Tap It Talk

Seattle Requires Restaurants To Recycle And Compost Everything

2010-07-29T18:28:33Z

Seattle has become the first city to ban restaurants from serving single-use containers that cannot be recycled or composted.

The City has made a contract with a local company, Ceder Grove Composting, to handle all the compostable packaging and food waste that is disposed of by restaurants.

Every food service establishment will eventually be required to have bins to collect compostable and recyclable waste.

The City estimates that the new ordinance will divert as much as 6,000 tons of waste made up of disposable food service-ware and food waste from ending up in landfills.

Seattle City Councilmen Mike O'Brien praised the ban as a step towards Seattle's larger environmental goals. "With our requirement that food service packaging must be compostable or recyclable, Seattle has taken a big step toward a zero waste future,"

Seattle is the first and hopefully not the last city to enact such a policy. San Francisco and Toronto have also been considering similar programs.

Photo Credit: joephoto from flickr creative commons

UN Declares Water A Human Right

2010-07-29T00:52:06Z

On July 28th, the UN General Assembly voted in favor of recognizing clean drinking water and sanitation as a human right.

122 of 192 member nations voted in favor of the non-binding resolution, no nation voted against it. However, 44 member nations did abstained from voting. The US was in that 44.

Over 900 million people do not have access to clean water. More than 1.5 million children under the age of 5 die every year from lack of clean water and sanitation. The vote was a gesture by many nations that they were committed to bringing clean water to as many people as possible.

In light of the huge trend in water privatization and monetization around the world, this vote expressed the widespread feeling that water cannot be treated as just another commodity.
If humans need clean drinking water to live, like they need air, than water cannot be put on the market to the highest bidder.

The US, the UK, Canada, Australia and Botswana were among the countries which did not vote. The US expressed concerns that the resolution was not consistent with international law regarding water and might undermine future international law regarding water.

New Cleaning Products Use Tap Water To Reduce Carbon Footprint

2010-07-21T18:46:09Z

A Canadian company, Planet People has developed a line of non-toxic cleaning products that, to reduce packaging and carbon footprint from shipping, do not come with water.

The IQClean line of cleaning products comes with a bottle and a cartridge of plant based cleaning fluid. Users of the product simply fill the IQClean bottles with tap water and the cleaning liquid from the cartridge is added in. When the cartridge is empty, instead of buying a new bottle from the company, customers just by a new cartridge, saving on plastic production and shipping.

The company claims that through savings on fuel from shipping and petroleum products used in the manufacturing of plastic, they have reduced the carbon footprint of cleaning products by 70% compared to conventional cleaning products.

Other suppliers and manufacturers have realized that not shipping water in a wide variety of household products allows significant reductions in packaging and shipping costs as well as the products overall carbon footprint.

Many companies are realizing that the premise of shipping water does not make sense economically or environmentally. Wal-mart, Proctor & Gamble and Unilever have all had programs to concentrate products so that consumers can add water from a local source at the time of use,.

This trend provides more evidence that using local and sustainable water for all your needs, is just plain smart.

New Bottled Water Alternative To Hit Stores

2010-07-20T19:47:59Z

3M announced a new product today that is meant to be an alternative to bottled water, called the 'Filtrete Water Station'.

The device basically takes your basic Brita water filter and combines it with BPA free reusable water bottles, skipping the step of pouring water from a filter jug to a reusable bottle.

When you pour water into the top of the filter, it directly fills 4 water bottles that can be detached and taken with you on-the-go.

3M claims that the filter works faster than your average filtering home water jug, processing 2 and a half times more water. One filter will take care of 100 gallons of water before it needs to be replaced.

1 Filtrete Docking water bottle docking station and lid plus 1 Filtrete Fast Flow Filter, 4 - 16.9 oz (500mL) Filtrete Water Bottles has a suggested retail price of $42.99. Replacement Filters will retail for $12.99, Filtrete Water Bottles (2 - 16.9 oz (500mL) Water Bottles) will be available for $15.99.

The company claims that by using the Filtrete for your water needs has the potential to keep 3,000 water bottles out of landfills.

Virginia Gov. Takes Stand For Bottled Water, Reverses Ban

2010-07-16T17:14:31Z

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell took a stand for bottled water companies this week by reversing the state's ban on spending government funds on single serve water containers.

Many city and state governments around the country have taken bottled water out of their budgets in the last year to end wasteful spending on a product they often produce themselves.

Many city governments have been taking a closer look at the impact of plastic waste in their municipalities and the hypocrisy of having government workers purchase a product from the private sector that the government produces and often promotes to the public themselves.

Despite Gov. McDonnell's claim that he has lifted the ban in order to help Virginia's economy, it is very easy to suspect he is doing a little favor for the industry.

After all, the news was announced by the biggest bottled water lobby around, the International Bottled Water Association. They were very excited about his decision.

Tell Gov. McDonnell to take a step forward, not back.

UPDATE:
In our comments below, Tom Lauria, Vice President of Communications at the International Bottled Water Association informed us that the IBWA did not actually announce the decision of Governor McDonnell to reverse the state bottled water ban as stated in this post. Governor McDonnell announced the decision nearly 4 days earlier, to the Richmond Times Dispatch.

Soccer Field Reinvented As Massive Water Filter

2010-07-13T19:51:27Z

With the World Cup came lots of talk and thoughts, maybe too much, about the World's favorite sport, soccer. Now that the tournament is over, we can think about more important things, like soccer fields that double as water catchment systems.

Designers from the charitable design organization Atopia Research, have come up with a soccer field that acts as a community center and water catchment and storage system specifically designed for a typical African village.

The project, called PITCH: AFRICA ('Pitch', to the world outside the US means 'soccer field' FYI), is based on the idea that most of Africa gets plenty of rainfall but only at specific times of the year. Therefore, a good rainwater catchment system has the potential to create a consistent water supply all year long.

If you match a rainwater catchment with a very popular community activity, you get a centralized and easy to access water source that can be used to water plants, cook and drink. The soccer field basically acts as a large water catchment surface where water collects and is drained through a semi-permeable surface into a storage tank and then filtered. In theory, this system is able to provide 1000 people with water, year-round.

The idea is explained by the designers in this video below, courtesy of Fast Company:

San Francisco Start-up Brings The Refill Concept To Cosmetics

2010-07-06T21:53:37Z

A small start-up in San Francisco's Noe Valley called Green11 is taking the refill concept that has been successful with water and coffee, to cosmetics and cleaners.

The company's retail shop simply sells you refills of shampoo, soaps and household cleaners for your own refillable containers. Green11 also has a strict policy of only carrying products that are non-toxic, with no known harmful chemicals. They currently carry brands such as Kiss My Face, Bio-Kleen, EO and Shikai

Product containers and packaging makes up over 30% of municipal waste. This includes 31 million tons of plastic waste generated each year! 71% of translucent plastic packaging (HDPE) that are commonly used for many types of cosmetics and cleaning products end up in landfills..

Skipping the need for a new plastic bottle for these products on a large scale could make a huge difference in reducing this waste. We hope to see shops like this show up in neighborhoods around the country.

You can vote for them through the Pepsi Refresh project here.

Bottled Water Discussion On Good Morning America with Peter Gleick

2010-07-02T17:35:24Z

Peter Gleick, author of the new book 'Bottled and Sold: The Story Behind Our Obsession with Bottled Water' interviewed yesterday on Good Morning America with George Stephanopoulos on ABC about the rising issue of bottled water and what the country can do to fix it. Watch below:

Message On A Bottle: Shampoo Brand Reminds Us To Save Water

2010-06-29T18:42:21Z

There is no shortage of green marketing with body care products. When shopping for them, you will find hundreds of brands that will tell you they have the product with the most natural, organic and environmentally sound ingredients.

But one German company is taking the green messaging a step further. Their brand doesn't boast about how they are saving the planet, but rather the branding itself tells you what you should be doing to save the planet.

'Stop The Water While Using Me' shampoo, shower gel and toothpaste aims to remind you to conserve water every time you are in the shower or brushing your teeth.

This is kind of like having a PSA billboard in the washroom with you. I must admit it would make me think twice about a long shower or leaving the water running while I lather up. As we have mentioned before, the little things add up to save a lot of water.

Bottom line: 'Stop The Water While Using Me' spreads a good message and is just brilliant marketing. By the way, the products themselves are actually eco-friendly, made with biodegradable containers and organic ingredients.

The shampoo, shower gel, and toothpaste are available for 13, 12 and 8 Euros respectively.

New York City Voted Nation's Best Water (with exception of small Wisconsin town)

2010-06-24T18:14:08Z

The America Water Works Association (AWWA) has an annual conference to bring together water utility professionals from all over the country.

I imagine the conference, held in Chicago this year, is incredibly wonky and the average person might not be able to appreciate it without falling asleep.

However, they have a pretty serious tap water tasting competition every year, where many cities from all over the country participate to find "the best of the best". The surprise winner this year? Stevens Point, Wisconsin. That is impressive. A small town beating out the biggest, most sophisticated water systems in the country.

But what is more impressive? New York City, the biggest mega-metropolis in the country was number two!! TapIt's beloved home city beat out the best, including Boston, San Francisco and many other cities with amazing water systems.

New York is doing something right with it's water, that's for sure.

Photo credit: Jenny Downing on Flickr

Study Finds Whale Poo Fights Climate Change

2010-06-17T18:38:12Z

A new study on Southern Ocean Sperm Whales has found that these sea mammals are doing us a huge favor by reducing carbon in the atmosphere.

While these sperm whales travel the southern seas, they deficate. Their waste, which is very high in iron, greatly increases the growth of phytoplankton in the water. Phytoplankton are very good at capturing carbon from the atmosphere and trapping it.

The 12,000 sperm whales in the Southern Ocean are responsible for taking 200,000 tons of carbon from the atmosphere each year. That is the equivalent to the carbon output of 40,000 cars.

We need to save these whales to save the planet. But unfortunately, it is a catch 22, where climate change is already altering their eco-system, putting their habitat in peril.

Washington DC Area Grocery Chain Eliminates Bottled Water

2010-06-14T04:08:26Z

MOM's Organic Market's, a organic and natural foods retailer in the Washington DC area has discontinued the sale of bottled water from it's 6 regional retail locations.

In a move that may be the first of it's kind for a retailer this large, the management clearly understands the problems of bottled water.

"There are now 5 swirling masses of plastic in our oceans, each roughly the size of Texas. Plastic never goes away and the problem will only get worse- and the sooner we take action, the better! Not only does plastic damage our environment, but it increases our dependence on oil." said Scott Nash, the Founder and CEO of the grocery chain in a press release.

As part of the store's battle the bottle initiative, they will be adding water filtration refill stations to all their locations so customers can refill their own reusable bottles.

They will also eliminate most plastic bags in their produce department by replacing plastic wraps with biodegradable clam shells for items such as potatoes, onions, oranges and salad mix. Pre-packaged bulk foods will be replaced with either bio-plastic containers or cellophane.

Basically MOM's is showing us that with a little initiative, food retail can be truly waste free. It all starts with that bottled water, and anything is possible.

TapIt Q & A with Peter Gleick, Author of "Bottled And Sold"

2010-06-10T04:21:30Z

Peter Gleick is an internationally recognized water expert, MacArthur Fellow, and the president of the Pacific Institute, an environmental think tank based in Oakland, CA.

He released a great new book last month about the bottled water problem called "Bottled and Sold: The Story Behind our Obsession With Bottled Water" (purchase a copy here).

I was happy to be able to get some of Peter's thoughts about our bottled water problem:

William Schwartz: What did you find was the most alarming statistic about bottled water when you were researching for your book 'Bottled and Sold'?

Peter Gleick: There are many remarkable numbers and statistics about bottled water. Pick you own favorite from the book.

Among them: There have been over 100 bottled water recalls in the United States, and perhaps many more. Very few of them receive any public notice, and most occur long after the bottled water has been shipped to market and sold.

Americans buy, drink, and throw away 1000 plastic bottles of water every second of every hour of every day.

It takes the equivalent of 17 million barrels of oil to produce the plastic bottles used for bottled water in the U.S. each year

WS: Where do you see the momentum right now with the bottled water vs. tap water debate? Have bottled water sales been slumping because of growing consumer awareness or the poor economy?

PG: I believe that both the economic slump and the growing revolt against bottled water have contributed to the first decline in bottled water consumption in three decades. The bottled water industry would like to place the drop in sales on the economy, and hope that it picks up as the economy recovers, but I believe growing public awareness of the problems with bottled water may have turned the tide.

WS: We have seen towns such as Concord, MA in the US and Bundanoon, Australia ban bottled water sales. Do you think this is an effective or realistic method to solve the bottled water problem nationally?

PG: I do not propose a ban on bottled water in the book. I do not think such an approach is appropriate -- bottled water is a commodity, like many others. But I do believe strongly that there are things that should be done to reduce the demand for bottled water. In particular, we must restore national and local confidence in tap water, put water fountains back in public places, and forbid misleading and false advertising about bottled water. If we did these things, bottled water would once again become a luxury, not a necessity, in people's eyes.

WS: In certain areas of the country, tap water has taken on a lot of controversy. Whether it is boil warnings or the revelation that there has been elevated lead levels in the water that went unreported, it is easy to be doubtful of its safety. What would be your message to the public to help them regain trust in the public system?

PG: A key message in my book is that we must work to restore confidence in our tap water system. We must expand and upgrade municipal water systems to remove new contaminants and to ensure that the taste of tap water is good. We should be proud of our tap water system and do whatever is necessary to ensure that it provides the highest quality water.

WS: What do you think the single most effective thing someone can do on an individual level to help solve this problem?

PG: As individuals, buying bottled water is a choice. We can instead choose to carry refillable bottles and to use tap water whenever possible. In the end, the bottled water industry needs consumers, and if consumers goes elsewhere (i.e., back to the tap), sales will dry up and the environmental consequences of bottled water will be lessened.
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Make sure to check out Peters blog at the SF Chronicle. Also, don't forget to buy the book! You can find it at Island Press or at Amazon.com.

Groups To Sue BP Under Clean Water Act

2010-06-08T17:24:11Z

Out of the grim saga of the Gulf Oil Spill comes some hope that BP could possibly be held accountable in a significant way for polluting the Southern US's coastline.

Three environmental groups, the Gulf Restoration Network, Louisiana Environmental Action Network and Environment America are suing BP under the Clean Water Act, charging the company with allowing oil to leak into the gulf and failing to measure the true volume of the leak.

The Clean Water Act was, after all, partly inspired into law by a 1969 oil rig spill near Santa Barbara, CA. Additionally, the Exxon Valdez Spill in the Gulf of Alaska in 1989 helped inspire the Oil Pollution Act (OPA) that strengthened the Clean Water Act to open up criminal charges and civil action against companies responsible for oil spills.

The oil rig spill near Santa Barbara leaked 100,000 barrels of oil. The Exxon-Valdez tanker spill was responsible for 10 million gallons of spilled oil. BP Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico? 22 to 35 million gallons so far. If this does not spur catastrophic fines for BP and other companies involved and new stronger legislation, I don't know what will.

Because the BP clean up effort seems to have vastly underestimated the volume of oil leaking into the ocean and used banned practices such as releasing toxic chemicals into the water to break up the oil, legal experts believe the companies could be fined as much $4.7 Billion under the Clean Water Act.

Lets hope these environmental groups are successful against what I imagine is a massive BP legel effort. We just can't afford for something like this to happen again.

You can support these groups through the following links: Gulf Restoration Network, Louisiana Environmental Action Network and Environment America.

Photo thanks to jeferonix on flickr under Creative Commons license

The HydraDuo: Two Beverages, One Bottle

2010-06-07T19:21:31Z

Quirky.com is a social product development site where people submit product ideas and then others can contribute to the design on the products path to production. They have produced everything from a compact luggage scale, to a rainwater collector for plastic bottles.

Using its special crowd sourced design process, Quirky has recently finished up a new kind of reusable water bottle. It is called the HydraDuo which features two removable 8 oz. containers in one bottle. This way, if you can't decide what beverage to fill your bottle with or water is simply not enough, you have choices.

The top of the bottle is also designed to allow you to easily drink one liquid without it mixing with the other. That way you can have water and iced coffee or your favorite spirit and a chaser with no mixing.

Is this one of those ideas that seems useful in theory but no one really needs? The great thing about Quirky is that if a product does not reach its pre-order threshold, it is never produced. The HydraDuo, at the moment, has sold 116 of the required 980 to go into production.

If you think this is a great idea, pre-order here. They go for $17.50 each.