The Baja BBQ Firepack by mike and maaike

This product has nothing to hide, and what you witness in these photographs is what makes it such a bold work of genius. From San Francisco design duo mike and maaike, comes the Baja BBQ Firepack (patent pending), which offers a dramatically innovative and environmentally sensitive approach to outdoor grilling. Mike Simonian and Maaike Evers designed the Firepack for Design Annex/Lazzari, a San Francisco-based cooking fuel company in business since 1908, with the hopes of making an American pastime, a cleaner and more practical process. By housing 2 lbs of natural lump coal within a burnable structure made from 100% recycled biodegradable paper pulp, the product will burn when lit from the bottom, and virtually transform itself into working coals within 15 to 20 minutes. It obviates the need for starter chimneys or polluting and (and toxic) lighter fluids, to say nothing of the drudgery of cleaning up a messy fire pit or grill at the end of the night.

Just in time for those Dog Days, the Baja BBQ Firepack will surely be a practical addition to a summer party or picnic where grilling takes place. The Firepack is currently available at gourmet supermarkets. For more information on this product and the designers themselves, please visit mike and maaike.

(All photographs courtesy of mike and maaike)

Pet Doo-doo Dilemmea

Are you one of the millions of pet owners who experience second degree duty grief every day? Every time you take your dog for a walk, do you take along a doo-doo bag?  Every time you change the kitty litter, do you scoop it into a plastic bag to have a stink free trash? For all of you pet owners out there, your pets can now do their business and you can get off guilt free. (Disclaimer: this does not solve the actual litter toxicity problem but does although solve excrament disposal issues.)

New to the market this summer, Perf Go Green is introducing a full line of 100% biodegradable kitty litter bags and waste bags of all sizes.  When less than 2% of plastic bags get recycled, it is easy to see the responsible next step. Standard plastic bags take anywhere from 100-500 years to break down, while biodegradable bags take anywhere from 12-24 months to break down leaving far less mass in landfills annually.

Manufactured by Spectrum Plastics, these bags are composed of recycled plastic, OXO-biodegradable additives, and are designed with a perforated film to aid in the decomposition process. Keep your eye peeled and your conscience out of the guilt weeds.

Bio-based Plastics That Can Survive Freezing Temperatures

CP-INJ-13 is the first ever first-ever freeze-tolerant bio-based resin. This material is an extension of the existing biodegradable, compostable plastics in the Cereplast line. A substitute for petroleum-based plastic, their alternatives are starch-based, made from corn, wheat, tapioca and potato starches. To learn more about the new PLA (polylactic acid), click here…