ROOM FOR A PONY

Exploring what life could be like if we weren’t buried in clutter, burdened with too many possessions, and surrounded by chaos.

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Entries Tagged as 'polystyrene'

The seamy underbelly of Halloween decor

October 12th, 2013 · No Comments · Consumer Issues, Decoration Industry, Disposability, Excess of Possessions, Manufacturing

In the summer of 1975 I got a job in a factory that made cardboard Halloween skeletons. My job was to rivet the legs and arms onto the skeletal torso. As the parts came down a conveyor belt, I would grab them furtively and rivet. Then an arm and then a leg and then an […]

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Avoiding pesky labor laws by sending work abroad

June 24th, 2013 · No Comments · Consumer Issues, Excess of Possessions, Manufacturing, Philosophy, Polystyrene

What was I saying last time? Oh yes — we send our Styrofoam to China and they make it into cheaper plastic products. So what’s wrong with that? If China can recycle polystyrene into a more inert kind of plastic that isn’t going to be breaking up into little particles and flying all over the place, […]

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Where to get rid of Styrofoam blocks in Portland

June 13th, 2013 · 4 Comments · Disposability, Packaging, Polystyrene, Recycling, Trash Disposal

I have to admit I’ve been feeling somewhat holy about going to the trouble of schlepping our huge Styrofoam blocks out to one of the only two places in Portland that will take them. I feel less holy after what I’ve just found out. …. which I’ll tell you about in a minute. But first […]

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Why we don’t want to be inhaling or swallowing Styrofoam

June 10th, 2013 · No Comments · brain theory, Consumer Issues, Disposability, Trash Disposal

It’s not rocket surgery. All you have to do is watch the surface of any hot liquid in one of those Styrofoam cups to see it forming a slick on your drink. When every cell in my body goes “Ew!” I pay attention. I may not be a scientist, but my body knows a few […]

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We’re all eating Styrofoam

June 6th, 2013 · No Comments · Consumer Issues, Decluttering, Disposability, Packaging, Polystyrene

See the big blocks of Styrofoam cluttering up your garage or basement. Does the thought of taking a big bite out of one of them repulse you? Surprise! — we’re already essentially doing that. Styrofoam, a brand name for polystyrene, takes 500 years to decompose. When we throw it away, it doesn’t break down in […]

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