How to Make Garbage Enzyme

Black sugar is one of the ingredients needed for making garbage enzyme.

This kitchen waste is another ingredient used for the production of garbage enzyme.

These bottles contain kitchen waste with black sugar and water. Fermentation will take place in the bottles for 3 months. Then after filtration and removal of the residue, garbage enzyme is obtained. The residue can be used again for a new batch of production by adding fresh garbage. The residue can also be dried, then blended and buried in the ground as a fertilizer.

These bottles of garbage enzyme are ready for use.

Mushroom Cities: Tropical Urban Rainforests

Mushroom Cities: Tropical Urban Rainforests
by Evelyn Lee

As cities stretch to accommodate the world’s skyrocketing population, loyal Inhabitat followers are surely familiar with skyscrapers and other vertical solutions to cope with urban densification. Still, an urban ecology modeled after the rainforest, complete with towering mushroom high-rises, is sure to raise some eyebrows. Designed for the heart of Sentul, Kuala Lumpur, TROPICOOL @ KL envisions a series of self-sustaining mushroom skyscrapers that incorporate natural energy sources, rainwater harvesting, and bio-mass support for off-the-grid living in a truly green environment.

A play upon the symbiotic nature of organisms thriving in the rainforest, TROPICOOL @ KL envisions a series of symbiotic energy-generating skyscrapers modeled after mushrooms. These tropical trees of life provide housing and recreational facilities while mimicking the five layers found within a tropical rainforest: the overstory, the canopy, the understory, the shrub layer, and the forest floor.

The structure’s circular tops are composed of miniature solar panels that provide a power source while mimicking the process of photosynthesis that takes place in rainforest canopies. Scattered throughout the branches of the mushroom tops are dwellings modeled after the Malaysian vernacular, offering living within the “rural fabric” of nature. Although definitely a work in progress, the idea of bringing a crazy rainforest canopy into the city is a novel one, and one worth considering as we chart the future of our urban environments.

+ Tropicool @ CL

Via Ecofriend

Blight: Illuminating Solar Blinds Turn Night to Day

Blight: Illuminating Solar Blinds Turn Night to Day
by Mike Chino

One of fifty top entries in this year’s Greener Gadgets Design Competition, Vincent Gerkens’ Blight offers a brilliant twist on staid venetian blinds. Rather than serving simply to block the sun’s rays, the design re-envisions blinds as sun-soaking solar panels that store energy during the day and illuminate your interiors at night.

Named after a combination of the words “blind” and “light”, Blight creates a seamless link between the indoors and the outdoors, storing sunlight during the day and giving it back at night. The smart design takes advantage of the large surface area of extended venetian blinds by lining each panel with flexible solar cells. Once night falls, stored energy is transfered to a layer of electroluminescent foil, which provides energy-efficient light.

Gerkens states: “With Blight we have not produced a new object; we have just created the design of an everlasting product: the Venetian blind. We use all the current functions of this object and add a little technology to give it a new function - to catch solar energy and convert it into electricity.”

There’s lots more innovative eco gadgets to check out, so head over to the to the Greener Gadgets website to see all 50 entries! And remember, we’ll be awarding $5000 to the top three designs so be sure to vote for your favorite!

+ Blight

+ Greener Gadgets Design Competition

EcoCoon Retreats

EcoCoon Retreats

by Alexandra Kain

Lofted high above in the trees, Mathier Collos’ EcoCoon retreats are a conceptual design for prefabricated housing. Each of the London-based architect’s cocoon-like pod is outfitted with an array of sustainable features including rainwater collection, a greywater system, and biomass heating. And depending on the type of tree used and the tree branching density, solar panels can also be integrated to help make these pods as eco-sensitive as possible. The two-story, split-level retreats can comfortably accommodate two adults or a small family and larger models may be able to act as a small, quaint hostel with several guests.

The cocoon is supported by steel suspension cables that are attached to the tree’s stronger branches above. With the tree trunk running through the center of the cocoon, the trunk naturally acts as a hand rail and central divider between the home’s triangular shaped spaces. The polygonal-shaped panels of the EcoCoon make the structure easily assembled on site. Each made of pre-insulated materials with high thermal resistance, the panels are designed to make the interior more comfortable without using a ton of resources.

Much like other retreats, the EcoCoons allow its inhabitants to re-connect to nature. On each level of the shelters, one panel is hinged so it can open up into a terrace while smaller, fixed windows give residents a chance to peek out into the surrounding nature.

via designboom

Enzyme Basics

Quite a good video. Ignore the ad inside as I am not promoting it and I do not know about the products. :)

The bioeconomy at work: renewable products from palm empty fruit bunches

Palm oil may have a bad reputation for the role it plays in tropical deforestation, but is definitely here to stay, as the industry is highly profitable and offers a ready replacement for petroleum products, prices of which will keep rising. However, in order to limit the expansion of plantations, it is crucial to get the most out of each hectare of the plantations that already exist. One way to do so is by recuperating the vast waste-streams that result from the processing of palm fruits. If these waste streams can be turned into value-added products, the pace of the expansion of new plantations may be somewhat slowed down.

For each tonne of crude palm oil (CPO) produced from fresh fruit bunches, the following 'waste' products become available: around 6 tonnes of waste palm fronds, 1 ton of palm trunks (after a life-cycle of 25 years per tree, and at 150 trees per hectare), 5 tons of empty fruit bunches (EFB, photo), 1 ton of press fiber (from the mesocarp of the fruit), half a ton of palm kernel endocarp, 250kg of palm kernel press cake, and 100 tonnes of palm oil mill effluent (POME). In short, a palm oil plantation yields a vast stream of biomass that is currently not used in a productive way (earlier post). Often, it is burned in the open air, or left to settle in ponds where the degrading biomass emits methane.

Over the past few years, many research efforts have been undertaken to make use of these waste products. Some of those look at utilizing the biomass as an energy source for green electricity and power (to power palm oil mills) or as a feedstock for the production of second-generation biofuels. Others have shown that a whole range of bio-based products can be made from the residues - products such as renewable and biodegradable plastics, packaging, paper and specialty products such as geo-textiles.


Here are some of the actual products.

ECOMAT®

	ECOMAT® is a type of mulch mat made from natural fibre for soil protection and erosion control. The major raw material used in producing ECOMAT® is palm fibres derived from empty fruit bunches (palm biomass) and it is eco-friendly material. From the invention of Ecofibrex, a fibre shredder machine, EFB are then shredded into fibres. These palm fibres are raw materials for products such as mulching, pulp and paper, packaging material, fibreboard, flowerpot, etc. With this breakthrough technology, air and soil pollution be eliminated, chopping of trees be reduced thus preserving and creating a green and clean environment.
	Mulching Mulching is a method for soil conditioning. It helps with moisture retention in the soil, thereby enhancing its quality for healthier plant growth particularly in hot countries with long periods of dry weather. In addition, it retards growth of undesirable weeds, detrimental to plants. Traditionally, various materials have been utilized for mulching. These include empty fruit bunches (EFB) from oil palm, wood chippings, plastic mats etc.
	ECOMAT® Mulching ECOMAT® is made from oil palm fibres. The nature of it allows for free flow of water through to the ground whilst also acting as a protective layer. Uses ECOMAT® is suitable for various plants including oil palm, rubber, durian and other fruit trees. Why should we consider using ECOMAT®? Essentially, ECOMAT® enhances soil quality:
	What are the advantages of Ecomat® mulching? 1. Reduce labor cost, i.e. weeding and up keeping of plants; handling of EFB. 2. Reduction on fertilizers, i.e. more efficient utilization of fertilizer. Fertilizer concentration on mats and gradual release into soil improves optimal absorption for plants. Losses of fertilizer in the surrounding areas away from plants are minimized. 3. Reduction of transportation effort and cost as the mats are easy to handle, i.e. compact and lighter. 4. Reduction in chemical usage, e.g. weed - killers and insecticides for beetles, etc. 5. Health and safety of staff are not unnecessarily compromised as there is less need to handle weed - killers that can endanger their health and well - being. 6. Easier recovery of loose fruits on the mats.

EcoPak®

EcoPak® are made from natural oil palm fibres. Using the latest technology, machinery and human expertise, EcoPak® products were developed with the following distinctions: -

Natural Product Processed by organic means, EcoPak® products contain no harmful chemical additives and colorings and are toxic-free. Natural Fibre Color EcoPak® products possess contemporarily attractive natural fibre-color unseen in any other type of packaging materials, making it a pure and natural product that is easily accepted by the general public. Eco-friendly & Environmental Friendly EcoPak® products are biodegradable within a short period of time after disposal, turning it into natural soil-like fertilizer, unlike other substances like petroleum byproducts, it takes more than a decade to biodegrade and it is poisonous. Provides the Finest Qualities for Food Packaging EcoPak® products has been tested and proven to preserve freshness of foods, even after long hours of storage, making it the most ideal packaging material for all types of food. Suitable For All Types of Packaging EcoPak® technology enables the creation of light, strong and durable packaging materials suitable for all types of products ranging from fruits, electronic item and etc.