King County names global green contest winners

From the Philippines to Germany to Kenya, the winning entries in King County's Green World Cup contest exemplify the best of green living around the world.
 
During the drama and excitement of the World Cup, King County residents were invited to submit examples of green living from other countries and cultures. A panel of eco-experts has named three winners.
 
“Judges selected the winning entries based on the creativity of the examples and their impact on the environment," said King County EcoConsumer Tom Watson, the project coordinator. “This contest really highlights some of the unique and unexpected ways people are going green in other countries, many of which Americans could adopt.”
 
For more details, and contact info for the winners and judges, contact Watson at tom.watson@kingcounty.gov or 206-296-4481.
 
Winners

First place: Irene Buenavista of Seattle, a native of the Philippines, who listed 12 different ways many Filipinos reduce waste and conserve water. These include using a "bayong," a woven bag made of renewable native materials such as bamboo, at the market, and saving the water from washing rice or vegetables to reuse for watering plants or cleaning the porch. For her winning entry, Buenavista won four tickets to the Aug. 8 Seattle Sounders game, courtesy of the Sounders.
 
Second place: Alexandra Turner of Renton, who gave an exuberant description of how her German soccer team reduced car trips. They would put all the gear in one vehicle and players would walk to the game together (for games far away, they would carpool). Their two-legged, low-tech transportation helped the environment, was a bonding experience, and was also practical because, as she wrote, "After every good game came a nice glass of beer." Alexandra’s second-place finish earned her a backpack made from bicycle inner tubes and other recycled materials from Seattle manufacturer Alchemy Goods.
 
Third place: Bryn Black of Seattle, who described how a non-profit organization set up solar panels in one of the poorest slums in Kenya so the residents could watch television broadcasts of the soccer World Cup, which was being held in Africa for the first time. Bryn’s idea won her a solar-powered charger for cell phones and other portable devices, courtesy of Energizer.

All prizes were donated by the businesses. The winning entries, photos of the winners, additional entries and other global green examples are at www.KCgreenworldcup.com.

Along with Watson, competition judges were Signe Gilson, vice president for waste diversion at CleanScapes and Stokley Towles, environmental performance artist.

Related information

Green World Cup

King County EcoConsumer

King County Solid Waste