BIOPLASTICS
Bioplastics are a type of plastic that can be made from natural resources such as vegetable oils and starches. Since bioplastics are plant-based products, the consumption of petroleum for the production of plastic is expected to decrease by 15–20% by 2025.
FROM AVOCADO PITS TO BIOPLASTIC KNIVES, FORKS AND SPOONS
Last year, Americans consumed over 6 billion avocados - leaving behind mounds of inedible pits. Now a company in Mexico created a method to transform avocado waste into “bioplastic” - which breaks down fast and requires less fossil fuels to produce.
HERE IS ANOTHER RECYCLE STORY NEAR TO MY HEART: RECYCLED COFFEE GROUNDS.
Kaffeeform in Berlin, Germany makes coffee cups from spent grounds. The cups are 100% recyclable.
Charlie and I go around to various coffee shops in the area periodically to gather their spent coffee grounds. We use them for fertilizer in the Garland Community Garden. Each trip to about five shops yields on average 150 pounds--quite a lot, especially if you consider this is usually only from five shops AND it is only about a 10th of their day as we usually gather them at 9AM.
KEEPING IT SIMPLE NOTES ON ADDING COFFEE GROUNDS TO YOUR COMPOST BIN
Put coffee grounds in your compost bin. There are two types of compost material: brown and green. Your coffee grounds may be brown in color, but in compost jargon they are green material, meaning an item that is rich in nitrogen. Coffee grounds are approximately 1.45 percent nitrogen. They also contain magnesium, calcium, potassium, and other trace minerals. Other green compost materials include food scraps and grass clippings.
Adding coffee grounds and used paper coffee filters to your compost will provide green compost material. However, it must be balanced with brown compost material, which includes dry leaves and newspapers. There should be a 4-to-1 ratio of brown compost material to green compost material. If you have too much green material your compost pile will start to smell. If you don't have enough, the compost pile won't heat up.