"I say potay-to, you say potah-to ..." but soon you'll be saying compostable plastics, even if it doesn't scan.Scientists at the UK's University of Leicester have been modifying starch and cellulose into plastic materials which can be rotted down on the compost heap.
They are showing off their greener experiments at the Royal Society's Summer Science Exhibition (#sse09), in London, which began on 30 June. Their exhibit, "Plastics from Potatoes, Rubber from Rice" is one of more than 20 interactive exhibits chosen for the exhibition.
Click here for the Blog's ever popular posting on dancing potatoes.
Heaviest potato found in Lebanon
The Blog's favourite petrochemical toy is of course Lego. Look how it responds to the events of the day, with the Barack Obama Inauguration Lego and now various Michael Jackson tribute Lego videos.
On the occasion of 4th July, the Blog has found this flaming red, white and blue shooter which is an example of a classic chemistry experiment, the density column, in Anne Marie's Chemistry Blog on the About.com:Chemistry website.
Will Beacham, ICB European bureau chief, writes about his adventures at
Glastonbury in Somerset, UK last weekend, Friday 26 to Sunday 28 June ...
With the mud now removed from most of my clothes, I'm back in sunny Sutton's ICIS office to share my experiences. Barbara only wanted the highlights of Bruce Springsteen from the comfort of her armchair. But I can tell you it was worth the effort of trudging through the fields with a pint of hot cider in my hand to watch probably the most electrifying live performance I've ever seen. You'd better get a ticket for next year!
For five days each year, a few fields in a quiet corner of the UK's West Country become a throbbing city of 180,000 people. The Glastonbury Festival of the Performing Arts is a national institution. Started in 1971 by a farmer, Michael Eavis, who had an interest in music, it has grown to become
Whilst there this year, I started thinking about the organisation and economics of this event, plus its wider impact on the local area and on demand for chemicals.
The local economy must benefit hugely from the festival. There were several hundred stalls selling everything from food to clothes to the "ShePee", which I'll leave to your imagination. Of the 180,000 people attending, 40,000 are workers: a major boost to the economy.
The huge number of tents covering the site must also stimulate demand for the
"Green" is certainly a key theme of the event. Woe betide anyone trying to avoid the queues at the toilets by hiding behind a bush or hedge. A team of "green police" (see video) wearing British Bobby hats coloured green patrol the site, blowing their whistles and chasing offenders.
The figures for waste produced are staggering. In 2008 the festival recycled 49% or 863.32 tonnes of its waste. This included 193.98 tonnes of composted organic waste, 400 tonnes of chipped wood, 9.12 tonnes of glass, 54 tonnes of cans and plastic bottles, 41 tonnes of cardboard, 66 tonnes of scrap metal, 11.2 tonnes of clothing, tents, sleeping bags, 0.264 tonnes of batteries, 10 tonnes of dense plastic and 0.25 tonnes plastic sheets.
This year the festival also used a fleet of New Holland tractors, all capable of running on 100% biodiesel refined from used cooking oil sourced in the
This year I saw fantastic performances from Prodigy, Will Young, Tom Jones and Neil Young plus DJs like Pete Tong and Deadmau5. Don't tell any of my cool friends, but I also loved Australian legend Rolf Harris!
Icecream van in Glastonbury mud on the only rainy day
Will and friends
The shape of business travel to come
This happy photo was snapped at the Madrid EPL on 25 June 2009, where Ruby Wax was the speaker. Here she is with EPL stalwart David Cartwright, enjoying a cosy moment at the dinner on Thursday night. 
At last the new roof on Centre Court, Wimbledon, was rolled out on Monday evening, and in all the fuss about the roof and of course the first tennis match beneath it, and the lateness of the hour, was anyone interested in what it was made of? Sports
I was watching Bruce Springsteen's set at the Glastonbury Festival last night, recorded from Saturday, marvelling at his energy and how wonderfully comfortable it was to be watching with my feet up at home without having waited six hours to get near the front for the same kind of view. Even better, in real life (IRL) it took two-and-half-hours, but the BBC cleverly condensed it to just the good stuff. When I saw him in London at the Emirates Stadium last year, it had all the worst aspects of the IRL experience: he was a tiny blur in the distance, and it took ages to get home afterwards.
Dictator Dolls
PS When one reader commented that he didn't get the relevance of the photos, our photographer commented: "Ham and dictators - you don't get more Spanish than that."
(Disclaimer: Opinions belong to the characters quoted, and do not reflect those of the Blog.)
"Eastman Plant in Malaysia" by Hanim Rafar.
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