Tag Archives: eco-conscious

Collapsible Water Bottle Fits Everywhere

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Paying for bottled water is not only financially wasteful, it’s a bit of a dick move for the environment. The Hydaway is a collapsible, reusable silicone bottle with a plastic framing that expands into a 21oz. or 12oz. container in a couple of seconds. When collapsed it’s only 1 1/4 inch thick, and has a convenient carry handle that can be clipped to a bag. It’s watertight, BPA-free, and fully dishwasher safe. If you want your own, it’ll only cost you a $20 pledge on their fully-funded Kickstarter, and you can expect to get it in August of this year.

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[ Project Page ] VIA [ ThatsNerdALicious ]

GoSun Solar Grill Works Even At Night

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There are a good number of portable solar grills on the market, but this is the first one we’ve come across that banks some of that heat for you to use later. The GoSun features a thermal battery that absorbs the sun’s heat and stores it for later release. It can take up to two hours to “charge”, but the GoSun will then release a constant stream of heat for hours on end, cooking your food between 300F and 400F. It uses a Phase Change Material (a type of wax) to store these enormous amounts of energy and releases it at an appropriate rate. The rest of the solar grill works much like others, using a parabolic reflector to concentrate the sun’s rays onto a cooking surface. This cooking chamber however, in the GoSun, is able to bake, steam, roast or even boil your food, allowing you to prepare some fairly fancy meals, even at night. It’s an ingenious design, and we think the $349 asking price is more than reasonable. It’s a great, fossil-fuel-free way of cooking your food.

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[ Project Page ] VIA [ Geek.com ]

Foot Powered Washing Machine Works Off The Grid

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Before we harnessed electricity, we used to wash clothes with a little elbow grease. But we’ve had powered washing machines for so long, it’s easy to forget that sometimes we may need to get clothes clean when the power is out, and a washboard isn’t necessarily the best way to go about it. While not as portable as the Scrubba Bag, the Yirego Drumi Off Grid Washer is a foot-powered washer and spin-dryer that uses no electricity to do its job. You simply insert some garments in the inner sphere, which is full of holes and ridges. Add some detergent and get to pumping with your foot. The sphere turns, tumbling your clothes in the water and soap, getting them clean. Draining the dirty water is done through the press of a button. The device looks good and modern, and may offer some of the more eco-conscious among us an alternative means of staying fresh and clean. It’s a $129CAD (about $107USD) pre-order, and two heaping spoonfuls of patience since delivery is slated for July 2016!

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[ Product Page ] VIA [ MikeShouts ]

Eco-Friendly Coffee Cups Can Be Planted After Use

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We’re pretty efficient at destroying the planet, so it’s nice to see an ever growing consortium of people doing their damnedest to slow the pace at which we bury ourselves in our own filth. The latest effort we’ve come across involves coffee cups, which Americans throw out at the rate of 146 million a year (and that number seems low, to be honest). The “Reduce. Reuse. Grow.” cups are made from 100% post-consumer recycled paper and have had tree seeds embedded in them. This means after you’re done drinking your cup of Joe, you can soak them in water for 5 minutes, and then just plant them; the type of tree that grows out is printed on the front. And even if you don’t go through the effort of planting them, the will biodegrade after just 180 days so your conscience can be just a little clearer.

Granted, their effectiveness will be determined by their adoption rate at coffee shops nationwide, but you can help by donating to the project. Although you won’t get any cups until you donate $500 or more (and then you just get a “framed and singed 1st edition cup), you can jump in with as little as $1.

[ Project Page ]

The post Eco-Friendly Coffee Cups Can Be Planted After Use appeared first on OhGizmo!.

Crystal Wash Balls Let You Do The Laundry With No Detergent

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These balls are filled with “bio-ceramic” pellets that allegedly change the pH of the water to 8.5 an above. This creates alkaline water that is able to wash your dirty clothes without needing harsh chemicals, and they’ll be able to do so for 1,000 cycles. The pellets also create Hydrogen Peroxyde, which kills bacteria and gets rid of odors, all without irritating your skin, or releasing pollutants into the environment or even running the risk of fading your colors. The only catch is that the balls need to be “recharged” every 30 washing cycles by being put outside in the sun for a day. The Crystal Wash 2.0 contains a Bluetooth module that will remind you when it’s time to recharge them, as well as a pH sensor that lets you keep track of the alkalinity of your water during a cycle. Other stats available through these sensors are “Wash Complete Alerts; Wash Cycle Tracking Stats – Graphs, Counters, Social Sharing; Savings Tracking…” It’s a novel way to do your laundry, and if it works as advertised is one that would bring many benefits over traditional detergents. The only drawback is the lack of nice smelling clothes, but we suppose you can still stick a sheet of fabric softener in the drying machine, no? It’s a $75 pledge, or $100 for two balls, although this is only because the $50 price point is sold out. Retail, the ball would cost $60.

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[ Project Page ]

The post Crystal Wash Balls Let You Do The Laundry With No Detergent appeared first on OhGizmo!.

Solar-Powered System Extracts Drinking Water From The Air

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There’s water all around you, and lots of it is in the air you breathe. Getting it out of there and into drinkable form, however, takes a bit of effort. Austrian design student Kristof Retezár has come up with an ingenious device called Fontus, which uses solar power to extract moisture from the air and funnel it into a bottle. It’s meant to be attached to a bicycle, and uses the passing wind (from the forward motion of the bike) to accelerate the extraction process, reaching speeds of 0.5L an hour. This means you could drink a standard bottle of water every for hour you cycle, given the right climactic conditions. The extraction is accomplished through the use of a Peltier Element, which features two metal plates of opposing temperatures, one hot and one cold. Running warm moist air through the cold element condenses the humidity, which then just needs to be collected.

It’s just a prototype at the moment, and there doesn’t seem to be any plans for commercialization. But the product could be very interesting for outdoors enthusiasts who might want to venture out, away from the grid, for extended periods.

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[ Project Page ] VIA [ BonjourLife ]

The post Solar-Powered System Extracts Drinking Water From The Air appeared first on OhGizmo!.

Inglorious Produce: French Supermarket Chain Finds A Way To Reduce Food Waste

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Did you know that a good portion of the produce farmers grow ends up being discarded simply because it’s too ugly to be sold in stores? Too ugly doesn’t mean it doesn’t taste as good or is less nutritional, so French supermarket chain Intermarché decided to buy these leftover fruits and veggies, and sell them heavily discounted (30% off) in a special aisle named “Les Fruits Et Legumes Moches” (“The Inglorious Fruits And Vegetables”). Stars in the new lineup include “The Grotesque Apple”, “The Ridiculous Potato”, and “The Failed Lemon.” To help people realize that these runts were just as good as their more beautiful siblings, the stores gave away juices and soups prepared with them. And people loved it.

Not only can patrons save a good amount of money by buying these ugly fruits and veggies, instead of the traditional produce, Intermarché’s initiative is helping drive awareness about food waste. Seeing as the EU declared 2014 to be the “European Year against Food Waste”, the French grocer’s actions are a solid first step towards Europe’s goal of reducing waste by half by the year 2025.

[ Intermarche's Website ] VIA [ TheAwesomer ]

The post Inglorious Produce: French Supermarket Chain Finds A Way To Reduce Food Waste appeared first on OhGizmo!.

EcoDrain Recycles The Heat From Your Used Up Hot Water

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One of the things that uses up the most energy in a home is hot water. And all of that heat is wasted as it drains away into the sewage system. The EcoDrain device pictured above allows you to partially warm up incoming cold water with the heat from the outgoing hot. It’s a heat-exchange system, and isn’t exactly a new invention, although unlike most other solutions can be installed horizontally. This allows it to be placed “under the bathroom floor immediately adjacent to the drain, thus catching the waste water at its hottest.” It won’t be enough to get the incoming cold up to a good steamy temp, but it’ll help you use less hot water mixed in, thus saving you money. It requires no electricity, and has no moving parts; once installed you can just forget its there. “It’s priced at US$439.95, and is claimed to offer a return on investment ranging from 17 to 43 percent per year – based on the energy costs in various American cities.” Or in other words, you’ll be able to shower for about 33% longer while using the same amount of power you would have without the EcoDrain.

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[ Product Page ] VIA [ TreeHugger ]

The post EcoDrain Recycles The Heat From Your Used Up Hot Water appeared first on OhGizmo!.

Used Refrigerator Converted to Harvest Drinking Water from Air: Draw the Dew

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A few years ago we saw a prototype for an irrigation system that draws water from air. Nottingham Trent University professor Dr. Amin Al-Habaibeh and his student Joseph Wild have developed a device that has a similar function, but for the purpose of harvesting drinking water. The best part is that their device is made of discarded appliances.

Refrigerator water condenser by Dr. Amin Al Habaibeh and Joseph Wildmagnify

The machine is based on a used refrigerator. According to Nottingham Trent University, “[i]t works by drawing air into a cool fridge with reused computer fans and passing it through a cold copper tube. As the warm, humid air cools in the tube the vapour contents condense to form water.” A tap can be added to the fridge, keeping the water cool and clean until it is used.

The machine will work best on humid areas, where it “can provide enough water to meet the daily needs of a small family.”  It can run on solar power as well, which should make it viable in remote areas.

To spread the word, Dr. Al-Habaibeh and Joseph plan on sharing the instructions and parts list needed to create the device online. These men are true makers.

[via PSFK]

Used Refrigerator Converted to Harvest Drinking Water from Air: Draw the Dew

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A few years ago we saw a prototype for an irrigation system that draws water from air. Nottingham Trent University professor Dr. Amin Al-Habaibeh and his student Joseph Wild have developed a device that has a similar function, but for the purpose of harvesting drinking water. The best part is that their device is made of discarded appliances.

Refrigerator water condenser by Dr. Amin Al Habaibeh and Joseph Wildmagnify

The machine is based on a used refrigerator. According to Nottingham Trent University, “[i]t works by drawing air into a cool fridge with reused computer fans and passing it through a cold copper tube. As the warm, humid air cools in the tube the vapour contents condense to form water.” A tap can be added to the fridge, keeping the water cool and clean until it is used.

The machine will work best on humid areas, where it “can provide enough water to meet the daily needs of a small family.”  It can run on solar power as well, which should make it viable in remote areas.

To spread the word, Dr. Al-Habaibeh and Joseph plan on sharing the instructions and parts list needed to create the device online. These men are true makers.

[via PSFK]