The World's Greenest Garbage Can

jplatt — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 11:00:00 -0400

Did you know that the average garbage truck gets just 2.8 miles to the gallon of diesel fuel? It's true. In fact, garbage trucks get the worst fuel economy of any type of commercial vehicle.

Why such bad gas mileage? Well, garbage trucks are big, fleets tend to be pretty old, and their drivers have to make stops every few hundred feet while keeping engines running the whole time.

With this in mind, and with fuel prices soaring, it makes sense for municipalities, universities and businesses with large campuses to find ways to cut their garbage collection costs. The BigBelly Solar Compactor can help.

No bigger than any other outdoor garbage receptacle, the BigBelly uses the sun's rays to power an internal compactor which crushes its content, allowing it to hold five times as much as your average garbage can. This means it doesn't need to be emptied as often, which saves fuel costs, cuts labor costs, and reduces a whole lot of greenhouses gases in the process.

The BigBelly Solar Compactor costs $4,000 -- but BigBelly says the device can pay for itself in just a year and a half. And that's not trash-talk.

Cut Waste: Download Your Movies

jplatt — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Toshiba announced today that it will probably write off nearly $1 billion in losses following its decision to dry-dock its HD DVD format. Beyond that, thousands of customers are now going to have to write off their purchases of HD DVD players and movies. And where are all of those players and movies going to end up? That's right -- landfills around the globe.

Blu-Ray may have won the battle, but the HD format war isn't over. New technologies are already being developed which will once again vie for market dominance. And meanwhile, your old players and movies are still sitting there, hoping you won't replace them and toss them like day-old bread.

So, if you haven't already invested in a Blu-ray player, you might want to consider a new video format that will never end up in the trash: a download. Numerous services (including Vongo, Netflix, and Amazon's Unbox) now offer you the chance to download movies directly onto your PC, either as temporary "rentals" or as files you get to keep forever.

Sure, you might not immediately think of your PC as your home entertainment center, but studies show that people are now spending more time in front of their computers than their TVs, so why not complete that transition?

cut waste

The World's Greenest Garbage Can

Cut Waste: Download Your Movies