As we peruse the aisles at Outdoor Retailer…we are always looking for that next great piece of gear to test and share the results with our readers. We are also looking for environmental stories surrounding products as well.

There has been an ongoing discussion about the chemical BPA (Bisphenol A, suspected of being harmful to humans for over 70 years) used in so many products that we have used for years in the outdoor industry. A plethora of companies are now marketing products free of this controversial compound. So…what does one do with all of the food and beverage products that have already been made with this hazardous material? We found one great use.

GSI Outdoors had a large stockpile of the discontinued Lexan polycarbonate products in their warehouse and were opposed to sending the products to the landfill. Instead, they joined forces with Leave No Trace (LNT) to grind up the Lexan products and remolded the recycled material into the cathole trowel (seen here).

Advantages of this venture:
• Facilitates ethical backcountry use
• 1% of sales of the tool goes to support LNT programs
• Virtually unbreakable
• Tons of Lexan that did not end up in a landfill

The trowel will be available Spring 2010 and the MSRP is only $4.95.