Clutter-free Recycling Bin
by Bonnie Alter, London on 10.26.06
Maybe part of the reason that people don't recycle is because of the mess and clutter that gathers whilst waiting for the trip to the recycling centre or the day that it all goes outside. Here's a sleek, good looking way to store all those carefully collected aluminium cans, glass jars, papers and plastic bottles that are rolling around in the kitchen cupboard. The ecopod e1 is essentially a crusher: drop a can or plastic bottle into the hole on the top, step on the pedal and the container is compacted for easier storage. It will store fifty to sixty crushed containers. Ecopod’s mission is to “partner with great people and great companies to raise worldwide eco-awareness”. To that end, they worked with DesignworksUSA, the same people who created the BMWX5 , to ensure that, as well as being a good looking addition to the kitchen, it works. If that’s too big and bulky, here is a very simple and practical, child-proof can and bottle crusher. Squash it in the gadget and store the results in a box until ready. :: Ecopod via :: The Financial Times
Does anyone know what it's made of? What's wrong with crushing cans with human power? How does the use of more material constitute eco-friendliness, exactly?
it's pretty obvious that the can crushing is human powered with mechanical advantage.
note the foot pedal
it's another binvention!
I have to concur with Jason. Designed by the same people who designed the fugliest BMW yet, and how much oil/steel/energy does it take to create one? I'd love to see a Triple Pundit-style analysis of the total energy spent producing one of these vs. the number of cans/bottles recycled it requires to make up for the bin's materials. I'm guessing it would turn out to be a few years before you break even, conservation-wise, after picking this sucker up.
I rarely buy cans these days, but I remember as a child collecting huge bags of them and jumping on the them in the driveway. It was cheaper, eco-friendlier, and way more fun than any method I've seen since.
I could see the appeal of this if (1) it were made of recycled metals and plastic to begin with and were in turn fully recyclable itself and (2) my recyclables conformed to this design. My recycling bin ends up being filled with ungainly egg cartons, tetrapacks, and the like. This device does not seem to accomodate glass, either, and I can't help but wonder if it works as well on steel veggie and soup cans as it does on thin alumininum beverage cans.
I might be able to quickly find out by following the links, but apparently I'd rather moan about its unsuitability.
Is this recycling bin free?