The Landfill Prize 2010

This has to be my favourite time of year, when John Naish, author of Enough, announces the winners of The Landfill Prize, to hghlight all sorts of novelty gadgets that form Britain's cleverest rubbish.    Having succeeded to get my nomination for SatNag in the 2009 Top Ten, I failed to get around to even nominating anything this year, but I am enjoying the results all the same.

I've included the Top 3 here, of which there are already a couple that are really making my sides hurt with laughter, much due to the nominators' comments as well as the items themselves. I just wish that it was really that funny, given the amount resources and our money that's wasted on stuff that gets hidden in a drawer when the novelty's worn off.

A Bra Dryer and an Ear Dryer, blimmin' 'eck, they'll be coming out with a Pants Dryer next...hmm now that might just be of interest....

Here's that Top 3:


1. Digital fridge magnet

Is scribbling notes with a pen on a whiteboard to complex, too onerous… too 20th century? Here’s the Digital Video Memo, a fridge magnet on which you can record a 30-second video message. Look into the camera, press the record button and start talking. You’ve only added a digital screen, a rechargeable battery system, a computer and a camera to the planet’s landfill potential. According to users’ reports, the screen is tiny and the volume’s too low, so you have to stick your mouth right near the camera… so all people get to see is a quietly talking ear.

http://www.iwantoneofthose.com/digital-video-memo/index.html

Nominated by Karen Varga, who says, ‘You can just picture the workers in overseas factories going "What the **** are these for and why do these mad westerners need them?’


2. The Bra Dyer

The makers say the “Bra Dryer is a simple device which is based on the presumption that the best way to dry bras without ruining their fabric, wiring and padding is to dry them on a shape which resembles female breasts. That's why Bra Dryer is shaped like a female torso”.

Rea Cris, who nominated it, remarks: “What women is seriously thinking: ‘YES! Fantastic, this is what I have been waiting for: metalic dismembered hot breasts, they'll match the wallpaper perfectly!’”

Nominated by Rea Cris, Edinburgh,
http://www.bradryer.com


3. The Dryear Ear Dryer

Wave goodbye to towels (almost). Here’s how you can spend a lot of cash, use electricity and create lots of energy waste – with a battery-operated hot-air ear dryer. 'Drying your ears has never been simpler or more effective'. Or, at £69, could it be more expensive? The device slots into the ear canal and blows hot air. Oh, and the instructions advise you to dry your ears with a towel first.

Nominated by Anna, London
www.dryear.net


To see the rest of the list that was judged by John Naish, Anna Shepard, Carl Honoré and Ben Davis, visit www.enoughness.co.uk.  And if you know anyone who's got bored of their gadgets, do remind them to WEEEcycle them won't you, via the waste electricals bin at the HWRC, instead of dumping them in the bin.

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In 100 days, drive left and then turn right to landfill

If you're the kind of person who regularly berates the amount of over-packaged, over-blinged and over-rated crap to swamp our planet, I've got a real treat for you tonight as it's time to stand up and reveal the worst offenders.

Created by John Naish, author of Enough, The Landfill Prize is inviting nominations for the most needless, wasteful uses of our planet's precious resources that you've discovered in the last year.

So, if like me you have a pet hate up your sleeve, it's now time to flaunt it. Just pop over to www.enoughness.co.uk to see how you can nominate. You'll have to be quick though as the judging panel is getting ready to name and shame the worst offenders in February.

I've got my nomination sorted, representing a whole host of novelty gadgets whose only purpose are to amuse or bemuse for all of five minutes before they end up abandoned in a drawer or even worse in landfill.

My nomination is none other than an irritating product called the Sat Nag, which at £6.99 mocks the more well know Sat Nav device, blasting its owner with 24 annoying comments featuring totally unhelpful commands.

Typical phrases include "In 100 metres, I’m going to ask you to move over to the slow lane, so I can fix my makeup" and "You have reached your destination - you may now throttle your passenger."

It's not just unnecessarily irritating, it's irritatingly unnecessary and is as funny as your mother-in-law sat in the passenger seat, poking an umbrella in your ear hole.

Well that's my rant over. It's always therapeutic to get something off my chest and huge thanks to John Naish and The Landfill Prize panel for allowing me the opportunity. So with my nomination sorted, I wonder what yours would be. Go on....have a rant and then go and nominate!

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