Well let’s take a first step back. In order to optimize the recycling process, you should completely separate elements from each other. For instance, if you are recycling a pet food can, you want to separate the aluminum part from the paper part.

Now, let’s take a second step back. Yes I am moon-walking!! :P A couple of months ago, after we moved into this apartment, I became quickly frustrated with the recycling downstairs. There was 4 or 5 recycling bins but you could not know which was what. So we decided to make some small signs to differentiate them (see pic below), hoping our neighbors would follow our guidelines. They did and now, no more morning headaches such as “Ok i see more aluminum here, this must be the aluminum bin… uh wait, i see a plastic bottle and some newspapers… no!!”; and the recycling is just more efficient.

Let’s go back to Siggi’s Skyr. I was talking about smart packaging, in fact, when you look closer, there is a vertical sleeve on the paper packaging of the yogurt. You can pull this sleeve and HOP, the paper is disassembled from the plastic yogurt cup. Now you have the aluminum lid, the paper packaging and the plastic cup (see picture below). Easy to recycle! Love it.

Siggi’s is also made in the state of New York and uses local farms. Therefore, low carbon footprint for New Yorkers. That’s another positive thing about it.

Now at this time, I was still seeing Siggi’s as just another healthy yogurt. It is actually quite unique. Below the words of Siggi (the CEO of The Icelandic Milk and Skyr Corporation), taken from the inside part of the yogurt paper packaging:

Now that you know what it is all about, you must inquire about the taste. Well, our feelings were mixed. This is an heavy yogurt and you might want to eat it as a breakfast instead of just a yogurt in the flow of a complete meal. As we talk, Cara is making her first homemade yogurts with her new yogurt machine so we will probably not have any new opportunity for a taste of Siggi’s. I highly recommend it and I wish Yop, by Yoplait, my all times favorite yogurt, was as natural and as green as Siggi’s.

Nokia has been focusing its research on green products, from handset development to shipping, use and End-Of-Life practices.

With almost 10 billion customers, Nokia certainly can help make a difference in educating their users, producing energy efficient products in many ways and more.

Educating customers and helping them do the right thing

Power Consumption

“Nokia has set the target to reduce the average no-load consumption of its chargers by 50%, and the no-load consumption of its best-in-class chargers to close to zero, by 2010″. No-load consumption is evidently when your charger is plugged in the power outlet with no phone on the other end. Nokia is also pushing its customers to think about un-plugging their chargers when not in use.

In fact, in 2007, Nokia has launched the first devices with “reminder alerts for consumers to unplug chargers once the battery is recharged”. Nokia has estimated this could save enough electricity to power 85,000 homes a year.

Recycling devices and packaging

Nokia is pushing its customers to recycle their old phones. If you are a Nokia user, click here to find the closest drop off location. Most likely if your phone is pretty new, you should have found a prepaid envelop inside the packaging of your phone. If so, use it to ship your device.

Look below to see how a recycled phone will be broken apart and all its pieces used towards:

Producing Energy Efficient Products

I love this graph below. Basically it shows each step, from the production of a mobile phone to its consumption bt the consumers and how much waste, non-eco substances, water, energy is used and could potentially be saved. We looked above at the Use and at the EOL (End-Of-Life) practices. We are now going to look at all what’s happening before the product gets into the customers’ hands.

The Making of

The first Nokia building to receive the LEED green certification was in White Plains, NY. For every new building, Nokia is seeking this level of sustainability. This can hopefully help in setting new standards for the industry.

“Management Systems (EMS) at Nokia production sites are ISO 14001 compliant”. Nokia works on the following factors: Energy consumption, Water Consumption, Air emissions, Non-Eco Substances, Waste management and Packaging. Nokia also requires its suppliers to respect a set of guidelines.
Nokia should reduce its overall energy consumption of 6% by 2012 and plans to increase its use of green electricity from 25% to 50% by 2010.

Clean and Recyclable Materials

Nokia has banned a list of substances that are not environmentally friendly and stopped using this list in the technology they produce. More info here.

Smaller products for smaller packaging, fewer shipping trucks

Nokia has considerably be reducing the amount of material used for their packagings. Smaller phones, smaller packagings, more packages on each truck and therefore less truck on the road.

More green stuff Nokia is working on

The Nokia Eco Sensor Concept. A personal assistant to “monitor your health, environment, and local weather”, powered in part by solar energy.

I want to see more companies that try not only to produce green goods, but also work on increasing the public awereness and its education about green matters.