Thursday, August 30, 2007

Cause Jack Johnson told me to...

My wife and I live in a wonderful little split double in the middle of Hippiedippieville. It's definitely adequate in size and we live comfortably, but our kitchen seems to be shrinking in on us. With 95% of our trash is being recycled, the little bottles and cans (and more bottles) tend to pile up veeeerrrrrrry quickly, causing loud landslides that no doubt surprise the other tenant next door (for some reason, gravity seems to pull harder between the hours of 1:00am and 5:00am....he must think his neighbors are raccoons).

For a while I looked and looked and looked for a sleek and slim trash can that could sit flush with the counter top; something simple like a 8" x 24" x 32". Much to my surprise, it's not easy to find something compact, unless you're willing to use a blah-blue monster intended for commercial/restaurant applications.

BMW Designworks has taken my request, flipped it five different ways, and added a touch of Star Trek. It's the Ecopod home recycling center.

Put in bottle, press foot pedal, listen to compaction, bottle falls into storage bin, smile with sanctimoniously green grin.

From their website:

ecopod and BMW Designworks are determined to “Change the Way the World Recycles.” Together, over the past 20 months, Designworks & ecopod have met with leading Public and Private groups to research opportunities to determine the best ways to raise eco-awareness and reduce the amount of recyclable materials sent to landfills.

The first ecopod e1 was built to test it’s effectiveness in compacting and storing a wide variety of beverage containers, ranging from small Starbucks shot cans to large Monster Energy drinks along with tall Propel Water bottles and smaller kid size Arrowhead water. The ecopod e1 compacted and stored all of these containers with ease. A new revolution in home and office appliances was born.


The home recycling center with compaction and collection. Designed by BMW Designworks, the ecopod will clean up the way you recycle with its eco-chic design and functionality. After dropping an aluminum can or plastic bottle in the top opening, press the ecostep to hear the sweet sound of compaction. As the ecostep releases, the redeemable container automatically falls into the enclosed collection bin. Open the door and remove the bin for collection or redemption. Glass, paper and other recyclable items can be stored in the removeable bins inside the top lid. Dimensions: 31" tall x 16" wide x 21" deep Weight: Approx. 50 lbs.

Is it basically an expensive ($328.00!) trash can? Sure, but the fact that it compacts all your waste throughout a certain span of time, thus eliminating any and all travalanches (trash avalanches) and neighbor calls to the ASPCA about stray raccoons, makes me smile. Have you ever been in a rope snare before? It's not fun.

Check out their Newsweek article here.

Did I mention it's also affiliated with Jack Johnson's Kokua Hawai'i Foundation?


In case you don't know the words, you can sing along here.