Nature has had millions of years to come up with perfect natural packaging solutions — brilliant designs made from elements as simple as water, sun and nutrients that keep liquids wet, protect cargo during transportation, and prevent mold or insects from getting in. The purpose of our Packaging the Future series is to highlight how we can use nature’s examples to make low-impact designs for better packaging, and so far I’ve focused more on the pipe-dream than the practical. This week is different; banana leaves are a packaging solution that has existed for thousands of years, still exists today, and that could benefit the environment by simply expanding their use to new areas. (more…)
Packaging the Future: Banana Leaves as Natural Packaging!
Monday, August 15th, 2011Eco-Friendly Ways to Pack a Lunch
Thursday, August 11th, 2011Most cafeterias’ trash cans are filled to bursting with plastic wrap, styrofoam containers and milk cartons. Send less trash to landfills and reduce your carbon footprint with these tips on more eco-friendly ways to pack lunch for yourself and your family.
1. Use recycled (and recyclable) food wrap and containers
Wrap sandwiches in recycled aluminum foil or unbleached, recyclable parchment paper. If you use plastic baggies or zip-top bags, get your child in the habit of bringing them home again so you can rinse them out, dry them and reuse them a couple of times. Better yet, invest in a few sets of reusable eco-friendly food-storage containers in various sizes that you can use every day. And if your kids brown-bag it, use recycled paper lunch sacks and ask your family to bring the bags home so you can use them again.
2. Take a cue from the Japanese
The Japanese often pack their meals in a bento box, a compartmentalized food container that is often elaborately filled and arranged with a contrasting array of foods. Young kids in particular will love eating out of a cleverly designed box with its many compartments. Traditional bento boxes can be purchased online or at Asian supermarkets. Or try a reusable stainless steel food to-go container, a different take on the same idea that’s easy to clean and plastic free. For a more modern look for kids, check out Laptop Lunches (thanks Samantha!). (more…)
Heat-Driven Air-Conditioning
Friday, August 5th, 2011This shiny tangle of pipes and ducts at a facility of the power company Industrielle Werke Basel in Basel, Switzerland, is an air-conditioning system that is actually driven by heat. Likewise, heat actually helps to cool banks, hotels, and offices in the Adelgade district of Copenhagen, a T-Mobile data center in Munich and Fumincino Airport in Rome.
The company that engineered all of these systems, Thermax of Pune, India, markets them as one of its “sustainable solutions” for today’s environmental concerns, but the technology—absorption chilling—has been in commercial use since the 1920s. Like standard air conditioners, absorption chillers rely on a refrigerant with a low boiling point. When the refrigerant evaporates, it removes heat from the air. Standard air conditioners then change the refrigerant gas back to liquid using an electric compressor. But absorption chillers rely on thermal compression to restart the cycle; they need only heat—no moving parts—to drive the operation (more…)
