Have you guys seen the TED talk yet by Thomas Thwaites, the fellow who built a toaster from scratch? He made everything himself - from mining the ore and smelting the metal to creating molds and assembling the final piece himself. The process is fascinating, entertaining, and I think there are some great lessons here about consumption.

Lessons from a Toaster

What really struck me about this video wasn't how hard it was for him to build a simple toaster, but how many materials it required from all over the world. And that's for a bargain bin toaster. What about more complicated electronics, like your computer or smart phone?

The other eye-opening part of this video was his final solution for getting his hands on plastic: "mining" at that recycling center. It sort of begs the question about how many useful materials we're landfilling every day. When our gadgets and gizmos break, more often than not we send them to the landfill. Meanwhile, they're full of useful components that are probably still in working order.

Recycle and Reduce

This talk really underscores the importance of recycling our electronics, whether we're talking about a simple toaster or a plasma TV. Not only does recycling these items keep hazardous waste out of the ecosystem, electronics recycling centers will reclaim usable parts or even refurbish broken electronics to give them another life.

Just like using less paper is the greenest office paper option, minimizing our consumption when it comes to electronics makes an even bigger difference than recycling when that product's short life is through. There's no carbon footprint associated with deciding that you don't need to replace your flat screen with a 3D TV. Of course, we're still going to buy TVs, cell phones, and toasters, but what if we looked for refurbished or second-hand items before hitting the big box store to buy new?

What did you guys think about this video? I'd love to hear what you took away from it in the comments!

In a time where your gadgets almost become outdated by the time you get them home, electronic waste (e-waste) is piling up in landfills. The problems with e-waste go beyond the actual bulk, though. All of those electronics have components made of toxic substances, like arsenic and mercury, that leach into groundwater and pollute the environment. Electronic waste is actually considered hazardous waste.

Those old remotes and cell phones don't have to head to the landfill, though. Many cities now offer one or two e-waste recycling days each year, but if you can't wait to purge small electronics from your life, it looks like Best Buy has launched a program to make it easy as pie to safely dispose of some of that e-waste.

I spotted this convenient little small electronics recycling center on a recent trip to Best Buy. I'm not sure what the situation is at other Best Buys, but at the one near me, you don't even have to go all the way into the store to recycle. The kiosk was located right at the entrance, and they take inkjet cartridges, rechargeable batteries, CDs/DVDs, and gift cards, among other small e-waste items. It can vary by state, so you might want to check yours on their recycling page.

Best Buy also offers e-cycling for larger electronics. You can trade in old electronics for Best Buy gift cards, which I think is pretty smart. They refurbish and re-sell your used item, and you get some cash to spend in their store.

Like many companies, they'll haul off your old electronics for recycling when you get a new item delivered, but they'll also pick up some electronics like TVs and appliances (for a fee).

While I'm not nuts about big box stores in general, you can't exactly make a cell phone yourself or knit a new TV. It's nice to see a company taking some responsibility for the waste its business helps create! You can get more details about their recycling programs over at Best Buy's recycling site.

Image Credit: Creative Commons photo by stuartpilbrow

Did you know that cork forests are some of the most biodiverse habitats on the planet? Cork trees grow quickly, and between wine bottles and home decor, there's a growing demand for the material.

The other day at Whole Foods, I noticed a cork recycling station. You deposit your old cork wine tops, and the folks at Cork Reharvest grind them up to make new cork products. The idea is actually to increase the demand for cork, which is pretty unusual in a project focused on sustainability! According to the folks at Cork Reharvest:

...based upon current estimates there is enough cork to close all wine bottles produced in the world, for the next 100 years. The cork forests are now being more sustainably managed than ever before in their history and new planting is always ongoing.

When you harvest cork, you don't cut the tree down. Instead, workers in managed cork forests hand-extract the bark from trees every nine to 12 years. The folks at Cork Reharvest want more folks to use cork, because they think that will encourage even more sustainable cork forests.

They teamed up with Whole Foods back in April, and most Whole Foods markets now have cork recycling stations right in the wine section, so you can drop off your old cork while shopping for your next bottle. They've even got a handy finder, so that you can locate a cork drop box near you.

Cork also makes a great material for all sorts of fun DIY projects. If you can't find a drop box or just want to get crafty, you can make a wine cork message board or try your hand at one of our wine-related gardening crafts!