to give up some of beverages that I like. However, I can find access to drinking water easily in many developed cities. Hence, glass bottles and cans always seem to be good options.

After three days, I can say the hardest part of a non-plastic life is when I get coffee to-go from a coffee shop but I’m not supposed to get the plastic lid. It’s difficult to carry and drink cofee without the lid. Moreover, there is even a debate about the coffee cup itself. (more…)

I became aware of the great “Pacific Garbage Patch” after I learned about the Plastiki Project. Thanks to the Plastiki boat and its crew who already sailed more than 4,000 miles across the Pacific Ocean to raise awareness about marine debris and other environmental issues.

My background is in the energy sector and I’m not an expert on environmental issues other than what’s related to power generation. I do recycle as much as I can. However, I admit I have no idea what’s going on in the recycling process, where our materials are coming from or what type of materials we should be using. By reading some statistics, I learned that more than 90 percent of plastics are not recycled.

This made me aware of what we are doing to our ecosystems without even being able to clean up. I became annoyed and upset when I went to the grocery store and realized that I can no longer live in a world without consuming plastics. Plastic materials are not only a major packaging item in our food chain, but we are forced to buy most of our daily needs in plastic packages. Perhaps we are saving energy and money by using plastics, especially in packaging. However, maybe there is a way to reduce plastic consumption to a minimum level.

I haven’t used plastic bags for a long time. Instead, I bring my own reusable bag for grocery shopping. I stopped buying plastic bottles after I watched the animated film, “Story of Bottled Water,” which alerted me to the environmental danger caused by plastics. However, I realized that I still keep consuming plastics. Therefore I set up a challenge for myself:

I will not consume plastics for the following 30 days! (more…)

With more than 16,000 retail locations around the world, Starbucks continues to innovate and evolve the customer experience with a new store design approach inspired by Starbucks Shared Planet, their commitment to ethical sourcing, environmental stewardship and community involvement. With each new or renovated store, Starbucks strives to reflect the character of the surrounding neighborhood, allowing customers to feel at home when visiting “their” store and giving them opportunities for discovery at our other locations around the world.

For the last 15 years, the Starbucks coffeehouse at 72 Spring Street in New York City has been a gathering place for local patrons and international visitors alike. The renovated location draws upon the area’s commercial and retail history as well as its vibrant arts and cultural renaissance over the past several decades. The Spring Street store blends the aesthetics of a turn-of-the-century dry goods warehouse with the original iconic mercantile-inspired Starbucks location at the Pike Place Market in Seattle. (more…)