Jordan Talks Plastic Waste: Action Wanted!
Random dumping and burning of plastic garbage, which constitutes a fifth of the Kingdom’s solid waste, are negatively affecting the environment and public health, said a Jordanian official.
recycling
Turkish Barber Turns His Shop into a Mini Recycling Center
The barbershop tradition in Turkey is far more vibrant than the Hair Cutteries of America. In Turkey, men gather for their weekly shave and catch up on the politics du jour while drinking strong muddy coffee often laced with cardamom. The barber is naturally a key figure in this street culture, so when he takes […]
Ali Lamu Upcycles Weathered Dhow Sails into Inspiring Art
“This is not a romance story,” Daniella told me during a recent interview. I met the petite woman at her home on Lamu Island in northern Kenya to speak with her husband, Ali Lamu, whose name is synonymous with a brand of upcycled dhow sails or tangas that are now distributed throughout the world. Daniella […]
15 surprising ways coffee grounds can make your life better
Coffee can have a secret life beyond your kitchen filter or your Turkish coffee pot. From compost to creative solutions. Give new life to the mountains of used grinds we toss out every week. Your favorite bean just became even better! 1. Keep your garden cat-free The jury’s still out on this: supposedly grounds spread around […]
13 Surprising Green Ways to Reuse Tea Bags
Like our popular guide on reusing air conditioner water, old tea bags ? … that’s easy. As an avid tea drinker, I was intrigued when I stumbled upon a variety of sources that promoted the eco-friendly use of tea bags, outside the teacup. Arthur W. Pinero, an Englishman, of course, said, “Where there’s tea, there’s […]
Recycling Plastic Bags and Bottles- a Few Easy Ways
Recyclable plastics or wastes for the dump? The choice is ours. Plastic items that usually get discarded and wind up being buried in landfills or washed out to sea are serious issues brought up during annual events like Earth Day. The seriousness of large amounts of plastic debris in the worlds seas and oceans have raised […]
Mixing Beer and Wine With Recycling in Lebanon
Lebanese don’t usually need an excuse to party but they might need an incentive to recycle. Albeit one of the only countries at the COP18 climate change negotiations to commit to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions, Lebanon has a shoddy recycling record – mostly because it lacks the necessary infrastructure. Which is why the NGO […]
Israel to Build Largest Middle East Recycling Plant
Tires, plastics, and other types of solid waste will soon be converted into energy and other products at a new Israel mega recycling plant. Photo: Haaretz/Michal Fattal Israel’s garbage dumps and landfills are often referred to as large, unsightly “garbage mountains” such as the Hiriya garbage mound near Tel Aviv. With the Hiriya site now […]
Gaza’s First Recycling Plant Opens and Not a Minute Too Soon
Stock image of trash dump, Shutterstock. Gaza produces roughly 1,000 pounds of waste every day and until now most of it has gone untreated. But a new recycling plant situated very close to the border with Egypt has recently opened to manage some of this waste, which is otherwise scattered throughout farmlands or in the […]
Green Recycling Machines for Light Bulbs and Batteries in Sharjah
You can get vending machines for the strangest things in the Arab Gulf – even for gold bars. But thinking in a greener direction, the United Arab Emirates is the second country in the world to adopt light bulb and used battery recycling machines to the public. Five reverse vending machines are being set up […]
$9 Cardboard Bike from Israel Going to Market
Could it be a world-changer? A cheap solution to help African kids get to schools and clinics? Israel’s Izhar Gafni (who we interviewed here) had an outlandish idea to create a durable cardboard bike from scratch with raw materials sum totalling about $9. Add in some labor costs and you can get a pretty cheap […]
PLUG-In Hebron: A Solar-Powered Civic Hub for Urban Renewal
PLUG-In Hebron is a dynamic new urban renewal project for the conflict-shorn West Bank city. Following years of what the designers call “reciprocal violence,” the Israeli military split Hebron into two separate zones. The latter, H2, which is under Israeli jurisdiction, contains the old city. Which means that the Palestinians have been isolated from an […]
Recycle Art Workshops @Darb 1718 This October
If you are in Cairo, don’t miss these fun and fabulous recycling and upcycling workshops at Darb 1718 Following what looks like a very successful Recycling Art festival at the end of August, Darb 1718 are hosting a set of four recycling workshops this month. With sessions on the 9, 10, 16 and 17 of […]
Festival in Cairo Promotes Recycling and Public Literacy
In the beginning of September, Darb 1718, an art and culture organization in Cairo, hosted a festival to promote recycling in Egypt. It featured a musical performance by El Zabaleen (the Garbage Collectors), a local band famous for reusing old materials as instruments to play their music. The Darb 1718 festival engaged many of the […]
Egypt Makes Recycling A Priority
Dr. Mamdouh Khalil, a professor of environmental sciences at Cairo University, told Al-Shorfa there is currently a waste disposal crisis in Egypt, because of the lack of waste recycling plants.