Video: Burkina Faso Plastic Bag Recycling

by Elizabeth Seward on

“Burkina Faso Plastic Bag Recycling” from Corentin Banzet on Vimeo.

In Burkina Faso, hope doesn’t seem to always come easily. With one of the lowest GDP per capita figures in the world ($1,200) and a tumultuous political past that has led to widespread unrest, it’s no wonder so many people that make up the country’s near 16 million population count are struggling. But in this video, Vimeo user Corentin Banzet documents some of the women in Burkina Faso who are using the country’s garbage as a resource for moneymaking. With the hook method, 150 women in the town of Tiébélé Burkina managed to produce 1,000 bags and 500 pouches over the span of eight months. And they did it all by recycling used plastic bags.

New Yorkers Fight Back Against Airbnb Renters

by Jessica Festa on

While many travelers enjoy the benefits of using budget-friendly vacation rental sites like Airbnb, residents of New York are growing angrier over the service. The main reason for the unhappiness is when people use sites like Airbnb, they are supporting a sharing economy, meaning the need to make purchases is eliminated and instead people share.

So, what’s the big deal? Sharing is caring, isn’t it? Maybe, but it also disrupts the current economic situation. Moreover, renters are able to get around many legal issues this way.

According to the New York Times, certain residents of Stuyvesant, New York, are angry about the leniency given to this new generation of renters, who seem to be able to do anything they please when it comes to renting. In fact, many are searching Airbnb and similar sites to try to find neighbors who are taking part to rat them out and raise complaints to officials. Certain issues upsetting them include excess noise, mess, bed bugs and the safety concerns that come along with having a complete stranger in the building. Additionally, many of those renting out their apartments aren’t legally allowed to be doing so.

A solution to this problem is still being figured out. For now, legislators and business bureaus are working with these companies to find a middle ground that will satisfy all parties.

What’s your opinion?

[Image via zoetnet]

Artist Campaigns To Convert Abandoned Detroit Neighborhood Into A Zombie Theme Park

by Jessica Festa on



While Detroit, Michigan, doesn’t exactly have the best reputation when it comes to safety and quality of life, Mark Siwak wants to help change that. The artist has made a request on Indiegogo, asking for help with a new idea to turn an abandoned Detroit neighborhood into a usable zombie theme park.

The project, called “Z World Detroit,” will make constructive use of homes and buildings that have been left behind. Because of the rundown atmosphere of these neglected urban areas, the idea wouldn’t even be difficult to pull off. The only other thing really necessary would be some zombie actors. Additionally, it will bring a quirky, new attraction to a city that is often looked down upon by visitors.

“The Z World Detroit initiative is a radical rethinking of urban redevelopment and Detroit’s well-documented blight and de-population,” reads the Indiegogo page. “It turns perceived liabilities into assets that will bring a renewed vitality to a struggling neighborhood.”According to Digital Trends, the way the theme park would work would be like a giant game. Players would run and hide from zombies, try to find food and supplies and try to find other survivors. Each player would wear a certain number of patches, which would get torn off one by one during each zombie encounter. Once all the patches were gone, the player would join the zombie team. Zombies could also be eliminated once their patches were ripped off, and there would be opportunities to collect extra patches during the game.

At this point, Siwak is just trying to collect initial funding for the concept. The goal is to raise $145,000 by August 25, 2012, at 11:59 p.m. Currently, the project has raised $8,106. To donate click here. To learn more about the project, check out the video above.

Reducing Your Slavery Footprint

by Laurel Miller on

Despite my awareness of sweatshops, I was shocked while flipping through the July issue of Marie Clare on a recent flight, when I came across an article entitled, “What’s Your Slavery Footprint?”

According to slaveryfootprint.org, (which is backed by the U.S. State Department), there are up to 27 million slaves worldwide, many of whom work in the mining and agriculture industries. The result? A lot of our everyday household goods, including shoes, cosmetics, and toiletries, raw materials for cars, and the seafood industry utilize slave labor.

Some of the worst offenders include China, parts of Southeast Asia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (definition: irony) and India. You can actually add up the “slave footprint” in your home by utilizing the website, or by downloading its “Free World” app, which also enables you to send letters of protest to major chain stores known to use products made with slave labor. You can also make donations to Slavery Footprint to help enslaved workers.

As Alison Kiehl Friedman, deputy director of the U.S. State Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, says in Marie Claire, “[businesses] should be transparent in their practices.” We all need to pick our battles when it comes to purchasing power, but it’s fascinating, as well as chilling, to find out just how much of what we own is made using forced labor. Knickknacks for thought.

[Photo credit: Flickr user stevendepolo]

Liquids Surrendered At Airport Security: Is There An Afterlife?

by Laurel Miller on

Ever looked at the mountain of liquids (or, in my case, that luscious, unopened jar of dulce de leche, and countless yogurts) accumulated at airport security and wondered where they end up? Yeah, me too. I’ve always hoped they go to charity and the water bottles recycled, because I have a bit of an idealist streak beneath my jaded exterior.

Our friend Andy Bender over at Forbes helped get to the bottom of this tricky question, and the answers are somewhat surprising. Rather than being palmed by greasy-haired or hungry TSA agents (cause for immediate termination), large airports divvy up the booty by category and dispose of it accordingly, although smaller volume airports may just lump it as trash.

If you lie awake nights pondering the fate of your spendy conditioner or lotion, here’s the breakdown:

  • Liquids are sorted by type (sunscreen, shampoo, alcohol, contact lens solution, etc.) and emptied into hazmat barrels, which are then collected by waste management companies. They’re disposed of according to environmental regulations (Forbes reports that “water-based solutions are sent to a waste water treatment facility or waste energy recovery facility aka trash-to-stream plant.”
  • Alcohol ends up being treated at fuel-blending facilities because it’s flammable.
  • Large quantities of bottles are “chipped” and recycled, but not smaller volumes, which go to the landfill.

For more information on current regulations taking liquids in carry-on, click here. And here’s a tip: by carrying a refillable water bottle, you help reduce the 1.5 million barrels of oil required for U.S. plastic water bottle production each year.

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[Photo credit: Flickr user stevendepolo]