What the iPhone 5C actually is.

Photo © Apple.

People, the "C" in "iPhone 5C" stands for "colorful", and not "cheap" or "China" as the Internets are speculating. Apple's website says so, right there in the tagline, so let's end this debate.

A more interesting question is, what is an iPhone 5C under the skin? Simply put, it is an iPhone 5 with a plastic back and a slightly upgraded camera. If you want to get technical, the guts have been reworked, but the components are mostly the same.

But why not just sell the old phone, like they did before? Two reasons. The obvious one is that a redesigned phone will sell better than last year's model. The other potential reason is that Apple is reducing the manufacturing costs by replacing an expensive dye-cut aluminum case with molded plastic. Moreover, the more expensive iPhone 5S uses the same case as the iPhone 5, albeit with three different finishes, so it's quite possible that Apple kept the tooling and the production capacity for the expensive aluminum case exactly the same.

It's nice to see a rounded plastic back making a comeback, though. I've been missing the ergonomic feel of my iPhone 3G for quite some time now. Apple's silicone covers for the iPhone 5C, however, are hideous.

Compostable Plastics

Biobags.

A bit over a week ago while I was visiting a friend in Ithaca, I was introduced to the concept of biodegradable / compostable plastics. Apparently, the salad bar where we ate had all of their plastic utensils and shopping bags made out of this material. I had never heard of such things before, and thought it was a joke. It's not though.

The material (or rather a group of materials) is called Mater-Bi, and is used to make such products as BioBags. They're made in the USA, they are fully compostable, and they're safe to burn as fuel. Now my question is: why aren't we using them here in New York City?

Landfill.
Image pulled from
Langley Grammar School forums.

Back in 2008, mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed a shopping bag tax, charging six cents per bag on every purchase. Many immediately protested the proposal. I shrugged it off as “Big deal, I'll pay six cents more.” Some stores chose to deal with the problem of plastic polymer pollution individually. WholeFoods uses paper bags. Food Basics makes you purchase each bag for a few cents. BJ's Wholesale Club and Costco don't provide any bags at all, assuming that you will just cart your purchases to your car.

None of these solutions are great. Paper bags disintegrate in any kind of precipitation. Having to pay a few cents per bag reduces the problem, but hardly eliminates it. Carting your purchases to your car without bags is great only when you have a car, which many of the metropolitan residents do not.

Why not just switch to BioBags? Is it just a matter of awareness, like it was in my case?