The Next Gold Rush: Investing in Garbage

Garbage has suddenly become a hot commodity. Just as record oil prices have made it profitable to squeeze oil out of the sand in Canada, it has become profitable to scavenge the landfills for valuable pieces of metal and plastic. According to Roben Farzad's BusinessWeek article "Cash for Trash,", 8 percent of global oil production is used to make plastic each year and it requires 80 percent less energy to produce recycled plastic. A manager of a recycling facility in Auburn, Mass. is getting $900 per bale for aluminum and $300 for No.2 clear plastic. Farzad also interviewed a homeless person who was being offered 7 cents for bottles (up from the traditional 5 cents) and an e-waste plant manager who revealed that a 16 square foot box of memory sticks contains $15,000 in precious metals.

With high global demand for commodities and increased public support for the green movement, the recycling industry looks promising. One of the problems in the past was low commodity prices in the mid '80s and early '90s that made recycling programs unprofitable. Now, with most analysts predicting that the prices of commodities such as oil will continue to rise, this shouldn't be a problem. There is tremendous opportunity for growth in a lot of communities that don't even have a recycling program at all. The recycling plants can't get enough garbage and governments can't find enough places to put their garbage. "Balance the equation, and recycling could grow by orders of magnitude," Farzad wrote. One of the obstacles is the fragmentation of the policies and practices of garbage collection which is often regulated by local governments and varies across the U.S. For instance, my hometown doesn't have a formal recycling program, yet in a nearby city, individuals who are caught with significant recyclables in their garbage can be slapped with fines.

If you are ready to jump on the bandwagon, there are several emerging recycling companies you can look into. TechTurn is an e-recycler that booked $40 million in sales last year and is rushing to open new plants all over the country. Coskata is a startup that attracted venture capitalists with technology that promises to derive $1-a-gallon ethanol from trash. Strategic Materials is the largest pure-play glass recycler and is on pace for $200 million in sales this year. Analyst Eric Prouty's six-stock Buy list of recyclers has returned 180 percent since its inception in 2006, according to BusinessWeek. Investing in "waste and recycling" reached a record $622 milllion in 2007, up from $20 million in 2001. Who would have thought that the stuff we throw away was worth so much? It certainly gives a whole new meaning to the saying "one person's trash is another person's treasure."

Tesla to Save Suburbs with Electric Cars?

Tesla Motors, makers of the remarkable electric super car that can accelerate as fast as a Ferarri, putting the Prius to shame, has just announced plans to begin production of a $60,000 electric sedan that would seat five and go 225 miles between charges. The Model S would effectively put the price of an all-electric car that doesn't sacrifice performance within reach of a much larger segment of the population.

This is a big development for our energy-strapped nation. It was unknown whether electric battery technology was advanced enough to be cost-effective for people without deep pockets. A $60K price point in just two years would be a game changer, and in 10 years electric cars could be ubiquitous. Tesla’s co-founder and chairman, Elon Musk, is on the record with a prediction of a sub-$30K offering in four years at the most according to Palo Alto Daily News. Unless Tesla is bluffing, they may have discovered something special in battery technology, which may just save suburbia from an inevitable death.

However, Tesla has disappointed before with production delays and an inability to deliver enough supply to the hundreds of customers yearning for their environmentally-friendly race car, so there are plenty who doubt that Tesla can deliver on their goal to bring electric cars to the masses.

If you are interested in investing in the future of the auto industry, you may have soon have such an opportunity. Musk has told C-Net that there are plans in the works for a Tesla IPO by the end of 2008, which would raise an estimated $100 million. But perhaps an even better investment option is to head over to the Tesla Motors site where you can pay $55,000 to lock in a production slot for the 2009 Tesla Roadster. As your delivery date approaches, you could sell your spot in line for a nice profit, which you can then put toward a more practical Model S in 2010.

Clean Edge Can Help Investors Profit From Clean Tech

The world needs to be saved. The global climate crisis threatens our planet. But for every mayor like Greg Nickels of Seattle, who encourages people to drink tap water rather than bottled, or for every consumer who chooses reusable tote bags when shopping, there are thousands of cars and factories cropping up in developing countries such as China and India that cancel those actions out.

Small steps by individuals certainly can help, but major progress is not going to be made in solving the worldwide crisis without major action.

Major action will happen when people realize they can profit from making environmentally conscious choices.

To that end, Clean Edge is here to help.

The company, founded in 2000 by Ron Pernick and Joel Makower, is a research and publishing firm that strives to help investors, companies and governments learn about and profit from using clean technology.

Clean Edge "tracks and analyzes clean-tech markets, trends, and opportunities through its network of partners and affiliates," according to the company's website. "Clean Edge, with offices in the San Francisco Bay Area and Portland Oregon, offers unparalleled insight and intelligence on the emerging clean-tech economy."

Clean Edge's products and services include market research reports, the Clean-Tech Investor Summit, strategic consulting services, a daily newsfeed and a monthly newsletter. But perhaps the most useful and unique tool they offer investors are the NASDAQ Clean Edge U.S. Indexes. These are "benchmark indexes which track U.S.-listed clean-energy companies," according to the website.

"The NASDAQ Clean Edge U.S. Index (CLEN) and the NASDAQ Clean Edge U.S. Liquid Series Index (CELS) are modified market capitalization-weighted indices designed to track the performance of companies that are primarily manufacturers, developers, distributors, or installers of clean-energy technologies. An exchange traded fund (ETF) is based on the NASDAQ Clean Edge U.S. Liquid Series Index and is sponsored by First Trust Advisors L.P.," according to the website.

If enough people invest in clean technology, and make clean technologies viable on a large scale, the world can be changed.

Wave-Powered Boat Sails Nearly 4,000 Miles

These days, people are quick to jump on solar-powered housing, so why not a wave-powered boat?

69-year old Kenichi Horie has set sail for his second trip from Hawaii to Japan on a wave-powered boat. His maiden voyage in 1996 took place on a solar-powered boat made of aluminum beer cans, much like this one.

The journey—which would take an average yacht a little over a week—will take Horie over two months. He plans to power the electrical equipment (including a microwave) on his boat with solar panels. Momentum is achieved by two panels at the front of the boat, which allow waves to propel him forward.

He plans to carry rice, microwaveable meals and canned food. Oh, and beer. Only the necessities.
Horie’s hope is that his clean-sailing trip will encourage the shipping industry to adopt green habits at sea. Though on a small scale, his trip is proof that it can be done.

An Alternative Investment With (Wooden) Legs

If you get the notion to head to Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, you will see nestled on the periphery of the predictable craftsmans, bungalows and Martha’s Vineyard-esque properties a lone house that goes by the name of the Loblolly House.

Architected by KieranTimberlake Associates, LLP partners Stephen Kieran and James Timberlake, and named after the tall pines that surround it, the Loblolly house serves one simple purpose outside of acting as a residence: Design for disassembly.

Since the average home has a lifespan of less than 100 years, Kieran and Timberlake are seeking ways to build homes designed for disassembly. They believe that builders and architects should look at the future of the properties they design before building and look for ways to build responsibly using renewable resources.

The house, which was assembled in less than six weeks, relies on a solid aluminum frame to keep it sturdy. Kieran and Timberlake claim that the house will come down just as quickly and efficiently as it was built.

Architecturally, the design speaks to my inner art historian. It has the linearity of Mondrian, paired with the sterile but natural wooden influence of Frank Lloyd Wright, polished off with the modernity of Bauhaus’ Gropius.

Perhaps redeeming the ugly ceiling fans, is the design team’s (or photographer’s?) use of the Eames chair in the interior of the house. The design inspiration for ‘Kit of Parts’ comes largely from the Eames’ aesthetic.

The Loblolly House is made up of ‘smart cartridges’, which are floor and ceiling panels containing all of the utilities needed to make the home livable including electrical, heating and fire detection devices. The exterior and interior are completely made of wood (with the exception of the aluminum framing) that is Forest Stewardship Council-approved birch, bamboo or plywood. Its finish is entirely nontoxic.

Another interesting feature is the home’s positioning and foundation. Because it is built on structural piles and raised off the ground, it does not damage the coastal land on which it rests, nor does it disrupt the animals living nearby, as they can still pass underneath it.

I was encouraged to hear that the Loblolly House will go into mass production with Steve Glenn’s LivingHomes prefabricated development company, a milestone for the efforts of green developers worldwide.

And investors take note: The idea of environmentally responsible, portable and prefabricated homes is an intriguing one, especially considering the amount of interest the Loblolly House has generated (they are producing a book in May, Loblolly House: Elements of a New Architecture). I expect we will hear considerably more about Kieran Timberlake in the near future.

*All images are courtesy of KieranTimberlake Associates, LLP

A True Homegrown Investment

Can’t afford to build a house? Grow one.

In keeping with this week’s theme of unique housing, I found Terreform.org, a nonprofit group dedicated to the preservation of ecology and the urban environment. Their pièce de résistance, among many other endeavors, is the pursuit of sustainable green development grown naturally.

The two architects spearheading the ‘Fab Tree Hab Treehouse’, Mitchell Joachim and Javier Arbona of the Smart Cities group of the MIT Media Lab, are working with Lara Gredem, an environmental engineer from MIT, to develop a house that grows itself.
The intention for these homes (and all other projects on the Terraform docket) is to create a food source for some organism in each stage of its life.

Their idea is organic in origin and execution. The project starts by staking a plywood structure into a tree and growing a house out of the tree itself around the plywood, using renewable resources to feed it. Once the tree intertwines around the basic structure, the original plywood form can be removed and reused to build another structure for another house, and so on.


The interior of the house is made of plaster, mud and other building materials–all natural and eco-friendly wherever possible. The idea originally included glass windows, but the designers are researching soy-originated transparent materials that can grow and expand as the physical structure grows inside the tree. A heat source for water and air would be provided by active solar hot water pipes which heat radiant flooring.

Joachim explains it by saying:

“Our dwelling is composed with 100% living nutrients. Here traditional anthropocentric doctrines are overturned and human life is subsumed within the terrestrial environs. Home, in this sense, becomes indistinct and fits itself symbiotically into the surrounding ecosystem.This home concept is intended to replace the outdated design solutions at Habitat for Humanity. Our goal was to propose a method to grow homes from native trees. This enables these new local dwellings to be a part of an absolutely green community. Pleaching is a method of weaving together tree branches to form living archways, lattices, or screens. Templates, cut from 3D computer files control the plant growth in the early stages.”


It all sounds great, but isn’t it faster to just build a house? How long will it take to grow one?

The easy answer is five years. Joachim is looking into a particular self-grafting plant, unique for its growth speed and intertwining roots and branches.

Two issues, raised by Mike Rollins, are that of zoning and maintenance. First, any permanent structure requires a building permit, and because these treehouses are too organic to be considered permanent settlements, they cannot be built using the same permits a traditional home requires.

Second, the houses would be less resilient against severe such as storms floods and high winds.
Joachim, Arbona and Gredim are all at work researching developing these homes en masse on a farm, then transplanting them to their permanent locations. All of this makes me imagine a world where sustainable development and pristine suburbia live happily ever after. Perhaps it’s not too far off.


*all photos are courtesy of Terreform.