A Step Towards Sustainable Living: Upcycling Glass Bottles
Introduction:
“Everything is recycled in India, even dreams.”
― Shashi Tharoor
Did you know that India generates about 3 million tons of glass waste in a year? Even though 45% of it is recycled, more than 50% of the glass waste ends up in the landfill. As a leader in providing sustainable and eco-friendly products in India, we help combat this challenge with an impactful solution.
At Kavi Poetry-Art, we make the Earth a little lighter by repurposing glass bottles into statement glassware pieces for your home. Ever had an iconic glass bottle at home which you were certain could make an amazing keepsake? In an honest effort towards environmental conservation, we are excited to present to you a whole line of stylish and functional upcycled glass products. Not just that, we are eager to provide wings to your creative juices too!
The Problem: Glass Waste and Its Impact
A general assumption is that glass is less polluting than plastics. But, the behind-the-scenes tell a different story. Glass is primarily made up of silica sand, limestone and ash.
As we know it, the world is running low on sand because it is the most consumed resource on earth! That means production of glass puts a heavy load on the demand of silica. Not only that; these resources are heated to a molten state between 1400-1600 ° C or 2550-2900 ° F.
This creates an unimaginable amount of air pollution, releasing toxic chemicals such as nitrogen oxides (NOx) into the atmosphere and creating a build-up of smog.
A similar process is followed when it comes to recycling of glass but with more complexity as transparent glass waste has to be separated from colored glass waste at the time of recycling. Additionally, when the colored glass pieces are heated to the molten point, an array of another set of toxic chemicals is released into the atmosphere.
The most harmful effect of glass waste is the causing injury to humans and animals alike. It is pretty difficult to extract shards of glasses from our unmanageable dump-yards leading to grave injuries to waste pickers who more often than not work without any protection whatsoever in our country.
These pieces of glass can also seriously hurt animals and birds scavenging for food.
Lastly, about 55% of our glass waste goes into landfills and you will be surprised to know that it takes about 1 million years to decompose glass. And even if the glass partially decomposes, it releases hazardous elements into the soil.
On one hand, we have glass relics from Egypt to trace back history, but on the other, what kind of legacy are we leaving behind with our glass waste?
The Solution: The Power of Upcycling
An elegant solution to reduce glass waste is to creatively reuse glass bottles. Upcycling glass bottles into functional products not only aid glass waste management but also provide a colorful touch to your homes.
Going beyond just glass bottle recycling for money plants, creating glass bottle crafts proves to be an excellent value-add to the waste reduction strategies.
The benefits of upcycling glass bottles for the environment are innumerable. Firstly, you are able to do your bit by not contributing to the landfills and hence, saving the soil from further degradation.
Secondly, effectively repurposing glass products helps in reducing the related air pollution by about 20% and related water pollution by a staggering 50%. By upcycling glass bottles, there is an overall reduction of dependence on extraction of raw materials to make more glass. This innovative action shapes the final step in the circular economy of turning glass into a valuable resource, giving it a second life.
The creative reuse of glass bottles is quite cost effective considering that you already possess the materials needed to realize your ideas into valuable and unique home décor and beautiful DIY projects.
There are a lot of videos and content on the internet displaying how to transform glass bottles into aesthetic and functional art pieces for your homes or even as gifts for your loved ones.
The easiest way is to wash, clean and sterilize these bottles and use them as containers for water or for plant propagation. But, we wanted to enable you with something more creative.
Introducing our Upcycling Services
The most obvious next question is how do we go about creating these masterpieces that you may have saved on Pinterest or YouTube?
It is not advisable to cut glass bottles at home even if you have seen many videos showing you how to go about it (yes! That 5 minutes craft video is definitely misleading you!) Considering the absence of appropriate tools like glass cutters and sharp knives and the lack of expertise in cutting glass, it does become a hassle to attain the desired glass bottle transformation that you may have in mind.
That’s where we’ve got your back! Instead of wondering how to make glass bottle art at home, we are thrilled to offer special custom glass cutting services to any shape or size that you fancy.
No matter what form your DIY home décor ideas demand, we can make it. To give a new life to your glass bottle upcycling ideas and inspirations, we are happy to provide safe and professional cutting services with specialized equipment at pocket friendly pricing so as to keep the eco-conscious lifestyle accessible to all.
Not just that, a pick and drop facility for your used bottles has been put in place to reduce any speed-bumps that you may face in your process of creating handmade glass products. Leaving the joy of design conception to you, while we seek to tackle the rest of the process of manifesting the final upcycled products for you.
The Upcycling Process Made Easy
To make glass bottle upcycling easier for beginners we have come up with a simple process. You can bring your bottles to our warehouse or we can arrange a pick up from designated spots.
We are there for you to help you choose the correct shape, size and color of the bottles that you own to bring your décor ideas to reality.
Then, we dive into the design ideation to understand exactly how you want to get the perfect form and shape of your upcycled home décor. You can provide us with clear visuals or drawn diagrams to chart out the final design of your eco-friendly product.
Once the designs are completely agreed upon, we get onto the process of glass cutting. Using our proven expertise and efficient glass cutting tools, we passionately work on your brainchild and create sustainable artwork.
Once the bottles are given a rebirth, you can then come back to our warehouses to pick up your precious artworks or we can schedule a drop to your place if it’s a viable option. And Ta-da!
Through this way we successfully bring to life innovative, gorgeous and sustainable glass bottle solutions together for making our planet better!
Why Choose Us? The Upcycling Experts:
Transparency being our unofficial middle name, we like our work to speak for us. Make a visit to browse through our upcycled glass products and you will be assured that we are proud of our ability to deliver only state-of-the-art quality products to you.
From glasses made out of old monk bottles to our grey goose jar sets, we are continuously pushing ourselves to come up with creative ways to reuse glass bottles.
Instead of trying to figure out how to upcycle glass bottles at home, we make the process as easy as possible by encouraging you to innovate while picking up the task of sorting out the nitty-gritties to bring your designs to life.
We strive to maintain high standards for every item that leaves our warehouse and it brings us great happiness to fulfill our promise to you.
Having worked in the sustainability field for the last 12 years gives us an incomparable edge to contribute thoroughly to resource conservation efforts made by every citizen of India. You contribute to this eco-conscious living movement each time you take the step to upcycle your glass bottles with us.
Beyond Cutting: Exploring Upcycled Products:
Beside our cutting services, we offer a wide range of pre-designed homegrown products made from glass bottles collected from various tie-ups with companies such as Corona India, Sula and Absolut India.
Currently, we are selling sets of glasses of varying sizes and shapes, sustainable planters with glass bottle pots and many more products, which you can check out on our website here.
So, even if you may not have glass bottles lying around to partake in the process of upcycling glass waste, you still have the power to make a difference by buying glassware from our range.
Upcycled Old Monk Air Tight Bottle Jars
Upcycled Absolut Bottle Sipper
Explore More
In a world where there is abundance of wastage, doing your fair bit goes a long way. Going beyond just creating home décor for your homes, you can also consider our services to put together unique and thoughtful gifts for your corporate and bulk goodies.
Making eco-friendly choices is going against the current wave of consumerism that is trending in the mainstream world. This fight can seem lonely and pointless at face-value.
Upcycling seems like work only when you are trying to do it all by yourself. But, we should not forget that every drop makes the ocean and every little action invested in sustainability matters. Teaming up together and sharing the responsibility helps us help you help the planet!
Conclusion
Living a truly sustainable life is a choice that all of us need to make in our lives. Back in 2012, we started off with just the inspiration of creating home décor and personalized products from scrap to something artistic and today, our only drive is to encourage as many people as possible to adopt an eco-conscious lifestyle.
All of us have discarded many glass bottles in our life and it is time to take a proactive role in recycling these bottles through a zero waste approach. Giving a second life to our possessions in every way possible is the first step in sustaining hope for our present and our future on this ever-giving earth.