George Carlin (the great stand up comic, may the Comic Gods keep him) probably said it best when he said “Don’t worry about the world.This planet’s fine! It’s the people who live in it that are pretty much f*cked”
We have become a throw away society wherein we would just gladly throw stuff away without even thinking about the consequences of throwing non-biodegradable objects everywhere. Because we have cared for our environment as much as someone with an extreme case of Ophidiophobia would care for snakes, we have created the existence of a floating island made of garbage. (Oh and if you’re looking for other cool phobias, check this list out.)
We should all do our part, Pinoys especially because we as a people have always been able to use biodegradable and re-usable packaging and items even WAY before any of these so called advacements came to play. Didn’t we wrap our “baon” in banana leaves? Haven’t we always used a bayong when we go to the market? Didn’t we use a bunot to make our floor shine? (And gave us a really good workout too!)
It frustrates me to see how we are purposefully poisoning our planet and leaving a garbage dump behind for our kids and grandchildren. This is why I absolutely love upcycling.
Upcycling is probably just another fancy terminology for recycling. It’s finding another creative and effective use of an object that one can deem to be disposable. Take the big soda bottles for example: The bottle itself can be recycled but the small round hard cover? That’s not recyclable and that can stay on this planet thousands of years after we’ve been dead. My daughter and I found this very clever way of upcycling this little plastic bottle top.
Putting little snacks in plastic bags are handy, yes. however, it’s when you try to take the knot off that becomes a problem. It either takes you forever (kasi wala kang kuko na pangtanggal ng knot) or you give up and just cut the little bugger. Another issue is that the crispy snacks you have become makunat because it’s not airtight. Don’t even start with liquids kasi madalas sa hindi eh tumatagas yan. The solution? An upcycled sealer.
First step is to cut the top of the plastic bottle. Kahit anong plastic bottle, keri na. Make sure to leave enough room for your plastic bag or supot to slip through. Thread the supot through and spread it out around the bottle lip, forming a flower-like shape. Spin the the bottle top on and make sure that it’s tight. Voila! you now have a re-usable plastic bag sealer that’s leak proof and airtight! Tah-dah!! You don’t have to buy those (oftentimes non-working) bag clips.
What about the rest of the bottle? I poked holes at the bottom and used it as a planter for my Basil, capsicum and wheatgrass. Solved ang problema.
We all can do our part. Kahit pakonti-konti. Find a way to upcycle or recycle!
