There is something so fascinating about miniature worlds and peering down from above and imagining all the intricate daily happenings of the tiny people who live there. What if that tiny world was made up of re-purposed kitchen and hardware items that were forged together in some sort of crazy modern industrial architectural style? Well, that’s what David Trautrimas did with his amazing series of digital photographs “Habitat Machines.” His body of work is both exciting and inspiring with retro lines, cool metal finishes and are the ultimate in recycled materials.

Read the rest of Habitat Machines: David Trautrimas’s Amazing Art

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Post tags: Art, artefact art, david trautrimas, digital photography, eco-art, gadget art, green art, Habitat Machines, kitchen appliances, kitchen gadgets, models, Photography, recycled, recycled gadget art, repurpose, vintage gadget art, Waste reduction

The small Australian town of Bundanoon just set a new standard for sustainability by voting to do what no community has ever done before: ban bottled water! The measure was founded over concerns about the tremendous amount of resources used to extract, package, and transport bottled water, and it passed nearly unanimously in a town hall meeting. Will this be the beginning of a trend?

Read the rest of Australian Town Bans Bottled Water

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Post tags: australian town bans bottled water, bottled water ban, no more water bottles, public policy, Waste reduction

People wandering the streets of Philadelphia may be surprised to see brand new solar-studded trash cans being installed on the sidewalks. These new landfill-crunching compacting bins are entirely powered by the sun and are able to accept close to eight times as much waste as a regular trash can. Pretty cool, we thought – especially once we found out that they are calling the new bins Big Bellys and that they stand to save the city close to 12 million dollars over 10 years!

Read the rest of Philadelphia Rolls Out Solar-Powered Trash Compactors

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Post tags: alternative energy, big belly, green design, green technology, philadelphia, solar compacting trash cans, sustainable design, Waste reduction

Designer Nicolas Cheng of Studioroom906 is presenting this beautiful set of stationary made from recycled eggshells at the Milan Furniture Fair this week. In his “Childhood Memories” collection, Cheng uses wasted eggshells that undergo a “high pressure technique” to create a new material that utilizes the existing proteins and mineral crystals from the shells. 100 recycled eggshells are used per set which includes a pencil, pencil holder, eraser and A5 paper.

Read the rest of Recycled Eggshell Stationary by Nicolas Cheng

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Post tags: green design, milan furniture fair 2009, nicolas cheng, recycled eggshell stationary, Recycled Materials, studioroom906, sustainable design, Waste reduction

When we kicked off our Spring Greening DIY Design Contest we didn’t expect our intrepid innovators to take the call literally! We’re thoroughly impressed that Rodrigo Jaroseski of Porto Alegre, Brazil did just that and fashioned a remarkable corrugated coffee table out of several old phone books. Everyone seems to have a couple of these outdated directories collecting dust somewhere – every year in the United States alone 500 million directories are printed, and the E.P.A. estimates that they account for nearly 5% of total landfill waste. By carefully folding and gluing together the pages of several phonebooks, Rodrigo created an inspired re-use for these antiquated tree-pulp products. If you’re a fan of this design, cast your vote below!

VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE SPRING GREENING DESIGN >

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Post tags: corrugated recycled paper, diy design, green design, phone book table, recycled paper table, rodrigo Jaroseski phone directory table, spring greening diy contest, sustainable design, Waste reduction

Calling all crafty Inhabitat readers!
Win $200 in our DIY Spring Greening Contest!

Our Spring Greening Contest is almost over, and there is just ONE DAY LEFT to enter our fabulous competition! To enter, simply send in your best example of refurbished, recycled, or reclaimed design. We’ll be featuring our favorite entries in an online voting competition next week, and the winner will receive all of the fortune and fame of being showcased on Inhabitat in addition to a $200 gift certificate to the Inhabitat Shop! So break out that dusty dresser or busted chair, give it a brand new life, slap on a fresh coat of (eco-friendly) paint, and let it shine for a chance to win!

The deadline for submissions is TOMORROW, March 27th at 11:59 pm EST

All you have to do to enter the contest is:
1. Sign up for the inhabitat newsletter
2. Send a photo and description of your project to editor at inhabitat.com

Read the rest of SPRING GREENING CONTEST: 1 Day Left!!

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Post tags: inhabitat spring recycling contest, Inhabitat spring reuse contest, Recycled Materials, refinish, repurpose, reuse, Spring Cleaning and greening Contest, spring cleaning contest, sustainable design, Waste reduction

Calling all crafty Inhabitat readers!
Win $200 in our DIY Spring Greening Contest!

Our Spring Greening Contest is running strong after a refreshing weekend of creative submissions, and there’s still time left to submit your DIY designs! To enter, simply clean out your closets and remake your dusty old furnishings, appliances, and household items into inspired examples of found design. We’ll be featuring our favorite entries in an online voting competition next week, and the winner will receive all of the fortune and fame of being showcased on Inhabitat in addition to a $200 gift certificate to the Inhabitat Shop! So break out that dusty dresser or busted chair, give it a brand new life, slap on a fresh coat of (eco-friendly) paint, and let it shine for a chance to win!

The deadline for submissions is this Friday March 27th at 11:59 pm EST

All you have to do to enter the contest is:
1. Sign up for the inhabitat newsletter
2. Send a photo and description of your project to editor at inhabitat.com

Read the rest of SPRING GREENING CONTEST: 2 Days Left!!

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Post tags: inhabitat spring recycling contest, Inhabitat spring reuse contest, Recycled Materials, refinish, repurpose, reuse, Spring Cleaning and greening Contest, spring cleaning contest, sustainable design, Waste reduction

Calling all crafty Inhabitat readers!
Win $200 in our DIY Spring Greening Contest!

Our Spring Greening Contest is running strong after a refreshing weekend of creative submissions, and there’s still time left to submit your DIY designs! To enter, simply clean out your closets and remake your dusty old furnishings, appliances, and household items into inspired examples of found design. We’ll be featuring our favorite entries in an online voting competition next week, and the winner will receive all of the fortune and fame of being showcased on Inhabitat in addition to a $200 gift certificate to the Inhabitat Shop! So break out that dusty dresser or busted chair, give it a brand new life, slap on a fresh coat of (eco-friendly) paint, and let it shine for a chance to win!

The deadline for submissions is this Friday March 27th at 11:59 pm EST

All you have to do to enter the contest is:
1. Sign up for the inhabitat newsletter
2. Send a photo and description of your project to editor at inhabitat.com

Read the rest of SPRING GREENING CONTEST: 4 Days Left to Enter!

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Post tags: found design, green design, Inhabitat Spring Green Contest, inhabitat spring recycling contest, Inhabitat spring reuse contest, Recycled Materials, refinish, repurpose, reuse, Spring Cleaning and greening Contest, spring cleaning contest, sustainable design, Waste reduction

THIS FRIDAY IS THE FIRST DAY OF SPRING!!!

Can you tell we’re excited? We’re midway through March, the birds are chirping and we want to encourage you all to green your spring cleaning with our first ever Spring Greening Contest! We all have a few derelict furnishings, defunct appliances, and otherwise unused items collecting dust in the closet – rather than tossing them in the trash we want you to re-furbish, re-purpose, and re-think them into functional examples of DIY design. Send us a picture of your project and we’ll select our favorites for a round of online voting and chance to win some great prizes including a $200 gift certificate to the Inhabitat shop in addition to all of the fame and fortune of being showcased on Inhabitat. So break out that dusty dresser or busted chair, give it a brand new life, slap on a fresh coat of (eco-friendly) paint, and let it shine for a chance to win!

The deadline for submissions is Friday March 27th

All you have to do to enter is:
1. Sign up for the inhabitat newsletter
2. Send a photo and description of your project to editor at inhabitat.com

Read the rest of Inhabitat Spring Greening Contest!

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Post tags: found design, Green Appliances, green design, green furniture, heirloom design, refurbish, reuse, spring cleaning contest, sustainable design, Waste reduction

What if you could refuel your car at a restaurant instead of a gas station? Some enterprising environmentalists have discovered that restaurants will gladly give away their used fryer oil, since they usually have to pay to dispose of it. This oil can be filtered and used to run cars and trucks that have been converted to run on vegetable oil. Your exhaust might smell like fries (no joke), but you’ll be recycling, emitting up to 70% less CO2, and saving yourself some money.

Read the rest of FRY POWER: How to Convert Your Car to Run on Vegetable Oil

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Post tags: biodiesel conversion, green design, sustainable design, sustainable transportation, vegetable oil biodiesel, vegetable oil car, veggie oil conversion, Waste reduction

One of our favorite entries from this year’s Greener Gadgets Design Competition is Francesco Biasci’s Cardboard Computer Case, which aims to ameliorate the perpetual problem of consumer e-waste. Built from the ground up with recycled cardboard, the case offers a simple, chic and customizable alternative to metal computer cases that must be disposed of every two to five years.

Read the rest of The Recycled Cardboard Computer Case Eliminates E-Waste

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Post tags: cardboard computer case, e-waste, Greener Gadgets, greener gadgets design competition, recyclable materials, recycled cardboard computer case, sustainable design, Waste reduction

For those of you who enjoy a cup of joe with your morning paper, the RITI Coffee printer offers an ingenious way to green your morning ritual: by turning your old coffee grounds into a sustainable source of ink for your printer! One of fifty top entries in this year’s Greener Gadgets Competition, the RITI printer takes the leftover grounds from your morning roast and plugs them into an ink cartridge to create an eco-friendly source of ink. Who would have ever guessed coffee stains could be be so useful!

Read the rest of RITI Coffee Printer Uses Your Coffee Grounds for Eco Ink!

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Post tags: green design, green electronics, green gadgets, Greener Gadgets, Ink Cartridges, Printing with Coffee, RITI Printer, sustainable design, Waste reduction

These days it’s important to consider the environmental impact of our actions when we buy certain things – gasoline, for example. There will come a time when people realize that everything we consume has an environmental impact, but for now, certain goods fly under the radar. Who knew, for example, that Maker’s Mark is blazing the trail for ecologically friendly distilleries? We caught up with Master Distiller Kevin Smith to get the scoop on the company’s sustainable initiatives.

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Post tags: eco friendly distillery, green design, is it green, maker's mark energy generation facility, maker's mark whiskey, renewable energy, sustainable design, Waste reduction

Energizer has worked hard to brand and market itself as the go-to battery for rechargeable reuse by offering many nifty little recharging gadgets to power up your AA and AAA batteries. At CES this week, Energizer debuted its latest green gadget, the Solar Battery Recharger. While we all love our Solios, if you wanted to charge batteries you still had to buy a battery charger that drains energy from the grid. This solar charger removes the step, allowing you to charge both AA and AAA batteries with renewable energy.

Read the rest of CES 2009: Energizer Debuts a Solar Battery Charger

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Post tags: "energy efficiency", energizer solar battery recharger, green design, green gadget, renewable energy, sustainable design, Waste reduction

We love the holidays for their wealth of wonderful traditions and decor designed to spread cheer, however we can’t help but feel sorry for all of those living christmas trees that are abandoned after the holiday season. Fortunately, there’s a wealth of resources that offer great eco-friendly ways to recycle your Christmas tree once its needles start to shed. From landscape restoration to making toys for children and saving lives with vaccines, check out Inhabitots for the full scoop!

READ MORE AT INHABITOTS >

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Post tags: composting, holiday gift giving, holiday gift guide, inhabitots xmas tree recycling, pine tree, recycle christmas tree, Waste reduction