Plastic bags and the environment

CNN's Amber Lyon examines the effect plastic bags have on the ocean.

Devices use power even when turned off

Are you always getting on your family to turn off lights or the TV when not in use? We can all reduce our waste and energy use with very little effort, and significantly help our environment.

"Green" Magic

Welcome to The Magic Castle here in Hollywood California with Melissa McGinnis of GreenopolisTV and the one and only, green magician, Steve Trash.

Steve Trash is the world's greatest green magician and he's awesome. He'll be performing here in Los Angeles and he'll be showing you GreenopolisTV audience his tricks. But first, he'll be telling you where he got his start. 

"Trash" Boat Sets Sail in Taiwan

A trimaran built in Taiwan from plastic bottles and other recycled materials sets sail for the first time. Its mission is to promote oceanic environment awareness on World Ocean Day.

Named the Polli-Boat, this trimaran is made of recycled materials bound together by a wood-plastic composite.

The main flotation system, Polli-bricks, is made of plastic bottles with strengthened polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the most common plastic in use today.

Its unique hexagonal shape allows the bricks to interlock strongly enough to withstand the pressure of sailing.

Waste advertising banners are used for the trimaran's sail.

[Arthur Huang, Founder and Managing Director, Miniwiz Sustainable Energy Development Ltd.]:
"The concept of a polli-boat is using hundred percent trash, basically we are using this new material we are developing, it's basic organic fiber mixes trash polymer. The other is another structural material we design which are called polli-brick, using recycle PET blown into these interlocking brick, so we are using the interlocking brick as a major floatation pontoon."

Eight hundred four of these bricks were used to support the boat.

The Polli-Boat also utilizes wind and solar power, which are interchangeable in different weather conditions.

[Arthur Huang, Founder and Managing Director, Miniwiz Sustainable Energy Development Ltd.]:
"It's been propelled, one by renewable resources, obviously sailing that's using wind, the other is using solar energy with we have six modules of soft solar panels and each panel is capable of generating 72 watts, and 72 watts is able to power an electric motor that powered the boat up and down the non-windy area. So the whole idea is the propel, the power system is also going to be renewable energy."

The trimaran is 23 feet long. Huang says its mission, as it sails across Taiwan, will be to promote sustainable energy and environmental awareness.

The boat-launching ceremony was accompanied by an eco-friendly creative boat competition held by the dock.

Sponsored by the National Geographic Channel in Taiwan, ten designs were selected out of almost 200 entries to compete for the most innovative boats using recycled materials.

One of these boats was shaped like the endangered black-faced spoonbill to promote wetland protection.

Another was designed to look like a floating city in an effort to raise awareness of rising sea levels and global warming.

Dive! Trailer

HTTP://WWW.DIVETHEFILM.COM

Winner at 21 Film Festivals Worldwide

Follow Jeremy Seifert and his circle of friends as they dumpster dive in the back alleys and gated garbage receptacles of L.A.'s supermarkets. In the process they uncover thousands of dollars worth of good food and an ugly truth about waste in America: grocery stores know they are wasting and most refuse to do anything about it. Contact us at www.divethefilm.com to set up a screening and get involved in the EAT TRASH Campaign for Zero Waste!
Trailer by Chris Settlemoir, music by Timothy Vatterott

Don't know what to recycle? This app can help

Have you ever wondered what things you can cand cannot recycle? Here's an app to help you get rid of the things you don't need the right way and without harming the environment.

This is recycling around the world with Melissa McGinnis!

Let's get to our tips and questions from our viewers and correspondents from all over the country. First off a trip to Florida and to visit with our friend Shiraz whi has a straight, single-stream tip for us.

Shiraz: Hey Melissa this is Shiraz reporting for GreenopolisTV, and today I will be giving you some tips and insights on recycling. If you like eating cereals, cookies, crackers, or you like drinking soda, then this material looks very familiar to you. This is actually called chipboard or paperboard. This material can be recycled. A lot of people mistake this for cardboard. It's actually a much lower grade of cardboard but it can be recycled. Now, of course check with your local recycling coordinator to see if it's acceptable in your municipal recycling program. Now if you have any questions then feel free to email them at myvideo @ greenopolis.com and Melissa back to you.

Melissa: Thanks Shiraz. Now we'll go to New York to introduce you to our new correspondents, Tristin and Tyler. I hear they have some crafty recycling tips for us today.

Tyler: Thanks Melissa. I'm Tyler.
Tristin: And I'm Tristin.
Both: And we're reporting for GreenopolisTV
Tristin: We're going to show you how we've reused paper and cardboard in our craft.
Tyler: Check this out. We cut the cereal box and made a picture frame. Then we put a picture of our cousin inside. How cool is that?
Tristin: Check this out. We've turned toilet paper roll into a toilet paper cat. Now that's recycling. You're watching GreenopolisTV. Goodbye from New York City.
Both: Bye Bye... See you later.

Melissa: Could they be any more adorable? Now let's head over to Los Angeles to meet Grainne Fyke, the current founder and president of her environmental awareness club on campus. She's currently working on several resource conservation and recycling initiatives on campus. Let's see what Grain is up to.

Grainne: Hi my name is Grainne Fyke and I'm reporting for GreenopolisTV. I'm from Central Los Angeles highschool number 9, and I'm also the founder of the environmental awareness club. And right now we're trying to replace the Styrofoam lunch trays in our cafeteria for a more environmentally friendly option that we can use. And we're looking at a bunch of different things. We have these trays that are plant-based and they're biodegradable and so these will be a lot better because the Styrofoam trays go to the landfills and can't be recycled or anything. We have these and we also have, there's a company called Greenworks, and they do recycled plastics, so we're looking at different things from there. And I just came across a program called Dream Machine Recycle rally and it's a program and it's a program where you can have a scan-it recycling program at your school so each time you recycle something, you get points for your school. And you can go on to their website, and you can go on to their website and they have all the different schools that are competing so you can see how you're doing with, in terms of other schools. And it's a really great program and I hope that our school can do it, and the other schools can do it too. There are very cool prizes for the winning school and I'm really excited about getting this for our school. So if you want to visit the website, it's www.dreammachinerecyclerally.com and you can find out all about the program.

Melissa: Good luck on getting on that recycling rally program. I hear it's a lot of fun. Let's head over to Oklahoma city for this week's street beat!

Alright, all of you Dream Machine and Greenopolis kiosk users, look for us coming to a town near you. You'll never know when you're going to run into us. This week we ran into an adorable girl and father recycling duo. They come to this resource once a week to recycle as many bottles as they capture, because they both are working on getting a lot of points at their Greenopolis.com account for the coupon Baha Jacks. Apparently, they both love eating at that restaurant.

DESIGN SQUAD | 2010 Trash to Treasure Winners

PBS' hit series Design Squad challenged kids aged 5-19 to spend their summer vacation recycling, reusing, and re-engineering everyday materials to create the next great green invention for the 2010 Trash to Treasure competition. The judges were able to narrow the field down to three Grand-Prize winners, two of whom happened to be sisters. Lilly, 12, and MaryAnn, 14, sisters from Ava, New York, and Daniel, 14, from Franklin Lakes, New Jersey designed ways to recycle, reuse and re-engineer everyday materials into new inventions—"The Smarter Toilet" (a water saving device); "Sibling Soaker" (a homemade dunk tank); and "MiBike" (a bike that holds a backpack and protects a kid from rain and snow).

All three winners flew to Boston Columbus Day weekend and worked side-by-side with the award-winning global innovation design consultancy Continuum led by Richard Ciccarelli, Manager Experiential Modeling. Over the weekend, the process of transforming a DIY design to world-class prototype was filmed for a 30-minute episode of a new Design Squad series (to air early 2011).