Japanese inventor Akinori Ito has developed a way to turn plastic, styrofoam and other similar types of trash into usable fuel with a small tabletop machine – the Delorean from Back to the Future comes to mind.

Plastic bags are horrible for the environment, clogging landfills for hundreds of years; polluting lakes, rivers and streams; becoming tangled in trees, bushes and even entangling wildlife.

The result is an efficient conversion process that does not pollute and can process polyethylene, polystyrene and polypropylene, converting two pounds into a quart of oil using just a kilowatt of power. It is being billed as a carbon-negative solution to energy needs.

Essentially, the device changes plastic bags back to their original state: crude oil. Heat and electricity do the work and the results can power generators, stoves or be used as gasoline. The process is much less toxic and avoids CO2 as compared to burning it for fuel outright. Of course, the result is still likely going to get burned, but at the very least it means less oil needing extraction from the ground and a cheaper source of power for places in need.

The post Waste Not: Japanese Invention Turns Plastic Bags to Fuel first appeared on Gajitz.

A self-recycling stroke of design genius, this creative candlestick channels used wax into its base, the collected runoff automatically reconstituted into a fresh candle.

Designed by Benjamin Shine, Rekindle allows you to reuse the same wax up to eight times simply by suspending a fresh wick below and allowing the new candle to create itself while the old one above burns down.

Set on a base of stainless steel or anodized aluminum, a clear container lets you watch the magic happen. And while the effect is visually nifty, it is also highly functional, saving vital materials in emergency situations.

When the process finishes, one simply removes the surrounding container, turns it over, and starts it up again.

The post Rekindle: Perpetual Candle Reuses Wax, Burns at Both Ends first appeared on Gajitz.

Disposable drink containers are among the most ubiquitous waste generated by first-world populations. Some parts of the world have opted to charge deposits for drink containers: a few pennies which are refunded when you recycle the containers. In Australia, the container deposit plan is just starting to take shape, and they’ve implemented a clever way to encourage recycling.

“Cash for Containers” is a simple plan. You just take your empty cans and bottles to reverse vending machines. When you put a container in, you get vouchers, cash, or rewards. The machines let you choose your own reward – bus vouchers, movie tickets, chocolate bars, and various other choices.

Envirobank, the company behind the machines, hopes that the initiative will help Australians recycle much more of their waste. Cans and plastic bottles take hundreds of years to break down, so paying that extra 10 cents per drink and then getting rewarded for recycling the containers seems like an effective plan to keep huge amounts of garbage out of the landfill.

The post Reverse Vending: Machines Recycle Cans for Cash, Rewards first appeared on Gajitz.

It seems like our portable devices run out of energy just when we need a last little boost the most, hence this award-winning design to provide a jolt in dire situations.

Lightweight, mobile and recyclable, the Mini Power battery comes in three different sizes corresponding to the estimated extra life held within each: 2 hours, 4 hours or 6 hours.

Developed by Tsung Chih-Hsien, the idea is to provide people with something easy to carry but likewise simple to purchase on the go from corner stores and ultimately disposable for ease of (re)use. The concept earned its creator a Red Dot Design award but remains a conceptual prototype for now.

The post Emergency Power: Paper Micro-Batteries for Mobile Phones first appeared on Gajitz.