discarded

In the 1960s, a Tucson couple built a carport from discarded bottles; it grew into a 2,700-square-foot home that later hit the market for $432,500

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Thousands of glass bottles, set in rock and mortar, form the walls of this Tucson home. (@tucsonbottlehouse/Instagram)

Most of us toss an empty bottle without a second thought. Ted and Mel Bryson saw something else: walls. KGUN 9, the local station, reports the Tucson couple built the original house out of rock, mortar, and thousands of glass bottles in 1965. Architectural Digest (AD), which also covered the listing, noted the house was … Read more

In 1928, California garbage collector Art Beal began a hillside shack; over 50 years, discarded cans, car parts, and shells became Nitt Witt Ridge

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Art Beal built Nitt Witt Ridge with materials others discarded, shaping a steep California hillside into nine levels of terraces and structures. He lived there until 1989. (Wikimedia Commons)

Most people see the city dump as the place where broken things go to die. Art Beal saw a source of building materials. In 1928, he bought two and a half acres of pine-covered hillside in Cambria Pines, California, and began building a home from salvaged objects. According to the SPACES Archives profile of the … Read more

A 21-year-old Mexican environmental innovator is developing microbial fuel cells that use discarded materials to generate electricity and improve polluted water; her project aims to produce 50 working units by 2027

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A 21-year-old Mexican environmental innovator is developing microbial fuel cells that use discarded materials to generate electricity and improve polluted water; her project aims to produce 50 working units by 2027

Maritza Sanchez Photo credit: https://www.broweryouthawards.org/winner/maritza-sanchez/ Growing up in Cuautlancingo, a town in Mexico’s Puebla state, Maritza Sanchez saw pollution close to home. Now 21, she is developing microbial fuel cells that use materials recovered from local waste to generate electricity and help improve polluted water. Her project, Aquayac Energy, is focused on the Atoyac River, … Read more

Meet Ben Hogan, former bike mechanic turning discarded bicycles into prosthetic legs; shares free instructions online to help others recreate the design locally

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Meet Ben Hogan, former bike mechanic turning discarded bicycles into prosthetic legs; shares free instructions online to help others recreate the design locally

A Michigan man has been turning discarded bicycles into prosthetic legs while also teaching others how to make them, all for free. Ben Hogan, a former bike mechanic and prosthetist at Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital, founded Project Bike Legan initiative that makes prosthetics sourced almost entirely from repurposed bike parts. He hopes his low-cost … Read more

Meet Wileidy Feliciano-Rivera, the Puerto Rico seventh-grader who turned discarded school-cafeteria plantain peels into biodegradable farm mulch that cut weed growth by up to 53% in tests

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Meet Wileidy Feliciano-Rivera, the Puerto Rico seventh-grader who turned discarded school-cafeteria plantain peels into biodegradable farm mulch that cut weed growth by up to 53% in tests

Wileidy Feliciano-Rivera, the Puerto Rico seventh-grader who turned discarded school-cafeteria plantain peels into biodegradable farm mulch (Image Credit: Society for Science) A Puerto Rico seventh-grader has found an unusual use for something that would normally be thrown away after lunch: plantain peels. Wileidy Feliciano-Rivera collected discarded peels from her school cafeteria and turned them into … Read more

In 1964, an Arizona couple began building a carport with discarded bottles; years later, the project had grown into a 2,700-sq-ft home made with thousands of bottles and listed for $432,500

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In 1964, an Arizona couple began building a carport with discarded bottles; years later, the project had grown into a 2,700-sq-ft home made with thousands of bottles and listed for $432,500

Main entrance of the constructed bottle and rock home (Source: Coldwell Banker Realty) A Tucson couple’s simple plan to build a shelter for a family car in 1964 grew into a 2,700-square-foot home made from tens of thousands of discarded glass bottles. The unusual property has now been put on the market for $432,500 (£342,000). … Read more

Nurseries discarded unwanted plants; Pearl Fryar rescued them and spent decades turning them into a three-acre sculpture garden

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Nurseries discarded unwanted plants; Pearl Fryar rescued them and spent decades turning them into a three-acre sculpture garden

Representative Image of a vibrant topiary garden featuring living sculptures shaped like trees, fish, and abstract forms in Bishopville (AI Generated Image) A cleared cornfield in Bishopville, South Carolina, became the setting for one of America’s most distinctive topiary gardens. In the early 1980s, Pearl Fryar began transforming the land around his home without any … Read more

In New York, 29 million discarded glass bottles were ground into concrete for JPMorgan Chase’s 60-storey headquarters; replacing 40% of its cement cut over 5,000 tons of carbon and enhanced concrete strength

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In New York, 29 million discarded glass bottles were ground into concrete for JPMorgan Chase’s 60-storey headquarters; replacing 40% of its cement cut over 5,000 tons of carbon and enhanced concrete strength

A massive skyscraper rising in Midtown Manhattan has turned tens of millions of used waste bottles into part of its structural support. The project shows how city waste can replace carbon-heavy building materials on a large commercial scale. Workers used special concrete containing ground recycled glass in the foundation and floor slabs of JPMorgan Chase’s … Read more

A 14-year-old Australian turns discarded tools into animal sculptures and has sold a scrap-metal wolf for $8,000; he is now the youngest artist in a major open-studio event

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A 14-year-old Australian turns discarded tools into animal sculptures and has sold a scrap-metal wolf for $8,000; he is now the youngest artist in a major open-studio event

Charlie was given his first drill at two years old. A glimpse of the scrap-metal wolf made by him. In a workshop filled with discarded tools, broken machinery and pieces of scrap metal, 14-year-old Charlie Guiver has found the raw materials for an unusual artistic career. The Dunsborough teenager turns unwanted objects into detailed animal … Read more

Florida is sinking 3 million pounds of repurposed concrete culverts off Destin-Fort Walton Beach; the discarded structures will form three artificial reefs, each built from about 500 tons of concrete

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Florida is sinking 3 million pounds of repurposed concrete culverts off Destin-Fort Walton Beach; the discarded structures will form three artificial reefs, each built from about 500 tons of concrete

More than 1,300 tonnes of old concrete pipes are being dropped into the Gulf of Mexico to create a series of artificial reefs off the coast of Destin-Fort Walton Beach, Florida. The project uses three million pounds of recycled concrete culverts to create three separate underwater habitats. Each site will receive about 500 tons of … Read more