To mark America Recycles Day, we want to Digg into recycling a bit. I mean really Digg, as on Digg.com, to find the Top Dozen Diggers on recycling.

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When these Diggers digg, they digg deep right into the waste stream to transform it into resources. Or at least a good Digg story. We all know that the resource that is reused is one that doesn’t have to be made from virgin ore, oil or biomass, and it almost always far less energy to repurpose, reuse, remanufacture or recycle something than to make from new. Vintage is better, reused is classy, recycled is moral and just! So here we at Greenopolis want to honor the Top Dozen Diggers on Recycling based on popular stories chosen by our illustrious panel, consisting of me and my multiple personalities. These stories were chosen for their importance, creativity, or level of fun! Drum Roll, please…

1. 250,000 Empty Bottles = One Man's Floating Mexican Island Paradise
An entire island made from empty plastic bottles- habitat from recycling. I love this.
ecoble.com—If you can’t afford to buy your own tropical island paradise, why not build your own floating island out of plastic bottles?  (Submitted by suxmonkey)




2. San Francisco Now Recycles An Astonishing 72% of All Trash
San Francisco is the leading city in recycling. We hosted this story on Greenopolis as well.
cleantechnica.com—San Francisco is well on its way to reaching the lofty goal of a 75% recycling rate by 2010. Today Mayor Gavin Newsom’s office announced that the city has attained the title of US recycling king by keeping 72% of ALL recyclable material out of landfills. (Submitted by SilicoSurfer)




3. Picture: Best Use for Recycled CD Spindle?
For sheer cleverness and visual appeal, this bagel container from an old CD spindle takes the cake.
flickr.com — I use my CD spindle lid to keep my loose change in, but this guy has a much more interesting use. (Submitted by cinnix)


Photo by Godrik Piwonka


4. Ultimate Irony: New iPod cases made of recycled vinyl records...
Ok, so the Digg says it’s from old 45’s and the article itself show cases made from old cassettes. It’s still a clever way to use outdated technology to literally “make the case” for new technology.
45ipodcases.com—45 iPOD CASES are built from recycled 45 rpm records that are custom fit to your iPod. Choose from the 45 cases currently available. Why 45's? The center hole is the same size as the iPod's click-wheel. Cost: $45 of course. (Submitted by Gregd)




5. Couch crafted from 20 Macintosh II computers - Yes you can sit on it
Who says computer geeks aren’t creative? Or at least tired enough to make this couch from old Macs.
newlaunches.com—Recycling old peripherals is a good idea, especially if you add a dash of creativity to it. The Mac Store in Maryland Heights, Missouri had 20 Macintosh II computers lying around gathering dust. They decided to tinker around and make a (un) comfy couch out of it. (Submitted by masteryoda)




6. Grow your own Treehouse
This gives the phrase “grow your own” new meaning. I’m going to start growing a summer cottage next week!
blog.scifi.com—Two architects and an environmental engineer have teamed up to design a house that will grow from a few seedlings into a two-story, water-recycling, energy-efficient abode. The Fab Tree Hab, a mix of ancient and ultramodern technology, isn’t merely environmentally friendly. It is the environment. (Submitted by tomboy501)




7. PICTURE: Photo reveals the opposite of recycling
Something’s obviously lost in translation here- how can you unrecycle something?
boingboing.net—"While traveling in China, my brother Mark Pescovitz and his son Ari spotted this pair of bins, one for recycling and one for, er, the opposite of recycling. Click image for a larger version..." (Submitted by inactive)

8. Subaru sells 100,000 PZEVs and sends nothing to the dump for three years
Subaru is an amazing company when it comes to waste- They mimic nature and when it comes to  waste, they will have none of it!
autobloggreen.com—The Subaru assembly plant in Indiana has now gone three years without taking out the trash and the corners of the building still haven't filled up. Actually all the waste in the SIA plant is either reused, recycled or used to generate electricity that is fed into the grid for the city of Indianapolis. (Submitted by paulvaggen)




9. Recycle or go to Hell, warns Vatican
For an old altar boy like me, it’s good to get the Church’s focus off sins of the flesh and onto sins against the planet for awhile!
telegraph.co.uk—Failing to recycle plastic bags could find you spending eternity in Hell, the Vatican said after drawing up a list of seven deadly sins for our times. The seven, which include polluting the environment, were announced by Monsignor Gianfranco Girotti, a close ally of the Pope and the head of the Apostolic Penitentiary... (Submitted by vick3ii)




10. Robots Made From Recycled Typewriters
Here at Greenopolis we have an eye for waste into art. These robots look like typeset terminators! Kind of remind me of my old typing teacher in high school…
io9.com—Jeremy Mayer is finding new ways to turn trash into beautiful robotic art. He's been making robots out of typewriters... (Submitted by trinityjr)

11. Shipping Containers Recycled as Homes
With so many homeless, it is a crime against humanity to let potential housing go to waste. We love this story.
dynamic.cnn.com—Architects are designing modern homes from the millions of excess shipping containers that are piling up at the port of LA due to the US trade deficit with China. By using the steel shipping containers as building material, homes can save 50% of construction costs, while reducing the waste and blight caused by trying to store them. (Link to Video) (Submitted by Salviati)

12. New Bra Transforms into a Golf Putting Mat
And this one is technically not recycling, but a dual purpose garment- a bra that transforms into a putting green- with two cups you can putt your balls into! That didn’t come out sounding right…
telegraph.co.uk—Lingerie makers Triumph have unveiled the 'Nice Cup in Bra', which can be removed, rolled out and used as a putting mat for the keen golfing lady. (Submitted by hantata)

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