Garbage News

Vancouver - Upgyres, a Vancouver organization, is looking to use the famous Blest machine that converts plastic into oil as a tool to clean up the North Pacifc plastic garbage patch. My interview with its director sheds light on this enterprise.

London - One man’s waste is another man’s gold. According to a report by a British government agency the country’s garbage disposal is potentially worth over $4.5 billion.

As the world celebrates the 60th anniversary of Sir Edmund HIllary's ascent to the top of Mt Everest, environmentalists are complaining about the disgusting mess up there, including loads of human excrement and even the odd corpse.

New York - Ghanaian artist El Anatsui is enjoying his first solo exhibition at a New York Museum. His artwork is constructed from found materials, and offers a thoughtful commentary on his homeland as well as the cultural implications of reclaimed materials.

Buy one get one free, often means buy one and bin the other one reports a new British study on food waste from the UK’s Institution of Mechanical Engineers titled Global Food, Waste Not Want Not.

As the globe searches for superior power sources to become less dependent upon desert oil barons, the US has developed technology that converts fuel from garbage. This fuel source could become more necessary during the coming Mideast conflicts.

A preview for an upcoming documentary, "Landfill Harmonic", about Cateura, a slum in Paraguay situated on a landfill, where residents create music from the trash and have started "The Recycled Orchestra."

The research into biofuels has been limited due to the bacteria normally used only being able to convert part of the cell wall of plant material. An improvement might be in reach due to a bacterium found in the garbage.

Sweden has recently found itself in a shortage, but not the typical items you'd ordinarily think of when you hear the word shortage. What they are short on is trash.

The manholes in Jothiammal Nagar, Chennai, overflow and fill the streets with sewage. Garbage dumped by the residents is not cleared by the civic body. The area lacks even basic hygiene. Is this the way to live?