There are a thousand and more reasons to rid ourselves of plastic – our health, the environment, the cost in resources – and that’s just a start. In the U.S. less than 25% of plastic bottles are ever recycled, the rest ending up in landfills. But we know artists who are working with our throwaway plastic bottles and creating public works of art. While we wish there were no plastic bottles (or at least every one recycled), here are five examples of our plastic trash turned into public art:
Have you found any ‘plastic bottle art’ that you’d like to share?
Did you know glass is endlessly recyclable? How does that glass bottle you just recycled turn into a new glass products? Check out this great video from PBS sharing just how companies turn our recycled glass into reusable materials.
Fun fact: did you know the energy from recycling one glass bottle could power a television for one whole hour? One more reason to recycle!
So I’ve had this question for longer than I care to share – how clean do the recyclables I put at the curb need to be? You know, you have the plastics, the cans, the glass, the cardboard and paper – but just how clean does that salsa jar really need to be? To find the answer, I called my local waste company that manages our curbside recycling and here’s the journey they take:
Our recyclables are gathered together in one by bin by our local waste company. Their journey takes them to a processing center where they are sorted, first, by type – plastic, paper, aluminum, cardboard and non-recyclable). From there, they are sorted by quality or what you and I would call cleanliness. The cleanest stuff gets a go ahead while dirtier materials head off to get a better bath. After that, all materials are given a good basic washing before being recycled. (Wouldn’t you love to see the size of those cleaning machines?!)
Do you need to clean it before you recycle it? It helps shorten the journey from trash to usable recycled material and it saves on water. So before you chuck the salsa jar into the recycle bin, give it a good rinse – because now you know.
What a week! This past Sunday through Tuesday, we made our first public debut with our reusable glass water bottles at the 2011 International Home + Housewares Show. It was an exciting time as so many people came to see our bottle and hear its two stories.
The Art Story
BottlesUp reusable glass water bottles were designed by nationally-acclaimed architectural glass artist Laurel Herter. More than 2 years ago, realizing the problems of plastic to our health and the environment, Laurel realized she had a solution right there in her studio – design a reusable glass water bottle. The glass water bottle is designed for the modern hand with a slight curviture and rings to be an easy, natural fit. Also, it has a rounded lip, like old-fashioned milk bottles, making it easy to drink from. But the art story continues, the bottles are made using ancient glass techniques in a modern facility. Unlike manufactured bottles, our bottles have the natural beauty of glass, made from one piece of glass, and placed in molds. The glass is finished with a ‘puff of air’ (this process is called semi-automatic) to ensure we get a consistent interior diameter so we can get a water-tight seal with the silicone cap.
The Green Story
BottlesUp glass water bottles have the lowest carbon footprint in the industry. The enrite product and our packaging is 100% sourced in North America. The glass in the reusable water bottles is made from a minimum of 75% post-consumer recycled glass, that is sourced on site in Pavisa, Mexico. (No slow boat from China for us or for you!) Glass is naturally BPA-free and PVC-free. The colorful food-grade silicone grippers and cap are made in Maine. We use minimal packaging that makes the most of recycled materials. You’ll find zero plastic in the product or the packaging – zero, zilch, nada.
We hope it’s the first of many times we get to tell our story.
If you’re like me, you’re one of the more than 70% of Americans who rarely or never look at the Yellow Pages – the behemoth book of business listings that comes unannounced to our doorsteps. I live in an area where I get not just one, but four different of these kinds of books every year. Four! And while, I faithfully recycle these books, but the damage is done. They were already printed, transported and delivered wasting precious resources on a product few of us use in our homes.
Now, however, we can opt out of receiving any of the Yellow Pages that litter our doorsteps, thanks to the trade association that manages Yellow Pages. To opt out, click over to www.yellowpagesoptout.com and register. You have to enter your address and phone number, but a note from the trade association on the page promises that this information won’t be used for any purpose other than the opt out
It’s not just by recycling plastic and using resuable glass water bottles that can help your health and the environment, you can stop paper waste from showing up at your doorstep with one easy click.
