As my theme this semester I have chose to research the arising global problem of recycling plastic, specifically plastic bottles. Did you know that:
- Forty percent of bottled water is really just filtered tap water.
- Every day we throw away 30 million single-served bottles of water.
- In Corpus Christi, Texas alone they are currently using 714 million gallons of oil each year to manufacture the PET they use in plastic water bottles, that could fuel 100 000 cars!
- There are more plastic pieces in the ocean than plankton.
In developing countries where poverty is extremely high, they have discovered a way to recycle plastic bottles when they cannot even afford them. This first video shows villages in the philippines and Brazil where the house are so close together and completely dark almost all day. The community rarely has any power and when they do it must be used very sparingly. Mothers could not complete hardly anything in these small houses, making it very difficult to cook and care for their families. A young man discovered a way to construct a simple skylight out of recycled 2L plastic bottle.
These homemade solar lights are being used in homes and schools all over developing countries. It is a smart, economically friendly solution to reusing plastic bottles and saving money on solar lights which sell for $400 a piece.
Above is another video worth checking out. It shows the same solar light being created in south-east Asia. A man creates a small business campaign on how this source of light will change the world.
I hope this blog was both inspiring and informative.
Ashley Darwin
(Seminar Wednesdays 12-2)
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