The seven coolest things made from recycled bottles
Plastic may be fantastic for making stuff from medical devices to fabrics and containers. And glass may be a smash when it comes to packaging beer and cherry cola.
But both materials have major drawbacks, especially when it comes to the environment. There's a mass of plastic floating in the ocean that's the size of Texas. While one plastic bag may be beautiful, zillions of them look horrible.
Plastic bottles can be broken down by recyclers and re-fashioned into a wide range of goods, from fleece to funky chairs, decking to compost bins, dress clothes to playground equipment, and cell phones to car paneling.
What about glass, you ask? It can be recycled into a long list of things, such as jars, bottles, jewelry, marbles, tiles, and fiberglass insulation, but many communities find it difficult to recycle.
Some people have gone above and beyond to find creative ways to reuse glass and plastic bottles. We hope you'll get inspired like we did!
(Photo: Greenupgrader)
In perhaps the ultimate display of painstaking patience, Buddhist monks in Thailand built up an entire temple out of used beer bottles.
Holy men in Sisaket province collected a million green Heineken and brown Chang beer bottles to build the Wat Pa Maha Chedi Kaew temple. Even the washrooms and the crematorium are built of bottles.
We're guessing Wat Pa Maha Chedi Kaew will not be hosting any AA meetings in it's basement. Though we do wonder if it whistles in high winds.
(Photo: RandyMac McCallum / Wikipedia)
It is perhaps the ultimate dream, to inhabit your own island (unless you've seen Lord of the Flies, Lost, Swiss Family Robinson, Castaway, or Pirates of the Caribbean).
Perhaps not having encountered these works, British eco-pioneer Richart (or "Rishi") Sowa took to constructing his own artificial island in 1998, made with nets filled with empty discarded plastic bottles.
On top of the bottles went plywood and bamboo, then sand, and even a nest of various plants, including mangroves, which helped keep the place cool. Sowa's so-called Spiral Island boasted a two-story house, solar oven, and composting toilet, as well as three beaches.
The mass floated in the Caribbean off Mexico until Hurricane Emily destroyed it in 2005. An unfazed Sowa then built a Spiral Island II in Isla Mujeres, Mexico.
My buddy Brent's site recently had this item about an awesome solar water heater made from beer bottles. A Chinese farmer in Shaanxi province made the ingenious device out of 66 used beer bottles and some hose pipes.
Water flows slowly through the makeshift contraption, where it gets warmed by the sun. It's supposedly strong enough for three people to each take a nice hot shower every day. Apparently the invention has so impressed neighbors that other families have built their own.
People in Israel, the Caribbean, Central America, and other places have long known the benefits of using free solar energy to heat water.
In fact, a law in oil-strapped Hawaii recently mandated that all new construction rely on solar water heaters.
(Photo: Jessica Reeder / Flickr)
The 'groundbreaking,' almost sci-fi homes known as Earthships are built of mud and reused material (tires, cans, and yes, bottles) -- but folks would be surprised to know how comfortable, cozy, and even beautiful these structures can be.
They keep an even temperature so they're comfortable to live in. They often generate their own power; they collect, and recycle their own water; and they process their own waste.
The idea may sound new, but people have been building walls from bottles since at least 1907, and probably much longer, likely back to the ancient world.
Here's a look at a cool bottle Earthship in Argentina.
(Photo: Kosuke Tsumura / Final Home)
I found something to go with my Nun Chucks: this suit of armor made from PET plastic bottles!
Kosuke Tsumura, designer for the Final Home brand of urban clothing and accessories, made the suit by slicing up bottles and sewing the pieces together with Chuck Norris' tears, I mean, transparent nylon thread.
Perfect for urban ninjas everywhere.
(See more recycled costumes.)
(Photo: Lisa Davies / Flickr)
The Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) in Machynlleth, Wales, seems like an inspiring place, with lots of learning opportunities on green building and technology.
Lisa Davies took this shot of an impressive domed roof at CAT, made from recycled bottles. Reminds us of a porcupine!
(Photo: Adventure Ecology)
For banking scion and adventuring environmentalist David de Rothschild, what's next after having dated Cameron Diaz? Why, sailing half way around the world in a boat made from plastic bottles of course!
The Adventure Ecology founder hopes to launch the Plastiki Expedition in April, in order to raise awareness about recycling, waste, and consumption.
A team of scientists and explorers, led by de Rothschild, will try to sail the 11,000 miles from San Francisco to Australia on a 60-foot catamaran entirely made from recycled plastic (except for metal masts).
The unique craft will be propelled solely by sails, and everything will be recycled, including the boat itself, assuming they complete the dangerous journey. Two wind turbines and solar panels will provide power for electronic equipment.
The Plastiki's twin hulls will be filled with 12,000 to 16,000 two-liter soda bottles, which are currently being washed and filled with dry-ice powder, which pressurizes them to make them rigid. A bit of woven PET fabric will tie the whole thing together.
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Past Blog Entries
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