When it comes to design, I love a good trash to treasure transformation as much as the next person. What's not to love? Pieces found for free or for a steal become something wonderful and creativity shines though in an amazing way that inspires others.
Today's post is about a different kind of transformation. Some of you may know that I'm an Eco-enthusiast. I enjoy a good river clean up, composting and it makes me sad to see my neighbors tossing all of their recyclables into the trash bin considering we're so fortunate to have a recycle pickup, as not every city or county does. I love new and innovative products that are made with materials that simply need to be 'recycled'. Classy women care about not only their own home environment, but the planet too so I thought this would be a great way to show you how a tiny bit of effort can do a lot of good.
Did you know that Whole Foods has a drop-off bin near the store entry/exit where you can recycle your No.5 plastics? Well, they do and I'm really excited about it. You see most cities, like here in Orlando, only recycle No.1 & 2 plastics leaving the rest to either be reused again (which we often do) and then eventually they'll wind up in the trash. There is a great way to to not only avoid this but make something wonderful in the process.
The best part is your yogurt and food containers as well as used Brita filters (yes, they recycle those too) can go from this.....
to THIS!
Neat, huh? A company called Preserve collects all of the No.5 plastic and turns it into usable, practical and fun products so the plastic will have a second life and spare our landfills from anymore needless waste. When they reach their lifetime, you can recycle them yet again. :) For someone who gets excited about recycling this is great news! Preserve creates everything from cutting boards, measuring cups and food storage containers to razors and toothbrushes! The best part is it's all BPA-free and made in the USA. You can see their neat little video on how items are made HERE.
All you need to do is wash out your No.5 plastics (look on the underside of your container for the little recycle triangle) and put them in a bag or box and drop them off at a 'Gimme 5' location when you are in the area. Preserve will do the rest and you'll feel good about making a difference too!
For those of you that felt a little mislead by the post title but made it this this point, I thought I'd share a fun, new blog that I found called Pure Green Design. HERE is one of their great trash to treasure posts which features the image shown at the top.
Now, in the spirit of turning trash to treasure, I'd love to hear how YOU reuse or give old items a new life in your own home. Feel free to leave a link to your thrifty trash to treasure decor posts too-I love those!
