Later this week the SRAM pART Project NYC will take place at the Cedar Lake Theater and feature works of art – all made from SRAM components – from more than 80 artists. For the time this will include works of collage as well as sculpture. 100 percent of the proceeds be will donated to World Bicycle Relief.
SRAM pART Project NYC
11.29.2012 @ 6:30pm
CEDAR LAKE THEATER
547 West 26th Street
New York City
Our friend Tim drinks a lot of Mountain Dew but as he’s an active guy we don’t really give him a hard time for it. Of course between his thirst for the “Dew” and various sports drinks we do wonder what his recycling bin looks like – we’re sure there are a lot of plastic bottles. That’s not so good. But fortunately Mountain Dew and Burton Snowboards announced this month that they’re teaming up to roll out the 2013 Green Mountain Project. This outerwear collection is produced from sustainable fabric made from recycled plastic bottles. The GMP outerwear collection includes three stylish and eco-friendly jackets and two pants for men; and two jackets and one pant for women. All of it comes from fabric created from pellets of recycled bottles. So that bottle of Mountain Dew in Tim’s hand today could be on the slopes soon!
Earlier this week we noted that treated waste water is going to be used to make artificial snow in Arizona this season, and we heard that recycled water from the wastewater treatment plant in Daly City will be used on the TPC Harding Park golf course in San Francisco.
This is reportedly the first recycled water project from the Public Utilities Commission, and it is estimated that the $9 million project could save an average of 230,000 gallons per day. While that is a drop in the bucket compared ot he 70 million gallons used per day city wide the plan is that this could be a good start. The idea here is that this will help save more drinking water for people and serve as a way to use this recycled water for the grass.
[Via San Francisco Chronicle: Recycled water in SF starts on golf links]
Last week we reported about a new start up in Los Angeles called Rareform, which turns old vinyl from billboards into surfboard bags. Perhaps Mat Dusting of Kingston St. Mary should give them a call as he’s started his own venture, where he takes discarded truck tarpaulins and makes rucksacks and holdalls for ski boots and skis. Dusting is even taking upcycled – the dujour term for recycled – seat beats to create the straps. He recently showed off his products at the British National Ski and Snowboard Show.
[Via ThisIsTheWestCountry: Kingston St Mary businessman turns tarps into ski bags]
Building a ski resort in the desert isn’t exactly the “greenest” thing we can think of, as it takes a lot of energy to make the snow, cool the slope and run Ski Dubai. In fact the facility is actually fairly green in its own right as it was build used green building techniques and has implemented a number of green policies and practices including effective waste management, energy saving initiatives, recycling and advanced refrigeration and insulation systems. But now Ski Dubai is looking to take this a step further to reduce its carbon footprint.
Ski Dubai announced recently that it will be carrying a special range of environmentally friendly clothing manufactured by DGRADE, a company that specializes in the development of clothing using recycled plastic bottles. This includes the roll out of a new line of sweaters – yes, sweaters in the desert – that are created using up to 30 recycled plastic bottles per garment. Continue reading Ski Dubai Looks to Go Green With DGRADE
Students at the University of Sheffield Campus have partnered with the Heeley Development Trust to form ReCycle Bikes, taking abandoned and donated bikes and refurbishing what would otherwise likely end up in the trash and providing a n alternative form of transport. Students and staff pay 30 pounds for the recycled bikes. The school subsidized the rest of the cost to get the bikes up to the proverbial speed. This solution provides a way for students to stay healthy, get around and keep unwanted bikes from just rusting away.
[Via The Postcode Gazette: Discarded bikes recycled and peddled to students]
While technically all snow is water that nature recycled it is generally pretty clean stuff. Nature does a pretty good job of getting the bad stuff out. But now some skiers who hit the slopes at Snowbowl in Arizona will have to wonder if the snow is quite as pure. That’s because the snow isn’t being falling from the skies but rather will be manmade and it is coming from treated sewage water.
The key word of course is “treated” but a report by civil and environmental engineer suggested that chemicals could be left behind, but worse the water, and with it the snow, could contain antibiotic-resistant bacteria. There is an old saying about not eating yellow snow – and something tells us the same could be said of all the snow at Snowbowl!
[Via Discover Magazine: Manmade Snow From Recycled Sewer Water May Contain Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria]
This recent election was known for a lot of mudslinging but hopefully one bicycle advocate will use the political signs to keep the mud from flying. Kent Peterson has taking leftover political signs and created bicycle fenders. Not a bad use for all those political yard signs.
Kudos to Ken for keeping the signs – from the winners or losers – out of the landfill.
They blend into the landscape and even if we notice them, many think they’re eyesores. We’re talking about billboards. But here is something most of us never think about: what happens to the materials after the ad campaign is over? What becomes of the billboard?
Alec Avedissian clearly wondered exactly that, because he and two fellow surfers, Ryan Judy and Sho Rust, got together and formed Rareform, a business venture that takes the vinyl material from old billboards and creats durable, water-proof, mildew proof surfboard cases. Given the number of billboards in his native Los Angeles it isn’t hard to see that Rareform could have an endless supply of material! Continue reading Billboards Become Surfboard Bags
We’ve seen bamboo used as a material of choice for a number of products and now Land Yachtz skateboards has jumped on board with its Bamboo Stout. This is one of the smaller bamboo decks the company offers, making it an easy one to carry around when it isn’t being ridden.
Of course the riding is what it is all about and the bamboo gives this a nice bounce, while the shorter wheel base makes it easy for quick turns. The deck’s artwork is by Jon Fox and is one that will certainly turn heads as well.
The hipster crowd that loves their fixies usually like something unique, and French designer Tristan Kopp doesn’t disappoint with the prodUSER system. Essentially this bike has no tubes – well almost no tubes – but rather features a number of clamps, which can be used with various materials of the user’s choice.
He suggests that everyday branches be used and you’re good to roll. We question this concept because clearly someone could put PVC piping or an old broomstick but we don’t think it would actually be “safe.” Certainly a ride at your risk sort of thing!
A good hockey stick – especially one made of composite materials – isn’t cheap, and unfortunately it isn’t the sort of the thing that is treated with the utmost care and respect. It is in fact a tool that can be beat around pretty hard, and this in turn can get expensive when it breaks. One-piece composite sticks, made of layers of carbon fiber, can cost $300 or more, so not exactly cheap to replace.
But Randy Langille of Vancouver just sees this as an opportunity. He’s been repairing composite sticks since 2009 and now has 23 locations across Canada. His company Integral Hockey has adopted a process and special tools used in the manufacture of aerospace components to repair composite hockey sticks. Continue reading Composite Repair Coming to Hockey Sticks
Most big companies don’t start as the result of a school project. Or if they do it is something like FedEx, which Fred Smith came up with while studying at Yale University, not a project for a fifth grade class. But that is exactly how Phoenix residents Devin and Lisa Kelley founded Recycled Skateboards International (RSI) after creating a birdhouse from recycled – upcycled – skateboards.
Now the Kelleys are in business recycling/upcycling old skateboard decks and other parts. Continue reading School Projects Launch Recycled Skateboards Business