gaon street light/wastebasket turns trash into flash

November 13th, 2009 comments (1) stumble it! digg it! by: lambert v.

Designed by Haneum Lee, the Gaon street light/wastebasket concept composts biodegradable waste and uses the methane by-product to power its light, saving energy and eliminating waste while lighting the streets. It’s a bright idea – or is it?

I like how one simple gadget can help solve a couple of environmental issues, but I’m not too sure if the Gaon can be turned into a real product. For starters, how much trash is needed to produce a decent amount of methane, and how long will it take before the trash produces the gas? And remember, only biodegradable waste will produce the methane, but in urban areas a large part of the waste comes in the form of plastic, glass and other non-biodegradable materials.

Still, Lee is onto something here. You think a version of the Gaon could work in real life?

[via Yanko Design via DVICE]

filed under:  future tech strange + wonderful weird science

November 13th, 2009 comments (1): stumble it! digg it! by: lambert v.