Plastics are an important part of our lives, but there are some environmental issues. That’s why the Japanese have come up with a machine that is capable of turning plastic back into oil that can be used to create gasoline, diesel, or kerosene.

That’s big time recycling there. The process can turn 1kg of plastic back into 1l of oil, which isn’t to shabby and it doesn’t even create any CO2 during the process. With this technique we can get far more out of our resources.

Manga Farming is an interesting art project from Koshi Kawachi that takes old manga (Japanese comic books) and turns them into potted plants. Because if you didn’t know, old, wet paper helps radish sprouts to grow.

He has several book-plants on display at the Matsuzakaya department store in Nagoya, if you want to drop by and have a look. Hopefully he didn’t use any super-valuable comics by accident.

Most plastics in stores, in our homes and in our recycling bins are recyclable, but not very much of that actually gets recycled. Only about 6%. And that’s understandable. It’s hard for humans to sort through all those types of plastics. Plus we’re lazy and we tend to daydream a lot. That’s where a robot comes in handy.

This robot was designed by Mitsubishi and Osaka University and uses lasers to sort through all kinds of plastics very quickly. It has five different lasers that measure the reflectivity of each kind of plastic, allowing it to sort them all out.

Meanwhile in prosthetic foot news, a new prosthetic foot has been developed and detailed in a PLoS-One paper by Steven H. Collins (Department of Bio-mechanical Engineering, Delft University of Technology) and Arthur D. Kuo (Departments of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan).

This latest artificial foot uses a micro controller to operate a device in the foot which stores energy from the down step and then releases it on the up step, thereby mimicking the natural movement of a human ankle. So it’s an authentic fake foot. Or at least as authentic as a fake foot can be.

Envirobank’s “cash for cans” reverse vending machines hold up to 3000 containers and accept PET (#1),HDPE (#2) and PVC (#3) plastic, brown, clear and green glass and aluminum cans. Deposit your recyclables in these and you’ll get credits for discount shopping.

Pretty nice incentive to recycle your goods huh? It may not give out snacks, but Envirobank claims that their machines cut CO2 emissions, reduce waste disposal and collection costs, and even provide advertising and fund raising opportunities for those who need it.

Almost everyone is trying to be more environmentally responsible today. One way that geeks can do their part is by recycling their old used electronic gear rather than tossing it into the trash can when you have had your way with it. The catch is that many recycling programs don’t offer any scratch in exchange for your old gear.

Recycling electronics for many programs isn’t something done merely to help the environment. The gadgets are recycled and with enough bulk, recyclers can get as much gold and other precious metals from the electronics as you get from a small gold mine. RadioShack has announced a new electronic recycling program that takes back certain electronic items like cell phones, MP3 players, laptops and more and gives people some loot on a gift card for their trouble.

The Ovetto Recycling Egg may not have landed with Mork From Ork, but it’s ready to help you recycle. It’s creator, Gianluca Soldi, has high hopes for the Ovetto as “an object that meets the needs of domestic waste separation in order to educate the population to correctly dispose of waste in order to be able to consequently recycle it.”

It not only fits easily in modern homes and offices, but it looks pretty damn awesome in a 2001: A Space Odyssey sort of way. It may be the neatest egg I’ve ever seen. And it’s good for the environment. The Ovetto is even made of recycled polypropylene. At £139.99 you really can’t go wrong with a futuristic egg. I’m just saying.

If you like recycling objects and have some extra time on your hands, then this Speaker Media Cabinet might be just the thing. You can store anything you like inside, though it won’t fit a body, you’ll have to continue using the old fashioned car trunk for that.

It would be a great place to store your entertainment media, like DVDs and console games. All you need is a pair of large junked speakers, several chopping tools, the usual array of nuts and bolts, and the will to succeed.

I bet you never pictured this in your bathroom. The WashUP concept puts a washing machine directly on top of your toilet. The idea here is recycling. No one really cares where the water that you use for flushing comes from, after all. When the washing cycle is complete, the water that just cleaned your clothes is stored in a reservoir where it will be used again to flush the toilet. It’s a pretty ingenious way to conserve water and get twice the use out of a given amount.

One selling point is that the washing machine is higher off the ground, so it’s easier on your back as you load and unload clothing. Plus, this is good for apartment dwellers who don’t have room for a typical washing machine. I assume it can’t back up and filth up your clothes.