Wednesday, November 21, 2018

How to recycle your clothes

What to do with old clothes? Some are technically wearable - but waay out of fashion, or getting a bit old. Some are beyond wearing. What can I do that isn't adding to landfill?

Now there's a recycle option. One that comes with rewards.

How to recycl your clothes

Drop-off at H&M stores

Fashion store H&M has a zero waste goal for the clothes (and other textiles) that you drop off in their recycle stations. So far they've taken in the equivalent of 89 million T-shirts for their Rewear, Reuse, Recycle process.

Rewear

Clothing that can be reworn is sent overseas for second-hand use.

Reuse

Textiles no longer suitable to wear are converted into product such as cleaning cloths.

Recycle

Textiles that can't be reused are recycled into textile fibres or used to manufacture products such as insulation materials.

Reward

For each bag of used textiles they'll give you a discount voucher. Mine was 15% off your next item. It may vary for different places or countries. If you don't need it, why not pass it on. It's a chance to brighten the day of a random shopper.

What to do

Up the back of the shop, look for a recycle station like this one.

H&M clothes recycle station

To get your voucher, talk to a staff member first. For more information see H&M Recycle your clothes or their partner Ico-spirit.

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Renewable Energy: Who's winning and how?

Here in Australia, states are stepping up to embrace the future of renewable energy. So who's doing the best?

Which states are doing best at renewable energy? This graphic shows Tasmania, the ACT and South Australia leading the way.

In 2018 Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and South Australia are judged to be the leaders. Let's look at why:

Tasmania

Leading the nation with 87% renewable energy in 2017, Tasmania is an obvious front-runner.

Australian Capital Territory

The ACT has a goal of 100% renewable energy by 2020 - just two years from now - and look to be on track to get there. Their government is also providing battery grants to households to help store solar energy for later use.

South Australia

Already at 43% renewable energy, South Australia has the largest energy battery in the country and is planning more. The forecast is that they'll have about 73% within 2 years.

The sunshine state?

My home state of Queensland is listed as "catching up" with a 50% renewable energy target (for 2030). We have the nation's highest percentage of homes with solar, though this is more because of the great weather rather than any government action.

Other snippets

69 wind and solar plants are under construction in Australia right now - creating almost 10,000 jobs.

These projects will add seven times the capacity of the now-closed Hazelwood coal power station.

Of the 69 renewable energy projects, Queensland has the most with 20. (Vic 19, NSW 18)

There are now 26 suburbs where the majority of homes have solar. 19 of these suburbs are in Queensland.

Queensland and Victoria are home to 65% of renewable energy jobs

What's happening globally?

Last year more solar PV capacity was added than coal, natural gas and nuclear combined.

Almost three-quarters of new energy generation capacity is renewable.

Electricity generation from coal and gas fell for the fifth year in a row.

17 countries generated more than 90% of their electricity with renewable energy.

Find out more

You can see the Climate Council's full scorecard and report to get all and details.

Monday, November 05, 2018

New store new (recycled) frames

Dresden's new store opens in Brisbane tomorrow, 6 November. I've been in touch with them and here's a sneak preview of the new (recycled) frames they will launch when the Brisbane store opens.



And of course, they are also available as prescription sunglasses.


I'm told they're made out of recycled wood fibre. Not 100% sure what that means, but I'm sure there'll be more details when they're officially launched.

Where can I get them?

The Brisbane store will be at 4/173 Boundary Street, West End. Their number is 3846 5958.

What else do they have?

They also have a limited-edition range of frames "made of money". Yes, they're literally made from recycled off-cuts and waste from the polymer banknotes.

Any normal glasses?

There's also the standard range of frames made from coloured recyclable plastic. These ones have interchangeable arms so you can mix and match your colours. It's like lego for your face ;)