'Wat Pa Maha Chedio Kaew' Bottle Savvy

You don't have to be a SuperForest reader or a member of Greenpeace to agree that recycling really is good for the planet. So since a few decades everyone separates their bottles from their tin cans and their paper boxes from their glass bottles. A group of Thai monks didn't miss out on this message when they built the Wat Pa Maha Chedio Kaew temple a few hundred miles northeast of Bangkok, the capital.

The monks started with the plan to recycle 'a few' glass bottles. At square one the bottles were just used to create some fancy items, visitors liked the result so they donated more bottles. The monks didn't really knew what to do with the bottle-overload so they used it for the construction of the buildings. "So what does it look like then?" I hear you asking.


Like that. Bottles can even be founded in the pillars, and if you look closely you can also spot some bottles in the wall at the back (the one with the window in it). The monks are so fond of the bottle savvy they even use the lids to create mosaics.



Over a period of time the temple got the nickname Wat Lan Kuad what means Temple Of A Million Bottles. This is in fact more than true, to date there are approximately 1,5 million bottles processed in the temple complex. And the number doesn't stop growing, the monks are happy to receive empty glass bottles. The more bottles, the more buildings they can build, right?

-jdh

The CAPtivate Lamp

It's a fact that only 5.5% of plastic bottles used in Great Britain are recycled. This is a pity since the plastics can be reused. Reused can be in a consumer way, like taking the bottle in, melting it and making a new bottle out of it. But reused can also be to use it in for instance an art project.

And this last thing was done in an excellent way by British design corporation LulaDot. This is the CAPtivate Lamp.

The entity has been made out of, indeed, bottle caps. But there's more.

The lamp is available online through LulaDot's website. For a mere 115 GBP it's yours (roughly that's $207). But when you get the lamp all the tops aren't screwed on the lamp. LulaDot gives you about 40 tops to screw on but the rest you'll have to collect yourself. And here comes the great part, the color of the tops creates the color that the light will have.

For example, if you screw on a load of orange Fanta tops the light will become orange. If you choose for Coca-Cola-red the light will become red, and so on.

The great part is that the end user determines how the product looks and can customize it in unlimited ways.

-jdh

One Stop Shopping for "Safe" Plastics!

Good Morning,

Thanks to DailyCandy, I was made aware of an online shop that only carries plastic products that are BPA, PVC and Phthalate free!

It's called The Soft Landing. It is a family run business that was started by a retired nurse and mother of three. Every mom knows the value of a one stop shopping experience. She carries all the bottles, food containers, toothbrushes, sippy cups, and teething toys from all of my favorite brands that I had to go to several different shops to find. I wish I knew about The Soft Landing before, but now I'm glad I do.

She also carries this Rubber Duck and Giraffe that I have made of natural latex rubber. It's hard to find a Rubber Duck that isn't vinyl, so this is a great find! And Sophie, the Giraffe, was Ethan's favorite toy for a long time!

Thanks for the tip Daily Candy and thanks to Soft Landing for making shopping a little easier.

Happy Thursday!

Niki

(Follow up: SuperForester Jordan asked me what I meant by "Safe" plastics. Check out National Geographics, The Green Guide, which explains in more depth (and really clearly breaks it down) about which plastics are considered safer than others in regards to food storage. Also, Jordan, have you read my post from Time Magazine, The Truth About Plastic? I link to a girl who is trying to eliminate the use of plastic from her life too-you might dig her: Check out her Life Less Plastic blog. )

Guest Blogger!

Hey Everyone!

My name is Niki and I am a proud member of the SuperForest team! I just had a baby boy 9 months ago and he is my motivation and inspiration for almost everything I do. As I learn to be a mother, I am constantly thinking about alternative methods I can use to raise my son in a better way. I am endlessly amazed at how many great things are being done to make our world a healthy and happier place for the next generation.

I thought I would share one idea today regarding plastic. I used to do design and product development for a company that manufactured vinyl fabric. During that experience, my eyes were opened to the toxic world of plastics. Yes, they do serve a purpose, and some plastics are better than others, but there are great alternatives. Here are just a few suggestions I have chosen to adopt:
1. Instead of storing or freezing your baby food in Tupperware or Ziploc Bags, why not use glass containers? I personally like these ones from Frigoverre, since they come in a variety of sizes.




Yes, they still have plastic lids, but I haven't figured a way around that. I do like all the size options, and it does need to be airtight. I suppose you can also use mason jars or hermetic jars.

2. As for baby bottles, it’s easy! A great SuperForest cheer goes out to companies like ThinkBaby, for tackling the toxic plastic issue. Their bottles are free from Bisphenol-A, Nitrosamines, phthalates, lead and PVC. You can even get these wonderful glass baby bottles from Born Free.





The plastic issue has gotten a lot press recently and it’s great that the baby world is on board with coming up with safe alternatives.

Thanks to Jackson for all his wonderful posts! I am so excited that I got to share some thoughts on SuperForest. Can’t wait for the next time. Until then...be happy!