# Small Scale Water Harvesting 'Petal Drops' Repurposes Plastic Bottles for Rain Collection By Katie Cordrey | Published 2009-12-09 | Eco Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/petal-drops-rainwater-collection References: [greenlivingpdx.blogspot](http://greenlivingpdx.blogspot.com/2009/12/petal-drops-crowdsourced-micro-system.html) & [quirky](http://www.quirky.com/?r=4c819c15cfa03e42f2e3fe626a17b1d1) The Petal Drops rainwater collection system is simple: Attach a leaf-shaped funnel to the tops of [used plastic bottles](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/bottle-strip-cutter), sit the funnel-topped bottle in the rain, and voila! [Water for plants](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/tendril-1), [pets](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/jalashay), and other needs. Petal Drops is a crowdsourced design by the folks at Quirky who decided to come up with an environmentally and socially responsible product in just 24 hours. The resulting rain catching funnel is made of 100% recycled HDPE and is available for pre-production purchase on the Quirky website. ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 3.5/10 - Popularity: 36% | Activity: 60% | Freshness: 8% - Audience gender: 50% men, 50% women - Primary generations: Millennial, Gen X - Top markets: North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Eco](https://www.trendhunter.com/eco) ## Key Themes ### Why This Trend Is Growing - **Small-scale Sustainable Water Management:** Petal Drops demonstrates the potential for repurposing everyday materials for water harvesting in small-scale applications. - **Community-driven Product Design:** The 24-hour crowdsourced design process behind Petal Drops showcases the effectiveness of rapidly prototyping with feedback from a community. - **Circular Economy Solutions:** By repurposing used plastic bottles for rain collection, Petal Drops contributes to a closed-loop system of resource use. ### Industries Being Reshaped - **Sustainable Product Development:** The success of Petal Drops highlights opportunities for companies to incorporate circular economy principles into new product development. - **Environmental Conservation:** Petal Drops aligns with the growing emphasis on sustainable water management and conservation efforts. - **Small-scale Agriculture and Gardening:** Petal Drops provides a low-cost, low-maintenance solution for small-scale growers to collect rainwater for their plants. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [Rainwater Multifunctional Planters](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/raindrop-1.md) - [Eco-Conscious Rain-Harvesting Headwear](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/daughters-of-rain.md) - [Rain-Collecting Skyscrapers](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/bpas-architects.md) - [Self-Watering Compact Planters](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/patella-crescenda.md) - [Water Catch-Integrated Planters](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/hemisphere.md) - [Adorable Pawprint Bottles](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/pet-paw-bottle.md) - [Low-Cost Water Purifiers](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/edrop-water-purifier.md) - [Container-Based Indoor Gardens](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/bottle-farm-mini.md) - [Self-Watering Smart Planters](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/the-leafypod.md)