Somebody at the ecovillage, I visited in summer, said to me:
“It’s sad how we take nutrients from the earth and
rather than giving them back we waste precious drinking water (see toilets) or fill dump sites.”
Good point, I thought.
Shortly after that I got introduced to wormeries and decided that this was my chance of giving back (a little).. What is a wormery?
“A Wormery is a box system that contains composting worms .. [and] .. is an easy, convenient, environmentally-friendly and efficient way of turning your waste kitchen scraps into high quality super-rich compost all the year round.”
For a normal compost one would need a garden, but the good thing about a wormery is, that it can be done indoors as well, in fact the worms work best at temperatures between 14-25° Celcius. I don’t really need all that earth, but some friends already expressed an interest in it and I bet the trees on my street will be happy takers as well.
So how do you get started?
Get 2 opaque boxes and a lid (In my case I use another box as the lid). Of course you can also buy wormeries in stores, but they are rather expensive (over 100EUR I was told)
Punch holes into one of the boxes and the lid. The box with no holes will be at the bottom, this is where very nutritious water (leachate) released in the process will be collected. The lid needs to have holes, so the worms can breathe.
Fill the box with the holes with a mix of 2-3cm shredded newspaper and cardboard. (I just teared it into small pieces.)
Get some worms and place them on top of the shredded paper mix. (Worms come with the compost they currently live in and can be picked up here for free)
Add some organic waste, approximately the amount of the compost with the worms. (Do not use orange peels or anything cooked.)
Cover with a sheet of wet newspaper (this will keep flies from enjoying the waste)
Leave the compost to itself for 1-2weeks. The worms have to get used to their new environment.
Now you can start adding more organic waste. Remember to always cover it to keep out flies (If you don’t like the newspaper approach a cotton towel can be used as well.)
Questions? Check out this FAQ or comment on this post.
How often did it happen that we have to send a video file to our client that takes hours to upload.
And that while the client is just a 20min drive away. But of course everyone is on the way to a meeting it’s rush hours so even a taxi courier couldn’t solve the issue. And of course it should have been delivered yesterday.
Pedalbxl is a solution to such a situation here in Brussels. And not only quick but also green. The company offers delivery services by bicycle. Not only cost effective but also fast and reliable since the common traffic trap in rush hour times can be avoided. A nice concept really.
About half the worlds population needs to battle with Red River Indians each month – some turn moody, some schedule vacations around it others just have a little bit less energy. You still don’t know what I am talking about? Maybe monthly flow, period or menstruation mean more to you.
Now why exactly would this be a topic for a blog on mainly environmental issues?
Unless you use washable towels, having your period produces waste: pads, tampons. Also these things can be quite pricy and when travelling to certain countries your preferred choice might not even be available. So when I heard about this thing called mooncup, I really liked the idea and thought maybe you would be interested in hearing about it as well!
What is it?
“The Mooncup is a reusable menstrual cup around two inches long and made from soft silicone rubber.” (Mooncup UK)
It claims to be better for your health as well as it does not introduce any chemicals or will leave fibres behind. Personally I never had this problem, but glad to hear it! Anyway, so you buy it once, use it for up to 15 years, you need to clean it, but this can be done with toilet paper and water and once in a while boiling it in water might be a good idea.
Here is a list of some companies where you can buy this product. Note it comes in different prices, but some will last longer than others: Mooncup, Keeper, Divacup, Lunetteinfo
To be honest, when I first heard of Paris’ Velib bikes, I was a bit amused. Especially when I heard that they actually use trucks to pick up bikes in the lower areas of the city to drop bring them to empty stations that are further up the hills. How ecological is this really?
When I actually tried them I changed my mind.
Fair enough: Not everyone apreciates their Velibs as much as its inventors might have dreamt of -quite some of the bikes you find at Velib stations are damaged and with a big group of people it is difficult to find enough bikes. Also it is not easy to find parking space for many people since each station has a limited amount of stations.
The basic concept however seems to work. There are plenty of Velib stations all over Paris, prices are affordable and you can get your Velib subscription via your metro pass. Even some of the detail has been thought of: If you want to park at a station that is already full, you can get 15min for free to find an alternative station. Something we can currently only dream of in Brussels.
I’ve heard there are similar systems in other cities around the globe (e.g. Geneva). Let me know in case you’ve got experiences with similar systems!
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It looks like Brussels is catching up as well!
on May 16th Brussels’ new bike rental system Villo has been introduced. Has anyone had experiences with the bikes so far?
The Teekampagne (tea campaign) is quite a simple concept. Günther Faltin (professor for entrepreneurship in Germany & founder of the tea campaign) asked himself: why is tea affordable in China but so expensive in Europe? › Continue reading
Yes, I get a vegetable box! Every week someone comes by my house and drops off a box full of local, healthy & organic vegetables. Hmmmm!
But there is one problem: How do I prepare this special local type of salad? And what about this vegetable? I’ve never seen this before and can’t even find it on Wiki or Google. If I don’t even know what it is, how should I find a recipy to prepare it?
The sustainable dance club is a brand created to promote sustainability in the clubbing scene.
What sounds like a complete contradictury in itself is a smart concept that combines an inspiring brand with a technological solution to generate energy with the vibration of the dance floor.
Watch the video below to find out more on how this project was developed! Interesting to see how some people have transformed their passions into a sustainable business idea:
Have you ever dreamt about a garden on top of your house? Why not install a green roof that does not only provide green space but also the perfect isolation?
Here an example from Building Green TV: Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, Texas, United States
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