the paper cup, evolved....

Brandimage, a very cool multi-national design agency, has created this brilliant alternative to the plastic water bottle. The Eco-Friendly 360 Paper Bottle. While still a concept (which features enviro-friendly staking and shipping packaging) is made from 100% recyclable, food-safe paper.

Hopefully we'll see something like this on store shelves soon.

bio-plates still trash, in the trash

Have you switched to biodegradable options for disposable plate ware and utensils? Great move, but make sure your composting them at the end - most stuff doesn't decompose easily in landfills.

Why not? And how long is trash, trash anyway? Get answers to these questions and more at our new favourite site Ideal Bite

would you like less trash with that?

To me, stepping lighter means not having to drop out of society, move to a cabin in and grow my hair out. Therefore, I think the possibility of never getting take out food or beverages again is, well, not a possibility.

But what am I to do with the plastic and Styrofoam garbage that's leftover, not to mention the guilt?

Biodegradable and compostable containers. Cutlery and straws that aren't individually wrapped. Condiment dispensers instead of packets. All of these things are available, so why aren't restaurants clamoring to implement them?

Cost, I'm guessing. Maybe availability. So in the spirit of convincing my friend and restaurant owner to go green, I'm committed to finding a solution to this issue. Stay tuned.

In the meantime, the folks over at ecoagents are busy encouraging everyone to adopt the phrase "Eco to Go," the Waste Reduction Store is making cups from corn, and Ecovoyageurs is getting kids to do garbage audits of their homes. Good work people.