Mike Haasl

This is a badge bit (BB) that is part of the PEM curriculum.  Completing this BB is part of getting the straw badge in Waste Streams.

Have you heard of people who drive their vehicles with used french fry oil?  Let's give that a try!

 
 

Here's one way to do it:


Minimum requirements:
  - Turn at least 3 gallons of used cooking oil into biodiesel

Provide proof of the following as pictures or video (<2 min):
  - Used cooking oil you're starting with
  - Oil after filtering
  - Chemicals you'll be adding
  - Finished biodiesel
  - Video of putting it in an engine and it running well

This is a badge bit (BB) that is part of the PEM curriculum.  Completing this BB is part of getting the straw badge in Waste Streams.

Food and beverages occasionally come to our homes in cans.  Ever think of turning them into a solar air heater?  Let's give that a try!

 
   

Here's one way to do it:


Minimum requirements:
  - Turn a bunch of aluminum or steel cans into a solar air heater
  - Connected to a structure you would like to heat
  - Can be solar fan powered or just rely on the rising hot air
        - If relying on rising air, include a flapper to prevent reversal and cooling at night

Provide proof of the following as pictures or video (<2 min):
  - Cans you're starting with
  - Cans modified for the heater
  - Midway through building the heater
  - Finished heater connected to a structure
  - Reverse flow prevention flapper if needed

This is a badge bit (BB) that is part of the PEM curriculum.  Completing this BB is part of getting the sand badge in Waste Streams.

Reducing the amount of grey water we make is one way to reduce overall waste.  Let's get two uses out of hand washing in the bathroom by making a hand wash station that fills the toilet after flushing!

 
 

Here's a video showing one way to do it:


Minimum requirements:
  - Make a hand wash sink that feeds a toilet
  - Does not need to be located on the toilet
  - Must use toilet flush fill water to operate sink
  - Must drain into toilet tank to prepare for next flush
  - May use a conventional sink as part of the system

Provide proof of the following as pictures or video (<2 min):
  - Existing toilet with a normal tank lid
  - Midway through building your sink system
  - Installed sink with hand wash water running after a flush

This is a badge bit (BB) that is part of the PEM curriculum.  Completing this BB is part of getting the sand badge in Waste Streams.

Reducing the amount of grey water we make is one way to reduce overall waste.  Let's get two uses out of hand washing in the bathroom by installing a hand wash station that fills the toilet after flushing!

 
 

Here's a video showing on in action:


Minimum requirements:
  - Install a hand wash sink that feeds a toilet

Provide proof of the following as pictures or video (<2 min):
  - Existing toilet with a normal tank lid
  - New hand wash sink prior to installation
  - Installed sink with water running after a flush

This is a badge bit (BB) that is part of the PEM curriculum.  Completing this BB is part of getting the sand badge in Waste Streams.

Have a little extra paint left over after a project?  Let's save it for touch-ups in a way that won't let it dry up as fast and become waste!

 
 

Here's a video covering a few small aspects of this BB:


Minimum requirements:
  - Repackage paint into a smaller air tight container for long term storage
  - Copy/save the original paint mixing label if it had one
  - Label what room/project it is from

Provide proof of the following as pictures or video (<2 min):
  - Partially used can of paint
  - Container you're going to put the paint in
  - Labeled can ready for storage

This is a badge bit (BB) that is part of the PEM curriculum.  Completing this BB is part of getting the sand badge in Waste Streams.

Plastic containers are occasionally unavoidable to purchase.  Lets make them into a self watering growing container!

 
 

Here's one way to do it:


Minimum requirements:
  - Turn a plastic bottle or jug into a self watering planter
  - Includes a wick or way for water to get to the plant
  - Includes a way to see if it's out of water

Provide proof of the following as pictures or video (<2 min):
  - Bottle or jug you're starting with
  - Midway through making it showing how the water will wick
  - Finished self watering container with a plant growing in it

This is a badge bit (BB) that is part of the PEM curriculum.  Completing this BB is part of getting the sand badge in Waste Streams.

Plastic containers are occasionally unavoidable to purchase.  Lets get a second use out of them by making a scoop!

 
 

Here's one way to do it:


Minimum requirements:
  - Turn a plastic jug into a scoop

Provide proof of the following as pictures or video (<2 min):
  - Jug you're starting with
  - Finished scoop

This is a badge bit (BB) that is part of the PEM curriculum.  Completing this BB is part of getting the straw badge in Waste Streams.

Plastic everywhere.  Filling up the oceans.  Alongside every ditch.  Wait, doesn't it start its life as oil?  I wonder if we can turn it back into a fuel.  Let's give that a try!

 
 

Obligatory disclaimer: You're now playing with fire.  And chemicals.  Please do plenty of research and find a safe way to complete this BB that doesn't poison your neighbors

Here's one way to do it:


Minimum requirements:
  - Turn waste plastic into a fuel like diesel
  - Make a gallon of fuel (can be several fuels that add up to a gallon)
  - Use the fuel in an engine to prove it works

Provide proof of the following as pictures or video (<2 min):
  - Plastic you're starting with
  - Your pyrolysis system
  - Operating the system
  - Collected fuel
  - Video of an engine running with store-bought fuel and then with your fuel to show it acts similarly

This is a badge bit (BB) that is part of the PEM curriculum.  Completing this BB is part of getting the straw badge in Waste Streams.

Compost is a wonderful thing to have as a gardener. Let's build a bigger system to handle hot or cold composting!

 
 

Here's one way to do it.  


Minimum requirements:
  - Make a three bin compost system that's at least 2 cubic yards in volume per bin
  - Has sides to contain it
  - Includes a way to empty it fully without lifting contents out the top
  - No plywood, treated or man-made wood products

Provide proof of the following as pictures or video (<2 min):
  - Location where the bin will go
  - Midway through construction
  - Finished bin
  - Show that it's at least 2 cubic yards in volume per bin
  - If made with pallets, show that they're HT (heat treated) pallets

This is a badge bit (BB) that is part of the PEM curriculum.  Completing this BB is part of getting the straw badge in Waste Streams.

Cob and cordwood buildings often use glass bottles to let in light and create artistic spaces.  Sometimes glass bottles are used in floors to insulate from the earth below.  Let's put those empties to good use in a natural building!

 
 

Here's one way to do it:


Minimum requirements:
  - Use 50 glass bottles in a wall or floor
        - If cut in half and taped together they will make 25 little windows
  - Do not need to be exposed

Provide proof of the following as pictures or video (<2 min):
  - Bottles you're starting with
  - Bottles ready to be used in the construction project
  - Bottles placed in the wall or floor
  - Finished wall or floor