Spy chips hidden in 2.5 MILLION dustbins: 60pc rise in electronic bugs as council snoopers plan pay-as-you-throw tax

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The Hidden Life of Garbage (with video)

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Toxic Wastes and Haiti

Jan. 23, 2010 Two decades ago, the garbage barge, the Khian Sea, with no place in the U.S. willing to accept its garbage, left the territorial waters of the United States and began circling the oceans in search of a country willing to accept its cargo: 14,000 tons of toxic incinerator ash. First it went to the Bahamas, then to the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Bermuda, Guinea Bissau and the Netherlands Antilles.. » read more

Capt. Charles Moore on the seas of plastic (with video)

Jan. 12, 2010 Mar 12 2009: First solution: complete redesign of the worlds drainage systems. It's high time we realised as a species many of our current systems are dumb. We failed. That's ok, but lets change and lets get on it.. » read more

H&M and Wal-Mart destroy and trash unsold goods

Jan. 7, 2010 This week the New York Times reported a disheartening story about two of the largest retail chains. You see, instead of taking unsold items to sample sales or donating them to people in need, H&M and Wal-Mart have been throwing them out in giant trash bags. And in the case that someone may stumble on these bags and try to keep or re-sell the items, these companies have gone ahead and slashed up garments, cut off the sleeves of coats, and sliced holes in shoes so they are unwearable.   Cynthia Magnus holds up unworn, destroyed clothing she found in the garbage.. » read more

Indigent Burials Are on the Rise

Oct. 11, 2009 Coroners and medical examiners across the country are reporting spikes in the number of unclaimed bodies and indigent burials, with states, counties and private funeral homes having to foot the bill when families cannot. The increase comes as governments short on cash are cutting other social service programs, with some municipalities dipping into emergency and reserve funds to help cover the costs of burials or cremations. Mark Lyons for The New York Times Don Catchen, a funeral director, wiping off a small marker after a recent burial in Kentucky. Oregon, for example, has seen a 50 percent increase in the number of unclaimed bodies over the past few years, the majority left by families who say they cannot afford services.. » read more

Detroit: Too Broke to Bury Their Dead

Money to bury Detroit's poor has dried up, forcing struggling families to abandon their loved ones in the morgue freezer. Oct. 1, 2009 DETROIT (CNNMoney.com) -- At 1300 E. Warren St.. » read more

Story of Stuff, Full Version; How Things Work, About Stuff

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Americans Use Bathroom Tissue from Non-Renewable Trees

July 15, 2009 (NaturalNews) Environmentalists are increasingly pushing for people in the United States to change their toilet paper buying habits, in recognition of the fact that the soft, fluffy toilet paper widely preferred in the United States for home use can only be made by logging wild forests throughout the Western Hemisphere. "No forest of any kind should be used to make toilet paper," said Allen Hershkowitz of the Natural Resource Defense Council. Toilet paper can easily be made from recycled paper, but only at the cost of a coarser final product. Manufacturers admit that the primary factor that keeps them making toilet paper out of freshly cut trees is the fact that standing trees yield longer fibers than recycled material does. Longer fibers, in turn, make for softer, fluffier toilet paper.. » read more

Australian Town Bans Bottled Water

A remote town in south-eastern Australia has become the first place in the world to ban bottled water. July 8, 2009 Bundanoon, located in the picturesque Southern Highlands of New South Wales and boasts a population of just 2,000, voted by a huge majority in favour of the move with a show of hands at a public meeting. Huw Kingston, a local businessman and organiser, said almost 400 people turned up to the Bundanoon Memorial Hall, with only two casting dissenting votes. Bottled water: Shops in the town will now be banned from stocking and selling bottled water and filtered water fountains will be placed on Bundanoon's main street Photo: GETTY "It was the biggest ever turnout in the community here at Bundanoon – it's overwhelming support,'' he said. "We can now continue with our route of making Bundanoon Australia's first bottled water-free town.. » read more

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