Plastic pollution implies accumulation of plastics products in the environment that adversely affects the humans as well as the wildlife. Recycling plastic requires great processing .It is not as easy as glass or metal. Thus reusing plastic comes as a great alternative to protect the environment. Once you start looking for ways to reuse plastic you will be surprised to find many opportunities to do so.
During the year 2008 Coastal Cleanup, plastic ranked second on the list of top marine debris. Plastic is harmful because it takes a long time get degraded. One plastic bottle can take 450 years to degrade. It degrades into tiny bits which can be consumed by marine animals and stay till the base of food web.
Islander Image: Ocean conservancy
Disposing plastic into water risks the marine life, burned plastic releases poisonous chemicals in the air and soil fertility gets affected due to plastic waste. Coca-Cola has come with a great idea of reusing its plastic bottles to save the environment. This can be referred to as a great marketing strategy or a step toward environment protection, but the important part is-It’s a giant leap towards efforts to reduce plastic bottle waste.
COCA-COLA’S CAMPAIGN: ‘SECOND LIFE’
WHAT IF EMPTY BOTTLES WERE NEVER THROWN AWAY
WHAT IF THEY HAD A SECOND LIFE!!!!
Drinks Company Coca-Cola has started promoting new ways of giving second life to its plastic bottles. The campaign has started in Vietnam and will extend out in rest Asia too. Company is offering interchangeable caps that allow you to use the bottles in various innovative ways. It is a part of its sustainability program which encourages people to reuse plastic.
The bottles can be used as paint brushes, water squinter, pencil sharpeners, spray bottles etc. The company has started to sell a 16 cap kit, so that after a customer finishes his drink he can make other items out of it.
PLASTIC BOTTLE REUSE METHODS
Plastic bottles can be used again by various reuse methods.Some of them are listed below.
*Food canister
Two plastic bottles can be combined to make a canister to store food, rice, sugar, noodles etc.
Process: Cut two plastic bottles in different sizes: 1 longer (from the base end) and other shorter (for making it as a cover), and fit them together as shown in the figure below.
*Watering can
It is extremely easy to transform a bottle into a watering can.
Process: Make some holes on the cap using a nail. Hang it upside down on your plant and let it do its work. Coca-Cola provides you with a cap with holes in it to make your task easier.
*Desk organizer
It is a very creative idea to use your bottle as a pen stand or desk organizer at your home or in the office.
Process: Cut the upper part of the bottle and apply your creativeness to decorate your pen holder.
* Bird’s feeder
It is a good idea to convert your bottle into a bird feeder.
Process: Use some wood spoons or chopsticks dovetailed in bottle. Make small holes (not too small, it should allow bird to access to food easily) and insert spoons by the cable side. Fill the bottle with food and let it slip out in the spoon. Hang the feeder in a tree and fill it with food daily.
*Snack bowls
A bottle as a snack bowl to put small snacks like sprouts, peanuts etc.
Process: Cut the bottom part and using a clothes iron remove any imperfection (you need to press the edges gently against the iron for a few seconds).
*Emergency spoon
If you are camping and don’t find a spoon, you can easy cut your plastic bottle to make a spoon.
Process: The picture above shows you how to cut your bottle using the bottom round part as a spoon.
*Garden sprinkler
Coca-Cola provides you with a sprinkler cap. Else you can make roles in the body of the bottle and attach a hose to the bottle’s nozzle using a tape.
* Toilet paper holder
Cut the bottom part the same length as the paper rolls and use the upper part as a cover. Remove the nozzle and use the hole to pull the paper out.
*Magazine organizer
Very innovative idea for offices and waiting rooms.
Process: Cut the upper portion of a bottle and nail it in a board or put it on the floor by tying two- three bottles together.
These are just a few ideas to reuse plastic.You can open your mind towards infinite ways to reuse plastic bottle.
REUSE V/S RECYCLE
Before plastic, liquid stuff was sold in glass bottles. When customer came to buy a new bottle he returned back the previous one. The bottle was then sent to bottler for recycling. But after the plastic bottles became common this practice came to an end because cost of recycling was much higher than making a new one. Thus practice of reusing comes out as a step towards sustainable packaging. Reuse falls on a high level on waste hierarchy. Plastic waste is everywhere. We need to reduce it.
“Manufacturers have long chosen plastic for their products on the basis of price and functionality., But creating a more sustainable relationship with plastics will require a new dexterity on our part. It will require us to think about the entire life cycle of the products we create and use.”
-Susan Freinkel , Plastic : A toxic Love story
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