Artist and eco-pioneer, Richard Sowa, is a modern-day Robinson Crusoe after designing and building Spiral Island II, his own private island, out of 150,000 plastic bottles. Joysxee is around 25 meters in diameter, floating offshore at holiday hotspot Isla Mujeres.

Spiral Island I was Sowa’s first project and attracted attention from green-lovers all over the world for being the first purely recycled island. However, disaster struck and seven years after it was first created, the island was destroyed by Hurricane Emily in 2005.

Undeterred, and in the true spirit of recycling, the second floating recycled island was built with the help of like-minded, environmentally aware volunteers who helped produce an eco-haven with a house, three beaches and all mod-cons, such as a washing machine which runs off wave power. Even beautiful features such as a waterfall and river exist with the help of solar energy.

Harnessing the power of the wind, water and sun, and by creating its own balanced island ecology, Sowa does not only live a green life but a self-sufficient one as well, with fruit and vegetables grown on his island-paradise too.

Holidaymakers can pop across to this eco- island to marvel at how plastic has been turned into paradise. Future plans are to sail this eco-boat around the world, on a voyage to spread the message about recycling and how to live in an environmentally-aware way.

Contemporary design inspired by environmental issues defines modern green companies such as Osisu, in Thailand, where the emphasis is on fashion, function and feeling as if you are doing your bit for the planet in style.

Waste from construction sites and manufacturing is transformed into trendy furniture, home décor products and accessories through the work of architect Dr Singh Intrachooto. His company offers advice and ideas on what factories, and other companies wanting to use their waste in a productive and profitable way, can do.

By not manufacturing the products, which are made by the companies producing the waste, there is no need for this eco-design company to have huge premises and get involved in the nitty-gritty of the production line. The products are given the stamp of approval by Osisu before being sold in eco-shops and high-end designer style home furnishing outlets in Bangkok.

Being green in Asia is about being hip, rather than hippy. Without the cultural history of green-awareness, there are no negative connotations or stereotypes associated with recycling and caring about the environment, which has sometimes been attributed to this cause in the West.

In many ways this gives companies like Osisu scope to market recycling and other green issues in a modern style that defines ecological ideas in a way that is less about feeling bad about the destruction of the planet and wastefulness of resources, and more about clever use of natural products in design.

The five bedroom hotel was littered with decoration ranging from toys, to plastic drums and tyres, and all the flotsam and jetsam washed up on the polluted shores of many of Europe’s beaches.

This is not the first eco-hotel either. Sweden’s renowned Ice Hotel has to be the ultimate recycling project. Rebuilt every year, the ice and snow melts back into the river. Of course there is an environmental impact of building and running the hotel, so efforts to produce more renewable energy than is consumed are being made. The architects of the Ice Hotel have made a pledge to be CO2 negative by 2015.

In the UK, even hotel chain Premier Inn has opened its first eco-lodge, in January 2012, designed to use less energy. Features at the 65 bedroom Cornish hotel include ground source heat pumps for adjusting room temperature and water temperature.

Sustainably-sourced timber, LED lighting and key cards which ensure energy is not used up in unoccupied rooms, add to the green-consciousness of this business, with plans to incorporate many of these energy-saving architectural and design features in future builds.

The company, which is part of the Tessenderlo Group, has invested £3 million in the new plant which is located in Ilkeston in Derbyshire, and it is hoping that it will go a long way in helping to recycle the millions of window frames in the UK which do not currently meet energy efficiency standards.

The new plant will be able to process up to 12,000 old PVC-U window frames a week, a huge number. However, the benefits don’t stop there.

It will also create new jobs in the area, and because Eurocell is using a special closed-loop process it will not only be recycling the products, but it will also be creating new products from the recycled material on site.

This means that the whole procedure will be made a lot more efficient, reducing the amount of energy required.

What’s more, the plant will focus on creating products which themselves can help to make the construction industry more efficient. One of the main products that it will be manufacturing is PVC-U thermal inserts which can be used in buildings to improve their thermal performance.

The plant will make use of the latest technology and processes in order to recycle the old window frames, and it is hoped that it will play a large role in replacing the 230 million windows across the UK which Defra has claimed need to be upgraded for failing to meet energy efficiency standards.

Now a new scheme has launched in Barnstaple in Devon to encourage more people in the town to get involved in doing something good by recycling their drinks cans instead of throwing them away.

Every Can Counts has launched the recycling programme along with Barnstaple Town Council and BID Barnstaple. The scheme will see recycling bins appear in 400 shops and restaurants in the town centre to encourage both staff and shoppers to recycle their cans instead of throwing them away.

Barnstaple is not the first town that Every Can Counts has worked with to improve recycling. It has also joined forces with North Devon Council and other councils in the past, and it is hoping to expand even further now.

The empty cans will be collected by Community Resources, a not-for-profit organisation based in Ilfracombe, and supporters are hoping that it will go a long way to improving recycling efforts in the town.

Rick Hindley from Every Can Counts said that more than nine billion cans are sold every year in the UK and that “around 30% are consumed ‘on the go’”. They are hoping that the scheme will appeal to both workers and shoppers in the town centre, and he confirmed that they would like to “develop further projects with other town centres and retail sites in the future”.

One such recycling scheme is the controversial ‘chip and bin’ scheme where a microchip is fitted inside the wheelie bins of individual households and businesses in order to monitor and in some cases ‘reward’ them for the amount of waste they recycle and in turn prevent from going to landfill. Already used by over 65 councils across the UK (Big Brother Watch, 2010), the scheme came under the spotlight again last month, with the announcement that Cambridge council is the latest to consider the introduction of the microchips to their bins. The council is in the process of collating local opinion on the matter via a survey which closes in early November 2011, but concern has already been voiced that in allowing the council to track how much waste each household is recycling each year, privacy is being infringed. Others are worried that this bin surveillance technology could in time be used to identify and fine those who do not recycle, though few councils have so far used the chips in this way.

In Wales, councils are under additional pressure to initiate new recycling schemes in their boroughs due to the Welsh government’s more demanding waste strategy ‘Towards Zero Waste’ which aims to see up to 70% of all suitable waste being recycled by 2024-25 (Welsh Government, 2011). In October 2011, it was revealed that a £3 million grant has been allocated by the Welsh Government to help councils across Wales in their individual recycling schemes. These so far include the collection and recycling of cooking oils for use in council vehicles by Gwynedd county council, new kerbside recycling vehicles and litre recycling boxes by Torfaen County Borough Council and the introduction of a household waste recycling centre and mattress recycling facility by the Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council. The Environment Minister, Jane Davidson, believes that every local authority in Wales is on course to meet the statutory recycling targets.

The Code rates homes from 1 to 6 stars according to a multitude of factors, ranging from the use of heat retaining devices to the provision of storage for bicycles. Level 6 comes with the longest list and the most stringent measures. To be rated at that level, new homes will have to be completely zero carbon.

However, it is now claimed that the government will not be able to reach this target. Debate was sparked when the government released a new definition for the term “zero carbon” in its Plan for Growth in March 2011. It implies that the ratings won’t take into account the energy produced by mobile appliances such as phones and TVs used in the home. Richard Baines, from Black Country Housing Group, explains: “The aim is that new homes will still be ‘zero carbon’ by 2016 but only in respect of heating and lighting, i.e. the CO2 target for Code Level 5 rather than Code Level 6 of the Code for Sustainable Homes.” (Run Services)

Level 5 already sets out strict regulations concerning:

• Energy and CO2 emissions
• Environmentally-friendly construction materials
• Waste facilities
• Pollution emitted by the new home
• Drainage facilities
• Impact of the home on health and well-being (for example sound insulation, provision for private space)
• Management of the construction and operation of the home (for example Considerate Constructors Scheme, impact of the construction site)
• Environmental impact

Between April 2007 and March 2011, only 323 UK homes have received a 6 star rating, according to official data.

In the end, 5 wards were rewarded and placed in two categories:

• Elthorne and Hobbayne were found to be the best overall recyclers, with an average of 72.7% of their households recycling. They won £10,000 each.
• South Acton had the best increase in recycling rates with a rise of 6.1%. It was followed by Southfields and Northolt Mandeville (4.1% increase each). Each ward won £20,000.

At the other end of the spectrum, Southall Green came last with the worst participation rates and results. On average, only 38.3% of its residents participated in recycling.

Ealing rewarded wards rather than individuals. The prizes will be used to improve local facilities.

It is not just the wards that profited from this award: during the 7-month survey, the council as a whole spent £231,000 less in landfill tax according to the Ealing Gazette.

Ealing’s incentive initiative is fairly new in the UK. Only two other councils have recently organised recycling rewards schemes: Windsor and Maidenhead (RecycleBank scheme) and Cornwall. These schemes aim at rewarding the residents directly, rather than wards, with shopping vouchers, discounts and offers at local shops and restaurants.

The initiative has seen the London borough team up with Recyclebank, who offer rewards and loyalty schemes to the environmentally conscious. The recently launched programme is aimed at residents living on housing estates to begin with and if successful, it will be extended to the whole community within 12 months, said Lambeth Council.

The implementation of the Recyclebank scheme, in partnership with waste management provider, Veolia Environmental Services (VEP), is part of Lambeth Council’s plans to encourage its residents to recycle and reduce the amount it spends on waste. Its residents are the first in London to adopt the scheme.

According to Lambeth Council, the programme will enable 51,000 housing estate properties to start earning points for recycling waste and in return be rewarded for their efforts. Residents could save up to £75 a year to spend in restaurants or when buying clothes or books, said the Council.

VEP explained that residents will be able to let Recyclebank know that they have recycled each week by phone, on-line or by using a free iPhone application. Those who choose to join the scheme will receive 300 bonus points on registration and 10 points each week that they report their recycling.

As many as 100 local reward partners have been recruited to take part in the scheme, as well as several national partners such as Coca Cola and Marks and Spencer.

Sue Igoe, UK managing director of Recyclebank said that Lambeth was the first borough to introduce the “new community solution” and that the scheme had been developed to “tackle the challenging issues of recycling in flats head on”.

Tesco’s decision has angered city councils as it entails losing a large amount of revenue, somewhere between £50,000 and £80,000 per year according to the Daily Mail. Indeed, in some local authorities, Tesco’s council bins have made up to 25% of recycling points.

Councils use reprocessors that convert most of the waste into reusable and sellable materials. For example, recycled paper can be used by the newspaper industry, glass can be reground into sand and plastic transformed into plastic bags. Councils have been motivated by the growing demand for recycled materials, especially paper.

Income from recycled goods is used by councils to maintain smaller recycling points, as well as to recoup sorting, processing and haulage costs. Unfortunately, Tesco’s decision may mean that ultimately shoppers lose out on some of their council services. What’s more, councils can be fined if they don’t meet recycling targets set out by the government.

The supermarket chain claims that it will invest in community projects to make up for the loss suffered by local authorities.