Top 24 Recycled Bottle Innovations (SUPER GALLERY)

Plastic bottles continue to make their way to landfills, despite growing awareness for the environmental damage they cause. PET bottles in particular have a devastating effect on the environment. Bringing them to the recycling depot takes little time and even less effort, but the burden you lift off the planet is a huge one. If you’re creatively inclined, try turning your old bottles into art, and seek inspiration from the designs featured below.

This cluster highlights some of th most incredible innovations that come from recycling plastic bottles, like funky lamps, eco cell phones, school uniforms and suits of armor, as well as charity-benefiting recycling programs.

We know you still need to sip back plenty of H2O to stay healthy which is why we’ve added a section on plastic bottle alternatives, from cheeky aluminum designs to bottles made of corn.

Finally, we end with a section on new discoveries and environmental innovations to deal with PET bottle issues.

Bottle Refunds for Charity - Coop Denmark Instant Donations

In Denmark, as in many other countries, consumers get a refundable deposit on bottles when they return them through a retailer’s collection machine. The machine prints out a slip of paper that states how much they’ll receive at the cash register. One of Denmark ‘s largest consumer goods retailers… [More]

Recycling Gives Back - Laptop Sleeve & Bag From Recycled Bottles (GALLERY)

It is gratifying to see the fruit of our recycling. That cola bottle you wisely recycled might just turn up in your next purchase. GreenSmart’s $25 Laptop sleeve is made from an innovative fabric called PET, which is made from these old plastic bottles we recycle. At less than half a pound, it provi… [More]

Fashion From Recycled Plastic - PET Bottle Samurai Outfit (GALLERY)

The unparalleled consumer trend for mineral water, dairy-based beverages, energy and probiotic drinks, together with the emergence of a so-called single-serve society, are two factors that are continuing to stimulate further PET-packaging demand. PET-packages are plastic containers made from PolyEt… [More]

Green School Uniforms - Recycled Bottle Blazers (GALLERY)

Schools in the UK can now dress their students in a uniform made entirely from old Coca-Cola bottles, which will help them meet their carbon footprint targets. New advances in flaking, chipping and spinning plastic at a plant in Taiwan have made “blazers with bottle” commercially viable. According… [More]

Branded Recycling - “Drink 2 Wear” Fashion Made of Old Coke Bottles (GALLERY)

To the brim with complaints from environmental activists that their plastic bottles are clogging up landfills, Coke has come up with a unique solution: turning recycled bottles into “Drink 2 Wear” apparel. T-shirts that read, “Make your plastic fantastic” and “Rehash your trash” will appear at nea… [More]

Glowing PET Bottle Art - Joan Nadal’s Eco-Design BoB Collection

Did you know that there are more than 10,000 P.E.T bottles wasted every second in the world? Eco designers from Andorra (a little country between Spain and France) have been transforming those beautiful bottles into cool design objects. Joan Nadal’s works bring not only style to your home but, more… [More]

2 in 1 Water Vessels & Toy - Y Water Bottles

While most water bottles are lightweight and disposable, fuseproject and L.A. based Y Water are moving in the opposite direction, by creating a bottle that they hope, will sitck a little longer.  The bottle has a distinctive Y-shape, serves as a bottle that carries vitamin enriched water for childre… [More]

Nokia’s Green Phone - ‘Remade’ is All Recycled (GALLERY)

It doesn’t get any greener than this. A mobile phone made entirely from recycled material. Nokia unveiled ‘remade’, an environment friendly phone concept at the Mobile World Congress.  The silver-coloured handset’s chasis is made with plastic from drink bottles while its rubber keypad is made from o… [More]

Rubbish Runway Collection - Avsh Alom Gur Makes Zoolander’s Derelict a Reality (GALLERY)

London-based fashion designer Avsh Alom Gur had been collecting rubbish from the London streets to turn them into a gorgeous Spring/Summer 2008 Collection in the London Fashion Week. Constructed between jewel colored silk and chiffon fabrics are Fox’s sweet packets and plastic shopping bags while r… [More]

Recycled Bottle Art - Miwa Koizumi’s PET Jellyfish (GALLERY)

Artist Miwa Koizumi brings life to recycled plastic bottles by transforming them into her own ‘pets’.  She describes, “I love the idea of using liquid containers to make water animals. Contained/containing, trash/not-trash, like the jelly-fish or anemone.” To create her art, she uses heat guns, sol… [More]

Garbage-Filled Furniture - XS Chair (VIDEO)

Nick Demarco, a sophomore at the California College of the Arts, wanted to take a more direct and flexible approach to recycling. Why wait for the complicated process of recycling used material when you can do it directly inside his XS Chair? You can fill the XS Chair with anything you want: old cl… [More]

Soda Bottle Furniture - Chairs & Toys

Designer Jinhong Lin cuts the recycling cycle short by allowing you to instantly convert your soda bottles into a stool or table. I am not sure how comfortable this stool would be, but the table variation looks pretty neat! Chairs & Toys needs 16 bottles with a standard size neck. You can use it as… [More]

Recycled Bottle Ceilings - Aesop’s High Glass Boutique (GALLERY)

This is further proof that sustainability does not have to look boring, drab and pedestrian. Australia-based brand Aesop, which specializes in boutique botanical skincare products, built a retail store in Adelaide that has a ceiling crafted entirely out of recycled bottles arranged in a funky wave p… [More]

Recycled Home Designs - Bottle Lamps II (GALLERY)

These are lamps made out of different kinds of recycled bottles and chains. There are soda bottles, milk bottles and plastic bottles. Some of these designs are simple enough and are DIY (Do It Yourself) such as the collection of the 5 clear soda bottles which is the next to last photo. This arrange… [More]

Ultra Light Environmental Vase - Façade Vase (GALLERY)

The Façade Vase from Orcadesign is a creative wool felt slip-on cover that turns any standard plastic (or non-plastic) bottle into a minimalist eco-friendly vase. I like the concept, it provides a cool unbreakable vase for clumsy people like myself that is very easy to trasport. You can easily have… [More]

Plastic Bottle Alternatives

Plastic Bottle Alternatives - “I Am Not Plastic” Aluminum Bottle

StopGlobalWarming.org has formed a partnership with Swiss aluminum water bottle maker Sigg to produce this custom bottle, to let you do your part to reduce plastic water bottles and spread the word. T… [More]

Aluminum Water Bottles - Cool For You, Good For the Earth (GALLERY)

SIGG USA brings quality Swiss design to reusable aluminum water bottles. Their website says “not everyone is ready to buy a hybrid vehicle,” but every baby step towards a cleaner Earth is worth it.  Americans add over 30 million plastic water bottles to our nation’s landfills every day. Why not drin… [More]

Cups for Cancer - LiveStrong Travel Mug (GALLERY)

If you don’t have your own Livestrong bracelet, it’s pretty much a guarantee that you’ve seen one. Based on that assumption, you’d know right away that this skinny travel mug is branded with the logo for Lance Armstrong Foundation in support of cancer. Unlike other to-go mugs, the Livestrong Trave… [More]

Drinks-On-The-Go - Reef Dram Sandals Double As Water Bottles

The Reef Dram Sandals contain an inner tube that you can fill with water (or your favourite beverage) and have a drink handy when you’re out and about. Now you can have a drink anywhere you want… This is bizarre, isn’t it? And by the way, they are not cheap at all: 45$ , buy at your own risk. [More]

Intelligent Water Bottle - Your Hydration Coach!

Imagine a water bottle that calculates your hydtration needs.  It exists! More From the Site: The intelligent bottle, namely HydraCoach, is a revolutionary new water bottle that calculates an individual’s daily hydration needs and coaches proper water consumption to ensure optimal hydration. This i… [More]

Wrist Worn Water Bottle

Hydro Sport has invented a wrist worrn water bottle for exercising.  The site calls the wrist worn water bottle ‘an alternative to fanny packs’.  Unfortunately, being an alternative to a fanny pack doesn’t really scream cool.  Regardless, the idea is relatively innovative.  You can also print your c… [More]

Environmental Discovery & Innovation

Self-Sterilising Plastics - PolyMedix Innovation

University of Pennsylvania scientists working with PolyMedix are developing a new drug which can be incorporated into polymers to kill bacterial cells on contact. The drug will not enter the cells, but will mimic how our own bodies attack bacteria, by punching holes in their outer coverings so they … [More]

Water Skin - Lighter Bottle Reduces Plastic Weight

Sidel has developed a new bottle, called NoBottle, which uses significantly less plastic.  Overall, the bottle drops the weight of a typical water bottle by roughly 1/3rd.  The bottle is very flexible, meaning that when you squeeze it, the shape changes almost like a balloon.  When you un-squeeze, t… [More]

Corn Bottles (Not Plastic)

With the consumption of bottled water more than doubling in the last decade, plastic bottles are blocking up the planet, an increasingly worrying problem. But these environmentally unfriendly containers could be a thing of the past thanks to some green thinking companies. Biota Spring Water – on… [More]