Let's face it: if you're not in the house, you're probably not using silverware. But eating with your hands is not only messy, but sometimes it's just not all that convenient. Fried chicken and burgers are fine when eaten out of hand, but what about potato salad or pie?

This nomad traveling silverware set attaches to a lanyard that you can wear around your neck when out hiking or keep in the glove compartment of your car (for emergencies). It includes a miniature stainless steel fork, knife, spoon and bottle opener, all of which tuck neatly away in a plastic case when not in use.

You could use plastic silverware, but this is not only more practical, but it's more eco-friendly, since there is nothing to throw away. A few uses, and this $20 gadget will pay for itself - not to mention that it would made a great gift for anyone who is outdoor-oriented and not taking all their meals at a dining room table.

In January, the city of Oakland, California, just across the bay from San Francisco, instituted a tax on businesses that they believed created the most litter in the city. The city council felt that businesses needed to be more socially responsible for their customer's actions, while business owners opposed the measure, saying that packaging is necessary to sell goods - particularly food items - in a safe and sanitary manner.

Now, city businesses have to change the way they package their food, in addition to paying for it, because the city has just banned styrofoam food packaging.

Due to take effect in January, the measure says that all food packaging must be biodegradable when composted with food waste. Supporters of the law point out that 15 percent of the litter collected in storm drains is styrofoam/polystyrene packaging. They gained additional support from the fact that there are 100 other cities, including Portland and neighboring Berkeley, which have similar bans, and San Francisco is expected to join that list later this year.

The city will use fines ranging from $100-$500 to enforce the measure and businesses that still use styrofoam will have have to find another way to keep their food warm.

The Pot-de-Feu grill is eco-friendly and foodie-friendly - that's what we like to see in our various cooking gadgets/equipment whenever possible. The grills, weighing in at only 6.5-lbs and 7x12-in., are hand-crafted from used up 20-lb propane tanks and each one features a unique flame design. All exterior surfaces of the heavy steel are painted with black, high heat paint, while the insides are unpainted. Charcoal is the best material for grilling with a Pot-de-Feu and a cooking grate is included with each one. Smallish foods like kebabs, grilled fruits for dessert or simply meals for a small group of people are the best things to cook on these and, if you set a paving stone or other protective material under the grill, it can be set on a tabletop. Be careful, though: the grill itself gets very hot during cooking!

Check out a picture of the grill in action after the jump.

I'm much more a coffee drinker than a tea drinker, but when I do make tea, I just fill a pot with water and start boiling away. regardless of how much tea I'm really planning to make. If I brew one cup, I pour the hot water in my cup, then pour the rest of the water down the drain. What a waste!

The EcoKettle from Nigel's Eco Store is a cool little kettle that lets you measure exactly the amount of water you need to boil. There's a small reservoir that holds 1.5 litres of water, and the measuring button lets you release as little as a single cup to the full 1.5 liters into the boiling chamber.

The EcoKettle is £34.99, and unfortunately, it looks like Nigel's only ships within the UK and Europe.

Starbucks is in the process of replacing their current cups with cups made of 10% recycled paper and their heat-insulating cup sleeves are already made of recycled paper, but the company may soon have a new, environmentally-friendly option. A new company based in the Seattle Area, MicroGreen Polymers, says that it has developed a way to make insulated coffee cups out of recycled plastic bottles. Not only does the company believe that their cups, which are less than a year away from full commercial production, will be cheaper than the more traditional paper cups, but the production process creates no harmful gasses. The cups are created by infusing plastic with tiny air bubbles, creating an air cushion within the material of the cup to protect your hand from the heat. Because there is less physical material in the cups, the plastic from one bottle can be used to make five to seven 12-ounce coffee cups. MicroGreen Polymers has signed a development agreement with Reynolds Food Packaging, so it may not be long before a new wave of eco-friendly materials hit the stores.