CREATIVE CAFFEINE
Here are some objects that i feel could be re-vamped to be a little [or alot] more sustainable.Cell Phone - electronics do not break down in landfills...the chemicals inside leech into the ground which is not good, if there were a way to make the interior batteries biodegradable so that only completely necessary trace amounts of waste would be left behind, without volatile chemicals...that might be a stretch, but when you think of it cell phone housings are mostly plastic, if there is a keypad its likely plastic or rubber. If the keyboards and and bodies were made of a biopolymer that would be fantastic...
Pens - I've seen a lot of pens lately with soy ink, or eco-friendly inks, but what about the rest of the pen? Still plastic that will live for an eternity, again a biopolymer material to hold the ink and outer shell would highly reduce the waste left behind.
Old appliances (oven circa 1985...lovely) - Yes metal can be recyclable, but how about appliances with thought of the future, if they were designed to serve their purpose, and once they break had endless opportunities to be changed into, perhaps a pamphlet with ideas that one could create with the help of a junkyard/cutting service.
Water bottles - come on...there are compostable/degradable materials, implement that! Recycling once isn't enough.
Overpackaging (Ramen) - WAY too much packaging, especially for something not so healthy, this is the paired down version, it started as a parcel pack of 6, in a box, wrapped in plastic, inside 6 individual styrofoam packs, wrapped in cellophane, then in a cardboard sleeve....some parts can be eliminated...print the sleeve info on the cup itself and then a wrapper and cup that can be broken down.
Shower Curtains - expendable items that have a shelf life, then live in a landfill, solution, a water-resistant material that can break down, or get rid of bad material ones on market and make cheaper washable versions that are readily affordable and yield longer product life.
CDRs - very expendable, dont go away. If it were possible to store the information on a material that would breakdown, at least the plastic film over the "shiny part" could be a degradable type to allow for some
Chip/Food bags - Sun Chips figured out how to make a bag that is compost-friendly and will degrade in 13 weeks...awesome, but widespread application would be GREAT, I think Cereal Companies should adapt this, is there really a need for a box to hold the bag of cereal? And does that bag need to last forever...no and theres technology so it doesn't have to, now when will this catch on?
