Amazing ways trash can be used to build homes

Some of these examples are actually pretty stylish. Creative to say the least. Amazing ways trash can be used to build homes 

Outdoor installation of fish constructed using discarded plastic bottles

Source: thisiscolossal.com via Neille on Pinterest

The 6 Million Bottle House

Turning Plastic Bottles into Flowers

Notice the displays in Anthropologie windows lately? Many of them are decorated with ornate, brightly colored flowers made of - plastic bottles. How very creative - love it.

Here's some ideas on how to make your own bouquet, or visit Instructables.com

1. Cut around the bottom grooves

so that you have one piece that looks kinda like a flower.
2. Punch some holes, or use a hot needle to make holes.
Gather some string, fishing line, dental floss, or metal craft rings.
3. String them together and VIOLA! You have an instant wall hanging, doorway curtain, or privacy blinds for your window.
Also, you can also make a hole in the middle of them and insert a LED into each of them for some pretty flower lights!

Some facts about plastic, pulled from earth 911.com:

*Plastic bottles take 700 years to begin composting

*90% of the cost of bottled water is due to the bottle itself

*80% of plastic bottles are not recycled

*38 million plastic bottles go to the dump per year in America from bottled water (not including soda)

*24 million gallons of oil are needed to produce a billion plastic bottles

*The average American consumes 167 bottles of water a year

*Bottling and shipping water is the least energy efficient method ever used to supply water

*Bottled water is the second most popular beverage in the United States

Turning Your Turkey Grease into Fuel

Did you know the grease that accumulates while baking your Thanksgiving turkey can be used to fuel biodiesel vehicles?
Instead of clogging your sink's drain and contributing to waste put that Thanksgiving grease to use.
For more information on recycling centers and how-to's visit Earth911

*photo courtesy of SP Times

More on CFLs-Mercury content

The EPA's site is a good one to keep on file anyways, but this will link you to the page on recycling hazardous materials (ie: CFL bulbs). Hope you find it useful.

One olive = $40 Thousand Dollars?

After learning about how much money American Airlines saved by removing something so seemingly insignificant it got me to thinking. WHAT IF just one day a week we decided to take our reusable coffee mugs to Starbucks for our specialty coffee drinks? What if JUST ONE day a week we used a Klean Kanteen or other NON-Disposable bottle for our drinking water? WHAT IF JUST ONE DAY A WEEK we filled a REUSABLE bag with our groceries instead of plastic bags??? Every piece of plastic that you use will be on this planet for hundreds, maybe even thousands, of years, unless it is incinerated (which isn't good either, ie. air pollution). With a simple change (it doesn't even have to be every day) we could make a substantial difference.

Here are some facts:

The United Nations Environment Programme estimates that more than 13,000 pieces of plastic litter are floating in every square kilometer of the ocean worldwide. The Surfrider Foundation estimates that more than half of the litter on beaches is plastic. Many researchers and environmental organizations now list plastic as the number one threat to our marine environments around the planet. In addition, chemicals in some plastics have been linked by researchers to a laundry list of diseases, including breast cancer, heart disease, obesity, diabetes, liver abnormalities, and prostate cancer. It can seem a little overwhelming.

• Americans throw out 38 billion empty water bottles a year, more than $1 billion worth of plastic. (Fast Company, December, 2007)
• In the U.S. alone, more than 24 billion pounds of plastic packaging is produced every year. Most of that packaging is designed for single usage, meaning it’s designed to be thrown out as soon as that package is opened. (Surfrider Foundation)
• Worldwide, human beings use more than 1 trillion plastic shopping bags a year.
• Every reusable bag bought or distributed prevents about 400 plastic bags from being used. (Surfrider Foundation)
• Every 13 plastic bags saved equals enough petroleum to drive a car one mile. (Surfrider Foundation)

Learn More About Plastics and What YOU Can Do:

• Rise Above Plastics, a campaign of the Surfrider Foundation
• Journal of American Medical Association, September, 2008 study

*information gathered here can be found on the Klean Kantine website.

*photo of plastic bottles courtesy of:
ThingsThatMakeYouGoGreen.com