Category Archives: Uncategorized

I’ve been very neglectful of this blog lately (you might have noticed).

Not that we haven’t been recycling or continuing to avoid landfill garbage, we just haven’t been flaunting it as much.  Either that’s because it has become second nature or because we’ve been slowly slipping backwards into the pit of consumerism and are ashamed to talk about it (maybe it’s a bit of both).

Actually, it’s probably because we have been “working” on the film (or at least procrastinating and talking about it lots) and trying to keep up with the world of Twitter.

We have been gearing up for some speaking engagements though.  A couple weeks ago we were at the YWCA, working with their dynamic (and voluntary) environment committee, and encouraging the staff to take personal steps to reduce office waste.  They have a veggie garden on their roof that is pretty inspiring, and they treated us to lunch on real plates with real cups.

And tonight (the real reason for this hasty post), we’ll be in North Vancouver as part of their Green City Living Film and Speaker Series.  So if you’re in the region, come on out (I think it’s free).

In November we’ll also be in New Westminster encouraging a start up group based on the Strathcona Zero Waste concept and possibly up at Quest University in Squamish, so maybe we’ll see you there!

I’ve been doing a little housekeeping here at the Clean Bin Project blog.  You know, changing the sidebar to reflect the fact that we’ve actually finished our year, etc, etc.

Anyway, I came to realize that in our attempt to keep the top bar of our site clean and compact, some of the resources on our website might have been neglected.  Pages like Top Ten Tips and Do-It-Yourself recipes (hidden under the Project page) were previously accessible only on the right-hand sidebar – not very handy.

So here’s the official semi-permanent fix.  When you go to The Project, you will now see this little list of resource pages at the top:

I’ve been meaning to share this story with you for awhile.  While we were busying ourselves with our personal zero-waste project, another challenge was being hatched just down the street.

The Strathcona Zero Waste project challenges 10 families (yes, some even have kids in diapers) to try to send nothing to the landfill for a whole month.

The challenge is the brainchild of Deanna Rogers.  As a student enrolled in the Simon Fraser University Semester in Dialogue, Deanna tried her own personal waste challenge: to put nothing into the landfill and nothing into the recycler for three weeks.

After “a few weeks of awkward exchanges, long explanations, personal choices, some extra weight in [her] backpack, and a lot of forethought” she decided to take her challenge (modified to be zero landfill waste only) to a larger audience, starting with her neighbours. Continue reading →

Get “same less waste” . . . . like “same great taste”? . . . .

You may have noticed that we have a bit of a new look around here.  It’s all thanks to Hop Studios, web designers extraordinaire, and we owe them a big thank you. Thanks guys!

They whipped up a new header image that is more like the documentary we’re making, revamped the navigation bar, and pushed us to get on twitter (check out that sweet sidebar link).  You may also notice that our site is now being hosted at cleanbinproject.com (mm hmm, we’re going upscale now).

Before you get all up in arms, I just want to say that I know it’s a little shocking to come to a familiar site and not be greeted by the familiar imagery.  I myself was a little shocked when My Zero Waste had their make-over, so I know how you might feel, but after a couple visits I started thinking that it was actually quite nice.

That said, we welcome your feedback.  We’re not done our makeover yet, so if there is a feature you’d love to see, let us know (we have all powerful CSS control now).

Captain Charles Moore founded the Algalita Marine Research Foundation, but you might know him better as “the guy who talks about plastic in our oceans”.  He has brought to the mainstream an awareness of the dangers of plastics to wildlife and the environment.  His work includes writing papers on the topic of ocean contamination, giving lectures (yes another TED lecture guy), and developing protocols for monitoring marine and beach micro-plastics.  Plus, he still manages to look manly while wearing a multi-coloured necklace of plastic flotsom – what’s not to like?

Beth over at Fake Plastic Fish filmed this clip last week while she was visiting the Captain.  He was presenting at Google down in Mountainview California, and she, as an avid anti-plastics spokesperson, was invited. So thanks Beth for this exclusive clip (well, exclusive to those of you who don’t already read her blog)

I promise this Wednesday’s video will be put up in a few hours, but until then, we have an announcement.  The Clean Bin Project is now on Twitter!

After nearly an entire year of avoiding the technology wave, we finally caved.

Don’t worry, it won’t affect our blogging style.  It just means that we can give snippets of what we’re up to for topics that I don’t have time to post on.  (It’s good for getting your daily dose of Clean Bin or for ramping up your ability to stalk us – “wow, what a coincidence running into you here”)

You can follow us at twitter.com/CleanBinProject