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Thursday, October 27th, 2011 by Admin
SIFT is a proud partner of SCAPE’s “Rebuild a Recyclable City”. This wonderful initiative uses recycled materials and is a really good educational campaign to raise awareness for our next generation on taking care of our environment .
SIFT believes that this programme is a proactive approach to putting recycling in the frontline of education for our children and also provide a platform for their creativity to show their future vision for our city.
Suitable for kids ages 6-12 years old, FREE art packs for the “Rebuild a Recyclable City” project are available from any Christchurch City Library and SCAPE also has Kid’s Workshops for the “Rebuild a Recyclable City” for those interested to attend. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Free Art Pack, Joanna Langford, Kid's Project, Rebuild a Recyclable City, Recyclable City, SCAPE Christchurch, SCAPE Christchurch Biennial
Posted in Events, art | No Comments »
Monday, January 10th, 2011 by Admin
Found this very restful yet powerful video by Jesse Rosten (via Black Eiffel) about Redwood forests of Northern California in Growing is Forever. It is a wonderfully shot video that makes you sit up and take notice – we should take notice of our trees more often! Canterbury is full of many great places to enjoy the solidity, strength and longevity of trees: Riccarton Bush, the old podocarps of Peel Forest, Hanmer Springs, Banks Peninsula (especially our favourite walk to the Sign of the Bell Bird), any of the Botanical Gardens in the Canterbury towns and any of the trees in your backyard. No doubt there are many more forested and woodland (native and exotic) places around Canterbury to enjoy.
Take a breather and watch this great video.
Growing is Forever from Jesse Rosten on Vimeo.
Tags: environment, Growing is Forever, Jesse Rosten, trees, video
Posted in art | No Comments »
Friday, November 5th, 2010 by SophieR
Friday Favourites
Since it is going to be raining for the majority of the weekend, why not reveal your creative streak to friends and family, with some of these cool handmade gift ideas. DIY doesn’t need to be restricted to home decorating, with these tips, you can make soaps, bath bombs, candy and fudge, and plenty of recipes for baked goods. Pick your favourites, and use the wet weekend as an opportunity to do a trial run! Visit the Frugal Kiwi to get started.
http://frugalkiwi.co.nz/2010/11/homemade-holiday-gift-ideas/
Watch the trailer for wasteland. Set in Rio de Janiero, the documentary Waste Land follows artist, Jardim Gramacho as he creates portraits of the ‘catadores’ that work in the World’s largest landfill. To carry on the theme, the portraits are made entirely from junk that has been salvaged from the landfill. A meaningful display of the huge amounts of waste that are being created everyday, and yet some beauty can still come out of it.
http://www.good.is/post/watch-the-trailer-for-waste-land-a-documentary-about-beauty-and-trash/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+good/lbvp+(GOOD+Main+RSS+Feed)
Keeping on with the theme of creatively reusing trash, Electrolux has bought out an edition of five vacuums that have been made from materials that have been salvaged from the ocean. The purpose of the edition was to demonstrate the difficulties Electrolux has, finding the recyclable materials to manufacture the “Green Range’ and yet there is so much waste in the ocean. Would be a great way to jazz up your home appliances.
http://www.electrolux.se/Innovation/Campaigns/Vac-from-the-sea/
More Waste Minimisation Funding Announced.
“Environment Waikato, in partnership with Hamilton City Council and the Matamata-Piako District Council, will receive $159,000 over two years from the Government’s Waste Minimisation Fund,” Dr Smith said. “Working with Inghams Enterprises they will investigate the use of pyrolysis technology to convert problem waste into useful products like biochar and reduce methane emissions from waste going to landfill.
What do you get when you cross an old refrigerator and a derelict car? Well, a fridgecouch of course! As created by Canadian artist, Adrian Johnson.
There is now an ‘ebay of trash’. A site that has been set up to match up trash, with people who have a potential way to reuse or recycle it. The site is called Recycle Match, and is making a significant impact on reducing the amount of waste that is going to landfill. Some of the projects are of commercial proportions, but if you can reuse 1000 glass windows – then I am sure they will be happy to hear from you!
http://www.recyclematch.com/
Plastic Recycling Plant Planned for Timaru
There is a 1.3837ha site, behind the former Chargeurs Wool building, which is owned by Rooney Holdings and is understood to be the location of a new plastic recycling plant, which would produce road matting. The road matting creates a better surface for laying new roading. We are happy to hear of this exciting development.
A different way to regenerate Christchurch demolition sites.
Two schools— Unlimited Paenga Tawhiti and Discovery 1—are on the hunt for empty earthquake sites they can transform into green spaces. The schools are really keen to hear from any site owners who may be interested in converting their demolished sites into an inner city green space.
If you’ve got a space you’d like to offer, you can contact Tanja Grzeta on (03)374 1067.
Since it is going to be raining for the majority of the weekend, why not reveal your creative streak to friends and family, with some of these cool handmade gift ideas.DIY doesn’t need to be restricted to home decorating, with these tips, you can make soaps, bath bombs, candy and fudge, and plenty of recipes for baked goods. Pick your favourites, and use the wet weekend as an opportunity to do a trial run! Visit the Frugal Kiwi to get started.
Watch the trailer for wasteland. Set in Rio de Janiero, the documentary Waste Land follows artist, Jardim Gramacho as he creates portraits of the ‘catadores’ that work in the World’s largest landfill. To carry on the theme, the portraits are made entirely from junk that has been salvaged from the landfill. A meaningful display of the huge amounts of waste that are being created everyday, and yet some beauty can still come out of it.
Keeping on with the theme of creatively reusing trash, Electrolux has bought out an edition of five vacuums that have been made from materials that have been salvaged from the ocean.
The purpose of the edition was to demonstrate the difficulties Electrolux has, finding the recyclable materials to manufacture the “Green Range’ and yet there is so much waste in the ocean. Would be a great way to jazz up your home appliances.
More Waste Minimisation Funding Announced.
“Environment Waikato, in partnership with Hamilton City Council and the Matamata-Piako District Council, will receive $159,000 over two years from the Government’s Waste Minimisation Fund,” Dr Smith said. “Working with Inghams Enterprises they will investigate the use of pyrolysis technology to convert problem waste into useful products like biochar and reduce methane emissions from waste going to landfill.
What do you get when you cross an old refrigerator and a derelict car? Well, a fridgecouch of course! As created by Canadian artist, Adrian Johnson.
There is now an ‘ebay of trash’. A site that has been set up to match up trash, with people who have a potential way to reuse or recycle it. The site is called Recycle Match, and is making a significant impact on reducing the amount of waste that is going to landfill. Some of the projects are of commercial proportions, but if you can reuse 1000 glass windows – then I am sure they will be happy to hear from you!
Plastic Recycling Plant Planned for Timaru
There is a 1.3837ha site, behind the former Chargeurs Wool building, which is owned by Rooney Holdings and is understood to be the location of a new plastic recycling plant, which would produce road matting. The road matting creates a better surface for laying new roading. We are happy to hear of this exciting development.
Two schools— Unlimited Paenga Tawhiti and Discovery 1—are on the hunt for empty earthquake sites they can transform into green spaces. The schools are really keen to hear from any site owners who may be interested in converting their demolished sites into an inner city green space.
If you’ve got a space you’d like to offer, you can contact Tanja Grzeta on (03)374 1067.
Tags: Friday favourites, recycled art, recycling projects
Posted in Business & Sustainability, Friday favourites, News on Sustainability, Waste Management, art | 1 Comment »
Friday, October 29th, 2010 by SophieR
It is a grey day in Christchurch. Typical of the spring season, we have one beauty of a day, followed by overcast skies and drizzle. Not to worry, the weekend has rolled around again even though I do feel slightly short changed that we don’t get another three day weekend! This week’s Friday favs cover an eclectic range of topics – but I did really enjoy viewing Alain Delorme’s photos. Art and the environment are such a complimentary duo – sometimes the only way to get a point across is through visual explanation, as Delorme has demonstrated the process of mass consumption in his images. Enjoy.
Alain Delorme
The images in his Totems Series look at the complexities of Chinese society and the concept of the market economy. This is demonstrated through a series of exaggerated and manipulated images that show a variety of burdening loads being carried to what we assume would be the market or for direct sale. The series demonstrates the way the Chinese economy is diversifying, and yet there is still such a strong presence of the migrant worker.
Green Burials – A slightly different take on death.
Beth Terry at fakeplasticfish.com http://fakeplasticfish.com/2010/10/green-burial-like-composting-food-waste-and-your-body-is-the-food/ is considering greener methods of burial. Thinking outside of the traditional casket feels like an almost taboo subject, as the burial process for a loved one is such a symbolic process ie: choosing an expensive wooden casket with the pilowed interior is like the final way to pamper someone, so to look at the forms of burial suggested by Terry, may be a little overwhelming for some people. Terry’s ideals are straight forward – why is it necessary to have coffins that have been developed to resist moisture and wont compose? There is even a coffin that is entirely plastic, which is cheaper than a wooden coffin, but think of the emissions resulting from making the coffins as well as having it buried under ground. I would recommend reading this blog, it really questions what has been long considered a standard Western practice.
What to do with old Digital technology
Here is a list of all the things you can do with obsolete digital technology. Visit the re-nest website to have a read. http://www.re-nest.com/re-nest/recycling-donating/5-ways-to-recycle-your-old-digital-camera-130726?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+apartmenttherapy/re-nest+(Re-Nest)
Change in regulation by Enviro Minister
We are please to see that there has been a regulation reversal, put into force by Nick Smith. The last Labour government made the decision that all household products needed to have childproof caps – to ensure the safety of young children. Nick Smith determined that this was a brazen decision, that did not take into account the extra cost for consumers and the environment. Click Here to read the entire press release. http://feeds.beehive.govt.nz/release/regulation+reversal+will+save+households
It is a grey day in Christchurch. Typical of the spring season, we have one beauty of a day, followed by overcast skies and drizzle. Not to worry, the weekend has rolled around again even though I do feel slightly short changed that we don’t get another three day weekend! This week’s Friday favs cover an eclectic range of topics – but I did really enjoy viewing Alain Delorme’s photos. Art and the environment are such a complimentary duo – sometimes the only way to get a point across is through visual explanation, as Delorme has demonstrated the process of mass consumption in his images. Enjoy.
Alain Delorme
The images in his Totems Series look at the complexities of Chinese society and the concept of the market economy. This is demonstrated through a series of exaggerated and manipulated images that show a variety of burdening loads being carried to what we assume would be the market or for direct sale. The series demonstrates the way the Chinese economy is diversifying, and yet there is still such a strong presence of the migrant worker. Read all about it on the Black Eiffel Blog.
Green Burials – A slightly different take on death.
Beth Terry at fakeplasticfish.com is considering greener methods of burial. Thinking outside of the traditional casket feels like an almost taboo subject, as the burial process for a loved one is such a symbolic process ie: choosing an expensive wooden casket with the pilowed interior is like the final way to pamper someone, so to look at the forms of burial suggested by Terry, may be a little overwhelming for some people. Terry’s ideals are straight forward – why is it necessary to have coffins that have been developed to resist moisture and wont compose? There is even a coffin that is entirely plastic, which is cheaper than a wooden coffin, but think of the emissions resulting from making the coffins as well as having it buried under ground. I would recommend reading this blog, it really questions what has been long considered a standard Western practice.
What to do with old Digital technology
Here is a list of all the things you can do with obsolete digital technology. Visit the re-nest website to have a read.
Change in regulation by Enviro Minister
We are please to see that there has been a regulation reversal, put into force by Nick Smith. The last Labour government made the decision that all household products needed to have childproof caps – to ensure the safety of young children. Nick Smith determined that this was a brazen decision, that did not take into account the extra cost for consumers and the environment. Click here to read the entire press release.
Tags: eco-friendly, Friday favourites
Posted in Business & Sustainability, Friday favourites, General, art | No Comments »
Friday, October 22nd, 2010 by SophieR
Yet another week is over, and I do believe that it is nine weeks until Christmas (exciting or doom pending – depending on your level of Xmas spirit). I always think that Labour Weekend is perfectly timed in the Calendar, arriving just before we hit the busiest time of the year. To take some of the stress off, there are plenty of festivities and concerts on in Canterbury over the long weekend. Head to Hagley Park between 1pm and 8pm on Saturday, to catch a glimpse of some of New Zealand’s biggest music names, all to raise funds following the earthquake. There is the Rangiora A & P show, and also the Big Band Festival. Plenty of activities to get you out and about this weekend.
We are a patriotic bunch. One eyed Cantabrians, truly believing that we have ‘one up’ on the rest of NZ. So I really like it when outsiders compliment our wonderful city. I like it even more when the outsider is Saatchi CEO, Kevin Roberts. A feel – good blog, smile as he waxes eloquently about our marvelous Hagley Park and Botanical Gardens. Gosh we are a lucky lot.
http://krconnect.blogspot.com/2010/10/hagley-park-new-lovemark.html
Making organic dairy products hip. A two minute advertisement that we found through the
Futerra Sustainability Communications blog. Never did we think that a rap song would preach the benefits of organic dairy products. Look for the head bobbing cows. You will not be able to watch this without a smile on your face.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOHAUvbuV4o
Annie Leonard’s Stuff for Kid’s Series – These videos are seriously cool. They take quite complex ideas such as recycling, and materialism – and convert it into short cartoon videos that are simple enough for little people to understand, but can still be enjoyed by big kids too.
http://www.good.is/post/annie-leonard-s-new-story-of-stuff-like-series-for-kids/
Finally, the vuvuzela may actually become more resourceful than annoying. One competition that aims to find the most creative way to recycle the Football World Cup noise makers.
http://gardenwindmill.brighterplanet.org/garden-windmill/the-garden-windmill/vuvuzela-recycling-competition-gives-new-life-to-south-africas-favorite-noisemakers
WWF has released the 2010 Living Planet Report. The conclusions are quite simple really, our demands are exceeding Earth’s capacity to sustain us. This is a great resource to show what we are using, how we compare to other countries, and what we can start doing better today.
http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/all_publications/living_planet_report/
Brazilian designers are paving the way for innovative homeware, with a collection made from entirely recycled aluminium. 98% of aluminium produced is recycled, and it is cheaper to produce a ton of recycled aluminium than it is the produce the same amount of new aluminium.
http://www.busybeingfabulous.com/index.php/2010/10/brunno-jahara-upcycling-trend/
It has been a busy time at the beehive lately – we have three fantastic links for you. One is the speech made by Nick Smith at the 2010 WasteMINZ conference last week, where he launched the 2010 waste strategy.
http://feeds.beehive.govt.nz/speech/speech+wasteminz+conference+auckland Click Here to link directly to the Waste Strategy Report.
http://feeds.beehive.govt.nz/release/new+waste+strategy+launched+today
We also have a press release from the Environment Minister, outlining the recycling initiative for the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
http://feeds.beehive.govt.nz/release/2+million+recycling+initiative+2011+rwc
A realistic take on our recycling efforts. We may be collecting more recycling waste, but how much of it is actually being recycled once it leaves the curbside? According to this article, it all comes down to our mingling of recyclable items.
http://www.celsias.co.nz/article/mingling-mayhem
I like to think I am creative. Sometimes my creative projects end up in the back of the cupboard or in the garage. Luckily, we came across re-nest.com – full of awesome ideas to reuse house hold items – and eco-revitalise your house. The wire-hanger idea is just too cool.
http://www.re-nest.com/re-nest/creative-reuse/reuse-revamp-a-wire-hanger-into-a-multifunctional-vessel-emily-anderson-of-ecochic-home-129339
Lessons in consumerism – no this isn’t a blog teaching you how to become a better shopper. The writer has returned from travels in India, with a fresh outlook on Western consumerism and what we deem to be luxuries versus life necessities.
http://re-be.com/blog/redirecting-consumerism-tips/
Yet another week is over, and I do believe that it is nine weeks until Christmas (exciting or doom pending – depending on your level of Xmas spirit). I always think that Labour Weekend is perfectly timed in the Calendar, arriving just before we hit the busiest time of the year. To take some of the stress off, there are plenty of festivities and concerts on in Canterbury over the long weekend. Head to Hagley Park between 1pm and 8pm on Saturday, to catch a glimpse of some of New Zealand’s biggest music names, all to raise funds following the earthquake. There is the Rangiora A & P show, and also the Big Band Festival. Plenty of activities to get you out and about this weekend.
We are a patriotic bunch. One eyed Cantabrians, truly believing that we have ‘one up’ on the rest of NZ. So I really like it when outsiders compliment our wonderful city. I like it even more when the outsider is Saatchi CEO, Kevin Roberts. A feel – good blog, smile as he waxes eloquently about our marvelous Hagley Park and Botanical Gardens. Gosh we are a lucky lot. Click Here.
Making organic dairy products hip. A two minute advertisement that we found through the Futerra Sustainability Communications blog. Never did we think that a rap song would preach the benefits of organic dairy products. Look for the head bobbing cows. You will not be able to watch this without a smile on your face.
Annie Leonard’s Stuff for Kid’s Series – These videos are seriously cool. They take quite complex ideas such as recycling, and materialism – and convert it into short cartoon videos that are simple enough for little people to understand, but can still be enjoyed by big kids too.
Finally, the vuvuzela may actually become more resourceful than annoying. One competition that aims to find the most creative way to recycle the Football World Cup noise makers. Click here to see some of the ideas.
WWF has released the 2010 Living Planet Report. The conclusions are quite simple really, our demands are exceeding Earth’s capacity to sustain us. This is a great resource to show what we are using, how we compare to other countries, and what we can start doing better today.
Brazilian designers are paving the way for innovative homeware, with a collection made from entirely recycled aluminium. 98% of aluminium produced is recycled, and it is cheaper to produce a ton of recycled aluminium than it is the produce the same amount of new aluminium.
It has been a busy time at the beehive lately – we have three fantastic links for you. One is the speech made by Nick Smith at the 2010 WasteMINZ conference last week, where he launched the 2010 waste strategy. Click Here to link directly to the Waste Strategy Report. We also have a press release from the Environment Minister, outlining the recycling initiative for the 2011 Rugby World Cup
A realistic take on our recycling efforts. We may be collecting more recycling waste, but how much of it is actually being recycled once it leaves the curbside? According to this article, it all comes down to our mingling of recyclable items.
I like to think I am creative. Sometimes my creative projects end up in the back of the cupboard or in the garage. Luckily, we came across re-nest.com – full of awesome ideas to reuse house hold items – and eco-revitalise your house. The wire-hanger idea is just too cool.
Lessons in consumerism – No this isn’t a blog teaching you how to become a better shopper. The writer has returned from travels in India, with a fresh outlook on Western consumerism and what we deem to be luxuries versus life necessities.
Tags: eco design, environmental sustainability, Friday favourites
Posted in Business & Sustainability, Events, Friday favourites, General, News on Sustainability, Pratical Action, Sustainability Resources, Sustainability in Action, Waste Management, art | No Comments »
Monday, July 12th, 2010 by Admin
Joanna Langford – Up from the plainlands (detail) 2009. Recycled plastic bags, bamboo skewers, sushi grass, 12 volt LED lights, fans and electrical wiring. Commissioned for Brought to Light: A New View of the Collection 2009. Reproduced courtesy of the artist and Jonathan Smart Gallery.
Tags: art, electricial wiring., Joanna Langford, LED, plastic, Recycled, waste
Posted in art | No Comments »
Wednesday, April 7th, 2010 by Admin
Every couple of years for the past decade or so the Scape Biennial of Art in Public Space opens in Christchurch for a number of weeks showcasing “contempory art in public space” by a large and diverse group of artists from around the world. In the past they have showcased art works that have highlighted waste and/or sustainability issues and as we have showcased international waste artists before we thought it would be nice to see what has been showcased in New Zealand.
In 2006 Happy Happy by Korean artist Choi Jeong Hwa was positioned under the trees in the serene and picturesque Christchurch Botanical Gardens (lovely spot). It was an interactive piece that asked the public to bring in objects made of plastic in bright colours and attach them to a wire cage. The art was about recognising the number and types of synthetic elements in our lives, our plastic consumption and the “rapidly changing aspects of industrialised and consumer economies”. You can read more about the artwork here.
 Happy Happy (2006) Choi Jeong-Hwa  Happy Happy (2006) Choi Jeong-Hwa In 2008 Tea Mäkipää produced an artwork called Petrol Engine Memorial Park that “honours” the oil and petrol industries and the impact that they have had on the environment and human beings. You can read more here. This artwork was in the Christchurch Art Centre and included an old car covered in vines as well as memorial plaques placed to highlight our species ability to be destructive both to ourselves, our environment and others. Not strictly a waste related artwork it still had strong environmental, sustainable living and human survival messaging.
 Tea Mäkipää, PETROL ENGINE MEMORIAL PARK: For Mouring the Oil Era and its Victims
 Tea Mäkipää, PETROL ENGINE MEMORIAL PARK: For Mouring the Oil Era and its Victims  Tea Mäkipää, PETROL ENGINE MEMORIAL PARK: For Mouring the Oil Era and its Victims  Tea Mäkipää, PETROL ENGINE MEMORIAL PARK: For Mouring the Oil Era and its Victims Tea Mäkipää, PETROL ENGINE MEMORIAL PARK: For Mouring the Oil Era and its Victims – images by Brendan Lee and copyright Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu
Tags: art, cars, Choi Jeong Hwa, christchurch, environment, oil, petrol, plastic, Scape Biennial, survival, sustainable living, Tea Makipaa, waste
Posted in art | No Comments »
Friday, February 19th, 2010 by Admin
 Pete Dungey Pothole Garden Here are this weeks favourite links:
Tags: clothing, Friday favourites, glass, plastic, recycling, sustainable living, waste, wisdom
Posted in News on Sustainability, Sustainability in Action, Waste Management, art | No Comments »
Thursday, February 18th, 2010 by Admin
 Simon Evans - Everything I Have One of the key drivers of waste is unneccessary and/or over consumption. A great way for any individual or business to start to reduce waste is to take stock first. There could be boxes of paper in a cupboard you forgot about, half used packets of pasta in the panty, four rolls of tin foil, old cell phones, unused socks pushed to the back of the drawer, a shirt with a missing button that just needs sewing back on, office chairs that could be refurbished, unused stationery etc. So, instead of buying “another one” ‘cos this one has a hole in it/I can’t find it/it’s easier/I can’t remember if I have any/it’s trendy etc… take stock and look around at what “stuff” you have already.
Taking stock, making an inventory will help you to work out exactly what you need to buy. You might find that you have last season’s clothes that are perfectly fine to wear again or clothes that need a minor mend, a large stash of stationery, a couch that can be recovered instead of buying a new one, lots of food to eat (reducing your shopping list), a range of office furniture that can be utilised or sold etc.
Take stock like artist Simon Evans who created a piece called Everything I Have by taking a photo of every single item he owns. It puts how much stuff you have into perspective.
Taking stock is apart of the first step of waste minimisation – recognise what you buy and then what you waste.
 Simon Evans - Everything I Have
Tags: business, consumption, Everything I Have, inventory, reduce, Simon Evans, waste
Posted in Sustainability in Action, Waste Management, art | 1 Comment »
Thursday, January 21st, 2010 by Admin
While looking for some images of e-waste art from around the world I came across artist Chris Jordan. His work is thought provoking and makes you feel a little ill at the massive amounts of consumption. The below images are from his Intolerable Beauty: Portraits of American Mass Consumption. He has just completed a new book called Running the Numbers which looks at the collective consumer behaviours of Americans. New Zealander’s collectively don’t consume anywhere near the same levels as the US but we do consume and for some products in the hundreds of thousands (and millions for cell phones).
And where does it all go when it is no longer wanted? When it becomes waste?
 Chris Jordan Circuit Boards Atlanta 2004 via Inhabitat  Chris Jordan Cell Phone Chargers Atlanta 2004 via Inhabitat
 Chris Jordan Cell Phones 2007, Depicts 426,000 cell phones, equal to the number of cell phones disposed of in the US every day.  Chris Jordan Cell Phones 2007 Partial Zoom  Chris Jordan Cell Phones 2007 Actual Size
Tags: art, cell phones, chargers, Chris Jordan, consumption, e-waste, ewaste
Posted in art | No Comments »
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