Japanese drivers can now drive up to sewage treatment centers and fill up their rides with biogas-based hyrodgen, thanks to a new toilet-to-tank initiative, the first of its kind in the world.

The methane and carbon dioxide piped into the first operational plant (more in the works) are being turned into usable fuel thanks to a grant from the government of Japan. The first such station is open for 12 hours a day, a prototype for a more expansive program. Landfills, animal manure and industrial facilities could all help in the effort to generate more hydrogen for the country’s cars.

“Sewage sludge is completely untapped today as a fuel source,” said Yoshikazu Tanaka, chief engineer of the Toyota Mirai. “We believe it’s very promising and would bring ultimate self-sustainability to communities.”

The government, meanwhile, is also pushing hydrogen-powered cars with fuel cell subsidies, which Toyota and other manufacturers are using as incentives to ramp up production. “After years of chicken-and-egg debate about which should come first, the cars or the stations to support them, the numbers of both are mushrooming.”

“Japan now has about 80 stations operating, and Germany has 50. In California, 20 retail hydrogen stations are now open, making it possible to drive from the Mexican border to far Northern California, and another 16 are slated to come online this year, according to the California Fuel Cell Partnership.”

The post Flush & Fuel: Drivers Can Gas Up at Sewage Plants in Japan first appeared on Gajitz.

Upcycling rarely looks so sleek as it does in this collaborative project between a shoe company and ocean artist collective, which uses plastic bottles and nets to make fun new footwear.

Stitched together with fishing nets, these shoes by Parley for the Oceans and Adidas are part of a 50-pair prototype run. Each shoe is made of over a dozen plastic bottles.

The trash is collected, spun into fiber and turned into high-performance shoes. The trick is to scrub that fishy smell out of the nets before using it to stitch sneakers.

Parley partners with marine nations like the Maldives, Grenada and Jamaica to clean up fisheries and oceanfronts, teaching locals to gather, recycle and reuse plastic waste.

The post Old Fish Nets Used to Stitch Ocean Waste into Cool New Shoes first appeared on Gajitz.

The Seabin looks deceptively like an ordinary rubbish bin on first glance, but is designed to float in lakes, harbors and marinas, sifting the waters and capturing debris and polluting liquids in a bag.

The design is made to work all day every day and throughout the year, hovering at the surface of the water and plugged into a shore-side water pump.

The system sucks water and waste into the bin then lets it back out the bottom. Oil separators can be added to the natural fiber bag to sift for both solids and liquids. A single operator can periodically empty the bag.

The bins are highly portable and relatively inexpensive, making them a great solution for local water purification. Right now they remain prototypes, but have been funded for further development.

From its makers: “We have designed and made an automated rubbish bin that catches floating rubbish, oil, fuel and detergents. It designed for floating docks in the water of marinas, private pontoons, inland waterways, residential lakes, harbours, water ways, ports and yacht clubs. Can even be fitted to super yachts and motor yachts!”

The post Floating Seabin: Oceanic Garbage Can Sucks Down Waste first appeared on Gajitz.

Fueled by crowdfunding and pre-orders, this self-contained domestic waste-repurposing unit can produce enough gas for a 2 to 4 hours of cooking as well as 5 to 8 liters of liquid fertilizer daily, all using organic scraps.

A complete system for sustainable recycling, HomeBiogas is the product of an Israeli startup and aimed at homeowners who want to something faster and more versatile in its outputs than traditional composting provides, using anything from animal waste to kitchen leftovers. The resulting organic fuel may not power your flying, time-traveling Delorean but it can sure help around the house.

While it will work as well in the suburbs as anywhere, the system may have particular appeal for those living off-the-grid in remote places, where bringing in fertilizers and fuels may be costly or difficult and sustainable strategies can save both time and money.

The the unit can convert just one kilogram of food waste into about 200 liters (7 cubic feet) of gas, more than enough to fuel an hour’s worth of cooking. At 88 pounds and a few feet long, it isn’t tiny but is still relatively portable (and well-suited to people with rural plots). The retail cost: $1,500 (or $900 presale), but like solar or wind power installations, the presumption is that the system will pay back for itself over time.

The post Backyard Biofuel: Home Converter Reuses Organic Waste first appeared on Gajitz.

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.