Plastic Water Bottle Recycling

Hi Donald,

Some companies reuse them, melt them down and make them into more bottles or other stuff. There was one interesting show on the Discovery Channel or National Geographic several years ago, however.

They make sweaters out of them! I forget how they did it, though. I remember them compressing the bottles together for easier handling. Then they process it, make them into thread. Then they stitch them into sweaters.

There was also a show once, "Junk Yard Wars", where one of the teams turned a large plastic bottle into a diver's helmet! Won't be much good for deep sea diving but it shows that you can use them for the most unusual things.

Cool, thanks Vulcan,

I was just thinking something simple and useful too, like a fence post, or a crude board, or a plastic fence.. ??

Donald

They are most composite decking is manufactured from recycled plastics.

Regarding your reference to making sweaters from recycled plastics, I believe that there is/was (10 years ago) a company from the NorthEast of USA that manufactured the yarn (filament) or whatever from recycled plastic (milk containers I believe). The firm experienced a major fire, but rebuilt the facilities. The product is/was used primarily for outdoor clothing. I have used the clothing for camping and backpacking and they are superior. The brand name was (maybe still is) Polartec.

We go through a LOT of Plastic water bottles

Solve the problem at source!...ask WHY?

The 'developed' world is bonkers.

You presumably have perfectly good drinking water from your tap (faucet?)

Use that! If you want to take it somewhere re-use the same bottle.

UNLESS YOUR UTILITY IS UNSAFE BOTTLED WATER IS A CON'

Jeez this stuff falls out of the sky....

PT Barnum would be proud of the marketing men who sell this stupid idea.

Don't worry I'm not having a go at the USA..we are just as stupid over in the UK.

(Ooooh I must pop out and buy some canned air)

Well put Del. There is the big give away that its a con in that Evian is Naive splelt backwards

Al

http://www.guardian.co.uk/food/Story/0,2763,1173708,00.html#article_continue

Nice one....

Hell will be populated by marketing men.....

but they will push it as the perfect long stay destination!

You did use the appropriate term "presume". I f you honestly believe that tap water ( especially across the board ) is perfectly fine, i suppose you see nothing wrong with McDonalds food, or even genetically modified foods either? I for one prefer to drink spring water or at least reverse osmosis to minimize our hyper-homoginezed dietary world. But im sure that has nothing to do with the world having more disease and illness than ever.....

In Germany, there are tests made of the chemicals desolved in various water supplies and in bottled water, the standard tap water wins every time......all you need is a CO2 carbonator and you have the best (and cheapest ) soda water, that you do not need to carry!

The UK has some terrible tap water, totally undrinkable. So when we go on a visit to the UK we take along about 40 liters of German tap water, just for our tea and coffee, if it runs out (seldom) we buy bottled.....the cheapest is just fine.....Tesco's best!!!

I f you honestly believe that tap water ( especially across the board ) is perfectly fine

I am from England. It does say so under my Avatar.

Are we talking the Welsh or Scottish border...? (Joke)

I did realise the original thread wasn't from the UK...hence my careful choice of wording...maybe I'll have to check what I said

....ooh yes, I do say, 'unless your utility (water) is unsafe'

I don't do anything other than HONESTLY, I wouldn't eat a McDonalds to save my life and most people un the UK are sick of genetically modified food being illegally sold to us as non-genetically modified.

Other than that I completely agree with you.

Plastic bottles are much sought after by the local authority, and every endeavour is being made to maximise their recovery.

They make excellent vessels for washing out small brushes carrying water-based paints.

Cutting the top off a 1L plastic milk bottle, and tying it onto the boat with a thin cord attached to its handle, is an excellent way of making an emergency bilge pump.

It is not unknown for heritage railways to fill them up with used oils and throw them into the fireboxes of hard-working steam locomotives at intervals for the benefit of lineside photographers. The technical name for these items is "clag bombs".

The drinking of bottled water is a money spinner and it would be verify hard to cure the public from believing in it. You are fighting against a perception created by expensive TV and media advertisements.

The worst thing is that even some of the producers are convinced that they are performing good deeds.

The bottles are pollutants but in South Africa a secondary industry developed at the dumping sites, The poor are collecting, classifying the bottles and sell the bailed bottles for some income.

What could be done? Very little.

What should be done (if the tap water is safe) the users must drink tap water and deposit the savings into a bottle and rather deliver the filled bottle to the poor.

Recycled mixed plastic is a growing source of construction material in the UK. An ideal substitute for wood in many areas, on the basis of better performance, it can be found in fenders at dock- and wharf-sides, in park furniture, in signposts for public footpaths, etc. In the USA it is also being used to make railway sleepers/railroad ties with a significant penetration into the market.

http://www.commwebworks.com/obex/products.htm (usual disclaimers).

"Don't throw anything away. There is no 'away'."

Its development into a substitute fuel source is currently a challenge owing to its tendency to produce a lot of smoke particles when burnt.

After purchasing a bottle of water, more often than not, i find myself reusing the bottle. They make very handy cheap water bottles for camping trips, etc.

Also another trick i've found is buy Gatorade; not only is gatorade tasty, but once you drink it all, re-use the bottle as a water bottle for tap water. If the tap water doesnt taste great straight out of the faucet you still have the flavor of gatorade left over to hide the taste of the water. I did this in college cuz the water out of the drinking fountains wasnt the best tasting.

Then once your done, just recycle it.

pretty things!

Lovely!

<LOT of Plastic water bottles>

Do you know how the Chinese use them?

Just back from a week in Zhejiang Province--Beautiful all around!

Between Grain /Veg fields Hills/Tea Gardens/High-Tech new Cities/Apartment Tower blocks--there are longish patches of wetland.

How do they use these? Grow Big Fish-Healthy Fish---always swimming long distances in the restricted pool.

How is Long Distances possible?

By fooling the fish to believe that the only way is FORWARD!(Kind of Communist!!)

And how do they Fool the fish? By hanging cheap machine-made net-like plastic sheet like a Labyrinth (as you see from top). To a depth of 1.5 metre from surface.

And how do these nets keep in position? Floated on Top and loaded at Bottom.

How do you load at bottom? Waste Plastic bottles filled with sand/silt+water.

And Floated on TOP? Same water bottles (filled with Air and neck down-corked!)

Will these last in the Sun?-No Problem -10 Years--PET !

And the Fish is really Tasty!!!

It costs more to produce plastic from recycled plastic bottles. Check the price of the recycled deck boards...

We need to be cognizant of the cost of recycling as opposed to just dumping them. It may make us feel good, but it is actually bad for the environment and the economy.

plastic bottles can be used after crushing to asphalt road this will improve the life of asphlt also this will improve. this will also prevent use of heat that gets consumed for recycling and also the amount of invetment one has to make to start a recycling plant will all get elimenated all one has to do is to pulvarise and pour it in coal tar boiler and then use it for asphalting road or to make plastifelt plastic being light material will float and come to top of the bitumen coat which gives added advantage when used in making felts

I had this idea some time ago and thought why dont they design a bottle that is in a shape that could be used for something else. For example it could be in the shape of an interlocking brick. Fill it with sand anb it will be a cheap building material in undeveloped countries. The outside surfaces of the exposed sides could have some plastic mesh fused to it so you would be able to plaster the wall...

Any other ideas of other shapes to be designed for other uses??

you guys are coming up with all kinds of useful, positive great ideas.. Thanks

Hey, I saw this house one time, years ago, that the outside walls were made out of coke bottles laid on their side, and mortar in between! Actually it looked kinda neat, and inside, I presume the green glow from the glass coke bottles let in much ambient light.. Not the best for daytime sleepers I understand.. That dude must have been a coke a holic ;o)

I suppose you could fill these PET bottles with something and use them in a like manner for a shed or something.. ???

Donald

In the UK, it was at one time fashionable too embed empty wine bottles (opening inside) in new walls for some light etc.. Different colours of course....

I expect it was not so good insulation wise. Has anyone else seen such ideas?

I believe that was Dennis Weavers house in Arizona. He used beer cans as well to be the "air space" in the 12" mortered walls. He built one of the first "green Houses" using Garbage to build it. Including old tires, and other stuff but he never did find a use for the used Pampers (disposable diapers).

I myself have helped build ' Earthship ' type houses in New Mexico at the S.T.A.R. and R.E.A.C.H. communities in Taos. And unfortunately plastic bottles dont work. They do not provide the tensil strength to withstand the weight of concrete. We did try, bbut they kept buckling in. Which also defeated the purpose of can or bottle brick and mortar because it diminished the dead air space, which needs to be plastered on both surface sides to create that dead air space , thus giving an R value on average of R60 and up.

Donald,

I think that I have seen plastic bottles used to keep the base of a new plant from freezing in the winter time. The bottom of the bottle is cut off and the stem of the plant goes through the opening in the top. You might want to ask someone who works in a nursery or garden store if this actually works.

Just another idea,

Birdman

i think plastic bottles do not take impact and also tensile strenght it is more convienent to use it as tray to hold cables before fillin g up the soil or creepers can be grown plastic bags can be cut to pieces and used as aggregate in concrete

Try filling them with model aliens or monsters, then fill them up with some liquid. Claim that these are alien or chupacabra (or whatever) fetuses from Area 51 and put them up for auction on Ebay. Now sit back, relax, and watch the money roll in as all the gullible fools who believe in UFO conspiracy theories pay through their noses for them.

Plastic bottles as well as plastic bags used in Supermarkets and saran wrapping that we use to cover food can all be made into different size pellets and used for aggregates for using as a fill for lightweight concrete panels.

Wasn't there a story here, on CR4, not long ago about some dude that made an island using plastic bottles as a foundation?

I have used them as a funnel after removing the bottom to add oil to my engine. Also used for mixing small amounts of paint and other products by cutting the top off.

Of course a different bottle must be used for each purpose. lol

I've also used some in a small experiment to show my kids the "power" of hydro/air propulsion. I used a "quick" connector attached to my compressor, filled the bottle (half water, half compressed air), pointed the bottom of the bottle towards the sky and quickly released it. If the opening is small enough, the bottle takes of like a rocket! (to the great amusement of the children, especially since they got wet in the process...:)

Here is an interesting story. Not so long ago I had to install a sign on a wall. I was in a hurry when I packed and forgot to take a spirit level with. I did have a plastic bottle in my car which I intended to use to mix some fast anchoring cement in also by cutting the bottle in half. Before I did that, I used the bottle to squirt out the holes I drilled with clean water to remove all the dust. I drilled a hole in the cap and inserted a thin plastic pipe in the hole, then with the bottle filled with water, turned upside down and applying pressure it worked like a bomb. After that I cut the bottle in two leaving the funnel with the pipe aside. Everything finished, and after installing I wanted to double check the level and I got this idea of making another hole in the bottom half of the bottle and connecting the other end of the tube (was not a clear plastic tube by the way) in that hole. By filling both ends with water I could check the level and it worked so well that I thought it could be patented... "3- in- one product for installing sign board against a concrete wall...." Priceless was the expression on the client's face when he saw what could be done with a simple plastic bottle. I would never go anywhere without one in my car. Also handy to keep water in underneath the seat for an emergency radiator leak or to wash hands...

That's what I love to hear, ingenuity.. these are the the kinds of stories that show the human mind at WORK... You MUST NOT be drinking that fluoridated water down there... :o)

If you ever need any Soft Neon to make a sign, or border with, please contact me.

Donald

Great stuff! Thanks for the links. Gone are the days of breaking a neon when installing!

Some cities have extensive recycling programs. In Knoxville TN recycling centers are scattered around town in large parking lots. Interested families bring newpapers, mixed paper, corrugated cardboard, #2-plastic containers, clear, green, & brown glass, 'tin' and aluminum cans to identified large transportable containers.

They are moved when full to the appropriate recycler and save the cost of transporting the additional distance to the land fill.

The Utilities Board claims Knoxville to have the second best quality in the nation but there is still a lot of bottled water sold in Knoxille at a much higher price per gallon!

There may be a novelty use but AFIK no practical use for used water bottles.

Solar panels ! Insert a copper pipe through the cap, so it's centered, and spray half the bottle, i.e. along the bottle as it would lay on a side, on the outside, with automotive paint, white or silver-like. The paint would act as a mirror that concentrate the light on the heat pipe. The copper pipe should be closed (e.g. soldered) at the end in the bottle. You may "string" along several "heat collecting bottles" with the copper pipe connected to a longer collector copper pipe. To make it finally work, you need to cap the collector pipe at both ends. But before you cap the last end, you need to pour some water in the pipe, just enough to fill the small pipes (one in each bottle) but the collector pipe shall remain empty. You need to boil the water in the whole copper pipe thing (water bottles removed !) so all the air goes out. Before it has time to cool down cap the collector. Pull the water bottles back on the small pipes.

How it works ? With the bottles hanging down from the collector, orient the whole thing after the Sun until you get the best focusing on the small pipes in the bottles. The water will start boiling in the pipes (even below 100 C, there very low pressure in the pipes). The steam will rise and will condense on the collector, which will become hot. The water drops back in the small pipes and boils again, and so on. You produce warm water if you run another pipe through the collector (or around the collector).

wow, now if we can just figure out HOW to get these millions of used plastic bottles economically shipped to third world, poor countries, they could have FREE hot water!!!

I would like to add that if a solar generated low voltage recirculating pump was added to this system, they would have hot water all day long, at least when the Sun was shining.. :o)

Donald

I remember seeing an article ages ago where bottles of water (ok they aren't empty...but you could fill 'em from your toxic faucet) were used as great shock absorbing bumpers on cars... Great video of the water shooting out on impact...daft idea, but it was fun.

Hey Del, that gives me an idea for when my small grand children grow up some, and want to learn to drive the four wheelers.... I just use the recycled bottles, filled with FREE Rain water held up with Corn Shuck Rope, (FREE) and make a "Bumper car" barrier on the front and rear of the small four wheeler... Just a thought.. haha

Donald

Just saw a great article...some Scotish primary school kids won an award (I can't seem to find a pic' on the web) They made a greenhouse out of recycled plastic bottles!

It looks like the walls are a timber frame covered with a coarse wire square mesh infilled with bottles, the roof looked like corrugated plastic sheet.

The Ecover Awards for Young Camaigner of the Year

Stratherrick Primary School.

(you'd think googling the above would come up with a pic.....but no!)