Americans use about 50 billion plastic water bottles each year and 38 of those end up in landfills, where they can take up to 1,000 years to decompose. But in a matter of weeks, a recycled water bottle can be made into a lumber alternative, polyester, stadium seating, car parts—or even a dress fit for a gala as actress Emma Watson recently did at the Met Gala. Water bottles can also be repurposed into a fabric called Eudae which is created out of eucalyptus plants, recycled plastic, and Tencel, a sustainable fiber made from wood. And General Motors recently announced that it will use employees’ recycled bottles to create the noise-reducing fabric insulators that cover the Chevrolet Equinox v6 engine.
Buying bottled water is not a problem; doing something with the bottle is an opportunity
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