While i’m honeymooning with H on the other side of the world, I’ve got a few posts lined up. Some serious, and some not. I hope you enjoy, and I’ll respond to comments, etc when I get back!
There have been lots of innovative uses in recycled products that I’ve been hearing about lately. Typically, a lot of them are products made by someone else that are pretty expensive (and not worth it to me). Other times using one of these recycling methods involves something you keep and do yourself, like papercrete – which I’m really interested in and want to try. The reason that I’m so interested in all of this stuff is because you’re creating something out of trash! It normally would be thrown out, but there’s been another use for it.
Greensmart is one of those companies. They’ve taken something that would previously be tossed out and started making stuff out of it. Namely, they turn old plastic bottles into bags, laptop sleeves, wine carriers and more. They asked me if I wanted to try one out, and since my bag from a conference I attended in 09 was starting to get holes in it, I said sure. I wasnt sure how well it would hold up or what the capacity would be, but when I got it it looked pretty neat.
I got it not long before the move, so it immediately became a vessel to put stuff in – so I took some of the books from school that I kept and very, very seldom refer to and stuffed them all in there. The thing probably weighed north of 45lbs when it was full, and the bag fit everything in there and carried just fine – there wasnt any stress on the straps or anything like that. All of my uses since then have been far lighter (mostly packing for weekend trips) and while it had nowhere near the weight, it was stuffed full quite a bit and has been fine.
The bag has a special sleeve for a laptop, which has been handy to have. This has become a sort of all purpose bag for me in terms of taking my computer places, packing for shorter vacations and everything in between.
One bad thing about these bags though, is the same as plastic bottles – they take forever to decompose. So while they are giving your soda bottle a second life, it will take just as long for the bag to break down as the bottle.
If you’re looking for products that are environmentally friendly, have a look at greensmart – they’ve got quite a bit of interesting stuff there.
Readers: Do you buy products made from recycled materials frequently? If so, what do you buy and what have you bought that you didnt like very much?
Their products look really nice. I haven’t purchased any of those things lately, but the next time I need a backpack, I’ll be sure to check Greensmart. Hope you are having a great honeymoon.
What an interesting idea! It is nice to know that they can do so many useful things with old plastic bottles. Can the laptop bag be recycled when it breaks, or must it go to the landfill? It would be great if the company had a recycle program for their recycled goods.
The only products I’ve bought in the past which I’ve been fully aware were made from recycled products have been stationary (rulers, rubbers etc). The Greensmart products look like they’re of a very high quality though; shame I bought a new laptop case a few months ago
thank you for sharing the information – I’ve never heard of that company before! Fantastic idea!