So to encourage people to stop smashing their bottles in the streets and recycle them instead,  Paul Ketz came up with the Pfandring.

It’s a simple, ring-like installation which is made to fit around public garbage bins. In a way, you could think of it as a bottle rack where empty bottles of booze or soda can be placed on.

When some green-minded and environmentally-friendly folks happen upon any filled Pfandrings, they can grab the bottles and drop them off at the nearest recycling center to make some extra cash. It’s a neat idea that can benefit a lot of people and the environment at the same time.

[via Urbansh*t via Pop Up City]

Anyway, there are probably more people like me who once adored and eventually forgot all about their virtual pets. And with that premise, someone started a project on Kickstarter called “Virtual Pet Shelter.”

The first phase of the project will involve the founder getting his hands on as many virtual pets as he can on eBay and other sources. These units will then be fixed up or have their batteries replaced with new ones to get them working again.

The “Virtual Pet Shelter Foster Parent Program” will also be launched, which is like a subscription service where you pay to get a virtual pet sent to you to take care of. When you’re bored with it or ready to move on, you can then request to have another one sent to you.

The project is currently up on Kickstarter for funding. The goal is to raise just $250 (USD), which isn’t much – but as of this writing, there has only been one backer who pledged $15. If you want to help save some virtual pets, you can contribute as little as $1 to the cause.

The Ecobot-III does just that, plus it can poop itself. So, that’s more poop for the planet. Ecobot-I had an E. Coli engine that ran on refined sugar and Ecobot-II had sludge microbe engine that ate stuff like dead flies and prawn shells. The only problem was that they could not eject waste. They just kept cramming in new batteries until there was no room. You might say they became the world’s first constipated robots.

This third version can collect its own food and water and poop in a litter tray, which should prolong it’s life, but I guess someone has to change that tray now and again like changing a diaper. Ecobot is being funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, who, coincidentally have also invested in the creation of some shiny new toilets.

[via Scientific American via Geekosystem]

So if you’re the type who’s always buying new phones and updating your devices, then it’s time you head to the ecoATM nearest you to start recycling your old gadgets.

Not only will you be doing good old Mother Nature a favor here by recycling old stuff that you might no longer need or use, but you’ll also get some quick cash in return.

The ecoATM is an automated gadget recycler with a touchscreen and a metal tray below where you’re supposed to put your smartphone, MP3 player, or other device to be recycled.

The ecoATM then uses its camera to determine what kind of device you’re recycling by comparing it to its database that’s been inputted with over 4,000 different gadgets. It will then ask you to plug your device in so it can check if it still works or not. When it’s done with its analysis, it then displays a quote for your gadget, which you can either accept or reject.

If you accept its offer, the ecoATM then dispenses cash in return for your device. The ecoATM already has some machines up and running in California, while more will be rolled out across the country gradually.

[via Daily Mail]

There are four different LEGO-style boxes in the series, two smaller onces in blue and green, which are supposed to be use for aluminum and glass respectively, and two larger ones in yellow and white, for paper and plastic. The models are specifically color-coded for the Italian recycling system, but they can be modified for a bunch of different uses.

Since they are based on the interlocking structure of LEGOs, they can be easily stacked in a variety of different configurations. My only question is this: with enough of them, could you build a house out of them?

[via designboom]

We’ve previously featured earrings, textiles, skulls, jackets, and even a Rubik’s Cube made out of old keyboards, but here are a couple of new ideas.

The brazier-like top of this dress uses keyboard keys and was showcased during Ecofashion 2011, last March. It definitely looks interesting, but I wonder how comfortable it is. Then again, I don’t have to wear it.

Another unusual use for old keyboards is the The Typographic Wall Calendar. For his design, Harald Geisler arranged thousands of keys in a grid to indicate the days and day of week. It’s really cool looking, but not exactly the easiest thing on Earth to read.

While these two ideas might seem completely random, they’re actually quite appropriate, since November 15th is America Recycles Day.

[via If It's Fly It's Here and In Focus]

The scientists and researchers at Tulane’s Department of Cell and Molecular Biology are well aware of this fact, which is why they’ve been working on using a specific strain of bacteria that feeds on organic materials, such as old newspapers, in order to produce biofuel.

The team of researchers, comprised of associate professor David Mullin, postdoctoral fellow Harshad Velankar, and undergraduate student Hailee Rask, have discovered a strain of bacteria they dubbed as “TU-103″ that can feed on paper wastes to produce butanol. The bacteria was first found in animal droppings and was cultivated so that it could be used for butanol production.

Velankar explains, “Cellulose is found in all green plants, and is the most abundant organic material on earth, and converting it into butanol is the dream of many.” And achieve that dream is what these scientists have been able to do. He also adds: “In the United States alone, at least 323 million tons of cellulosic materials that could be used to produce butanol are thrown out each year.”

The team conducted their experiments using old editions of The Times Picayune, New Orleans’ daily newspaper. The patent for the process that they have developed for biofuel production is currently pending.

[via Physorg via Dvice]

Most kids just see the soda can hit the bin and get taken away by the garbage man, but what happens after that? Dr. R.E. Cycler is here to explain just that. The R.E. stands for “robotic environmentalist”. Basically a child puts a can into this solar-powered bot and gets to watch it being crushed.

So now your kid knows – and as the GI Joe cartoons used to say, “knowing is half the battle.” Now your child can rest easy and not toss and turn all night worried about the recycling. Apparently this is a large problem. I hope they don’t get any ulcers.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

The bot was designed by Florida Robotics and built in May 2011. The idea is to get kids excited about recycling. I get that. But so what? A can is crushed. If your kid doesn’t know that cans are crushed and you can’t tell him or her, now we have to build a robot to do it in a demo. To crush a can!

Half these kids have probably seen their drunk uncle or frat-boy brothers crush cans on their head. Show a bot doing that! Drink it down and crush that thing into oblivion on it’s hard robot head. That might be interesting. It might even be a good new robot sport. Which bot can crush a can into the thinnest density?

But this bot? Even with the charming Furby-like voice, kids are going to forget this the minute after they see it and go back to their games and Facebook pages. Then they’ll grow up to be good little accountants or something, instead of a friend to robotics and the environment. All because this bot is lame and they could have been exposed to something much cooler.

Meh. Maybe I’m just grumpy, but I want kids to get excited about robots and science.

[via Fast Company]

A little town called Big Spring, Texas has found that the water supply is in such crisis that it is taking to extreme measures to ensure that residents have water for drinking and cooking. The city has started laying out plans to create massive sewage filtration system that would convert urine and wastewater into drinkable water for the residents.

The process would be hygienic and use technology that is similar to what NASA uses on the ISS. Still the thought of drinking your neighbor’s urine no matter how many times it is filtered seems very disgusting. The 27,000 residents of the city typically get their water from the Colorado River Municipal Water District.

[via Discovery News]

As you may have gathered, its case is made out of recycled and recyclable materials. The vacuum cleaner is actually made out of the box it comes in. You have to pop panels into place around the motor housing, then you can use it. There is no glue required. This is kind of cool, because producing cardboard is a lot cheaper than plastic – and it’s better for the environment.

Vax is planning on doing a limited run of this vacuum cleaner. Then, if it sells well, we’ll see a bunch of them available. I wonder how this compares to my Dyson?

[via Gizmodo via Ubergizmo]

One thing that annoys me a lot when I’m out, however, is when I see plastic bags and beer cans and all sorts of other trash just wash up on the shore.

Maybe these guys saw the same thing and decided that they should do something about it. And do something they did with this surf board that’s made out of 72 beer cans, some polyurethane, and a whole lot of epoxy.

The board is a collaboration between artist Rich Morrison and surfboard maker Gary Seagraves in Morrison’s Enviro Surf Art series. The 6’2″ surfboard features a rocket fish design with twin fins and a swallow tail. Morrison says that the beer cans were collected from a local bar in his neighborhood.

I wish I can give it a go or two on that surfboard. Even though I’ll probably still fall off or flip over, at least I can say that I once surfed on a board of beer cans–and that it was good.

[via Treehugger via Dvice]

Chen retained the laptop’s screen, motherboard, hard drive, RAM as well as its power adapter, then made a frame-like case using acrylic sheets, sandwiching the screen and the motherboard together. A couple of extra tweaks here and there – drilling fan holes, relocating the power button etc. – and he had a new desktop computer.

As other Instructables members and commenters pointed out, you could also look for a similar or compatible laptop body and transfer the old laptop’s guts there. Chen also suggests using a touchscreen kit so you end up with a touchscreen computer instead. The form factor of this particular conversion makes it easy to mount the computer to a wall. Check out Instructables for the full walkthrough.

[via Hack A Day]

Instructables member Overlord5 used two groups each of the function keys, the numpad keys and the row of numbers on top of the letters to make his Rubik’s cube, but obviously you’re free to make your own combination.

Check out Instructables for the full walkthrough. If you’re not familiar with picture Rubik’s Cubes, Overlord5 recommends you watch this video that shows how they’re solved. I wonder if anyone’s made a Rubik’s Cube using touchscreens on all six sides.

[via Unconsumption via DudeCraft]

The group, led by Aaron Engel-Hall, was originally tasked to make a consumer electronics product that could be easily and effectively recycled by consumers. The team eventually decided to make a laptop because it’s a device that has lots of recyclable components. The challenge was to separate those components to make them easy to recycle. Which is why the Bloom laptop not only separates easily into its core components, it can be taken apart without the need for any tool, so that even kids can figure out how to open up the laptop.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

There are so many things to love about this concept, and I just hope laptop manufacturers listen and work to make their laptops more like the Bloom.

[via Switched]

The new pieces are still topnotch, like the 12″ x 24″ Audrey Hepburn portrait made of film prints shown above. You can have it for $2,000 (USD). Here’s a 16″ x 16″ portrait of Marilyn Monroe, which is not a part of her Ghost in the Machine series because it’s made from photos of the late artist, as opposed to films or cassette tapes.

This awesome portrait sells for $500, currently the cheapest item on iri5′s store. Right now the most expensive item on the store is this 12″ x 24″ Betty Page portrait, again made from film strips.

Silhouette so shiny. Mmmmm. The price? $3,000. Sorry Alex. Check out the rest of iri5′s work in the store and on her Flickr page.

[via Wired]

Here’s Hendrix on tape:

Joy Division’s Ian Curtis gets a more elaborate treatment:

And here’s the immortal Bob Dylan:

I want to try and recreate the Dylan portrait, but I know I’ll only end up making black clouds. Check out “Ghost in the Machine” as well as iri5′s other series on Flickr.

Eagle this is Houston, what’s poppin? Over?

“Yeah, so.. I float over to where the cooler’s supposed to be, but in it’s place there’s this…I’m looking at this machine labeled “Urine Recycler”. Over.”

Don’t tell me it’s broken again! Dammit Timmy, I thought I told you to fix the Urine Recycler on the Endeavour!

“Houston, Houston: I don’t think it’s broken.”

What? So what’s the problem?

“The concept is the problem Houston. I have a problem with the whole freaking concept behind this machine.”

Eagle we spent $154 million on the Urine Recycler –

“And I spent half of my life training to do what? Drink my own — Jeebus Houston! How much does Gatorade cost nowadays?! How much for tap water?! What is this, Jackass? Am I being Punk’d or something?”

Eagle it’s not always urine; it also recycles moisture and sweat–

“I’m crashing the ISS on your ass in 3-2-1 you sadists.”

[via Scientific American]

This is recycling at it’s best. Thin strips of reclaimed skate decks are artfully layered to create a unique and colorful watch. It would make the perfect accessory for the erstwhile punk teen turned corporate bad-a$$.

And then there’s the actual, you know, watch part: super stylish analog display, with Japanese quartz movement and LEDs for nighttime time-telling. It’s not waterproof, but I’m betting you didn’t expect it to be.

You can see the tear sheet and look at a couple more close-ups of the watch here. It’s not for sale yet, but you can drool over/purchase previous Nixon Rotolog series watches at the Nixon website.

[via Kris Lovett]