Why so many bottle tops?
In 2014 we launched our community art project: Edith the Rhino. A life sized Rhino sculpture we asked people to fill with plastic bottle tops. We had initially thought it would take a long time to fill Edith. Much to our surprise, it took six months! As we wanted to keep people talking about Edith and the plight of Rhinos, we needed a plan. So we were regularly recycling the bottle tops and using them in other projects such as bottle top walls.
We had bottle tops sent to us from all over the country. As such we eventually had more than we could ever possibly use. So ten years after her launch, we decided to keep Edith full and as a permanent environmental statement. However this did leave us with a dilemma as to what to do with the excess bottle tops.
Parry and Evans to the rescue.
We were fortunate enough to discover a local company that could help us to recycle the bottle tops. Parry and Evans recycling specialists based in Deeside were able to come to the station to collect 16 huge sacks of tops for recycling at their depot.
They kindly gave us the opportunity to visit their Deeside depot so that we could see first hand how the bottle tops were processed for recycling. The tops go through a machine that cleans them and also separates the different types of plastic. They are then shredded into granules, dried and bagged ready for selling on. Manufacturers can use the granules to make items such as picnic tables and benches.
To see how our visit to Parry and Evans, check out our reel on instagram.
Reuse, reduce, recycle
Because plastic lasts for so long, every single piece of plastic ever made still exists, and will continue existing for at least 500 years. More and more is produced every day so the cycle continues. We try our best not to use plastic wherever possible and Jacha uses his art to highlight the problem. Also, we support initiatives such as I’m not Plastic that are working towards a plastic free world. Until then we must all do what we can to reuse, reduce and recycle. So if that’s recycling plastic bottle tops like us, or using reusable shopping bags – it all makes a difference!