Uhmazing Upcycling

Etsy has been covering the The Daily Green's Heart of Green Awards and showcased some of these lovelies on their Web site. I'm basically going to abbreviate the blogpost Etsy did so the following writing isn't all mine; I wouldn't cut and paste if they hadn't said it better than I could.

Plastic BottlesThe U.S. discards 13 million tons of plastic annually — more than 12% of our overall waste — and barely 7% of the plastic we discard is recycled. The biggest proportion of that plastic waste comes in the form of plastic bottles (beverages as well as personal care products, cleansers and the like) and packaging. How about a plastic bottle greenhouse? Or a colorful outdoor wall? That's what this sewage treatment plant in Scotland tried, to great effect:










Clothing
Together with leather and rubber, textiles makes up 8% of the U.S. waste. Hand-me-downs, second-hand shops and swaps can take a lot of those old clothes off your hands, possibly even at a profit — unless, of course, you want to use the fabric for something better, like a door draft snake made from old jeans, or this stylish clutch, made from old neckties by Christine Wick:











Glass
Accounting for 5% of U.S. waste, glass is infinitely recyclable. Just add heat! We still only manage to recycle 23% of it, though. I'm guessing that low rate isn't because everyone is using old glass bottles to make new cups, new roofs, or new serving plates.

LOVE the rootbeer and wine bottles with the sanded lips so you don't cut your pouter!












And how cute would these be if your hubby were in a baseball league by night and a businessman by day?