production of plastic water bottles increases. turn PET plastic bottles into amazing design objects .................................................................................

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water PET bottle
from trash to treasure

august 2001,

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design and recycling
bottled water is the fastest growing beverage industry
in the world. according to the international bottled
water association (IBWA), sales of bottled water have
increased by 500 percent over the last decade:
1.5 million tons of plastic are used to bottle water every
year, unfortunately the recycling process is messy and
inefficient. plastic bottle recycling has not kept pace
with the dramatic increases in virgin resin polyethylene
terephthalate (PET) sales, particularly for PET bottles.
it's interesting to note how the last imperative in the
ecological triad of reduce / reuse / recycle,
has emerged as the one given prominence.
the consequences of demanding an emphasis on the
first — reduction of consumption and production —
puts one on the path of confrontation with a system which
seeking to function at maximum capacity, not minimum.

last update:
in august 2001 even perrier, world's leading bottle water
company, moved away from the iconic trademark glass
bottle, which for almost 100 years has set the design standard
in mineral water packaging. the company launched
a 50cl format in PET plastic.

a close look at the myths about recycling shows they
are being perpetrated less by those committed to ecology
and more by those doing the most damage to the planet.
plastics recycling only minimally reduces the amount of virgin
resources used to make plastics.
recycled plastic is a small percentage of what is manufactured
and the amount is actually decreasing!
even those active in administering recycling programs
have come to recognize, for instance, that plastics
consumption is actually encouraged by recycling!

most of the increase in virgin resin sales has been for
single-serve PET soda bottles that now make up 60 percent
of soda bottle market share. the 50cl form is particularly
suited to the out-of-home circuit, in particular the on the
go market.

the notion, that recycling is even a little better than
nothing produces only more illusions, not environmental
sanity. mad levels of production and consumption are at the
core of market economies, and unless that process is
confronted, little will change !


more :
/ about bottled water
/ soft drink companies and PET bottles
/ basics on recycling




what can we do to help reduce packagging trash?
in terms of bacterial content, it is questionable as to whether
bottled water is better than most municipal tap water.
the only difference between some bottled water and tap water
is that it is distributed in bottles rather than pipes.
‘I refill plastic bottles about three times, ‘ you might say, not
considering that re-filled bottles can become perfect
'bacteria breeding grounds'.

enjoy these 'plastic phantastics' in another light,
turn plastic bottles into great objects.
reuse them as fun or functional items, here are some quick
and easy ideas :
- cut & trim off the top portion of a plastic water bottle
(size: 1l or more, with tap) and use it as a champagne glass.
- build a waterpipe.
- ship in bottles.
- lavalamps.
- wave maker (without getting wet).



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other 48 uses for PET bottles
http://www.netspace.net.au/~bradcalv/petbot.htm



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 from designboom archive:
june 2001, (amazing recycling)

venice art biennale 2001:
gerd rohling



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comments
--------------------------------------------
My trip and experiences in Southeast Asia last year have sent me in search
for answers.

Everyday of the two months I spent in Bali/Gilli Islands was an adventure. I
was surrounded by an extremely rich culture ~ rich in spirituality, grace,
color, kindness, and ecological wonder. It is a trip that continues to echo
through my mind, body, and spirit. There is one thing from that journey that
continues to haunt me ~ plastic. Cruising on my motorbike through the
beautiful green blankets of rice fields, I was saddened to see plastic being
burned with the rest of the garbage. I was even more saddened to see the
local farmers hovered around these blazing chemical bonfires inhaling God
knows what. I wondered if or how these chemicals could be affecting the
surrounding rice fields not to mention the air pollution hazards going on.
The western world has given the third world a weapon without teaching them
its dangers. A culture that still uses banana leaves as plates I imagine to
be at a loss when it comes to disposing of plastic.

Hanging out on Gili Air in awe of the local people, the kingdom that lived
under the waves, and the incredible sunsets, I was horrified when I awoke one morning to find the beaches on the East side covered with plastic. It was
everywhere. I literally dropped to my knees. Where did all this come from?
Why? How Come? All I could think of was - What in the hell are we doing to
this planet? Maudi - one of the local boys explained to me that Lombok drops their garbage into the ocean. When the tide shifts it washes up on the
beaches of Gilli. They clean it up and attempt to deal with it - but we are
talking about an Island you can walk all the way around in 1 1/2 hours. I
was able to see what it was doing to the beach I hung out on, but wondered
what damage was happening to the underwater kingdom I had been swimming with the day before.

I had a similar experience in Thailand. One day I ventured out to the beach
I had spent many a days prior and found it covered in various kinds of
plastic (wrappers, bottles, etc.) What made it even more disgusting was that
the travelers had merely moved the mess over, spread there blankets and laid among the mess as if it didn't exist. I wanted to cry. I stood there with a guy I had met from Norway and said how can they do this? How can everyone just sit and ignore this horror; this rapping of our planet? His response -
this is not our problem. We are visitors here. I turned to him and said -
we are in big trouble if everyone here is thinking like you. This is our
problem. This is our backyard. This is our responsibility.

There was no way I could sit on this beach and ignore what was going on
around me. I immediately walked over to one of the restaurants on the beach and asked for a garbage can, bag, box - whatever. I informed my friend from Norway that I could not lay down and relax on this beach until it was cleaned
up. He thought I was crazy, but helped me anyway. Within 5 minutes a girl
came up to me and asked if she could help. She too had noticed the mess, but didn't know what to do about it. Before you knew it, we had about 10-15 people helping us clean up the beach. Within a few hours it was done. The
beach looked a lot better and everyone felt awakened and empowered by what they had done - It was beautiful. A reminder that one person can make a
difference.

Now, back in California one year later, the events of that trip in relation
to the plastic are still on my mind. Especially when I see the plastic
companies advertising all the marvels of plastic - of coarse they are not
going to show us the distruction that also comes along with it. I want to do
more. I want to help educate people (including myself) all over the world
about plastic/recycling. I felt called by all three of those incidences, but
I am not sure which way to go or how I can help make a difference. I would
love to go back to those places I had been and educate. I would like to
teach travelers/backpakers about their responsibility to the world they are
exploring. I am writing to you with hope. Hope that you might be able to
guide me in the right direction. How can I educate myself about waste and
the world? This is an amazing planet - how can help it heal?

Any words of wisdom you can pass my way would be greatly appreciated.
My e-mail address is travelingkelly@yahoo.com. I look forward to hearing from you and applaud your efforts to educate and make a difference.

Cheers,
Kelly Greenwell








bottle boat, bali, indonesia
/ see more details



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