A New Installation in the Middle of an English City Shines the Spotlight on Plastic Water Bottle Waste
Peter Gleick, president and founder of the Pacific Institute, once said, “The bottled water industry says correctly, but misleadingly, that the plastic the water comes in is recyclable. It’s misleading, because ‘recyclable’ is not the same thing as ‘recycled.’”
Very little of the plastic is recycled, and a portion of it will end up in the oceans. One design and model-making firm in Bristol, England decided to shine the light on this issue in a very unique way. Cod Steaks, the design firm, collected over 70,000 plastic water bottles, which were discarded at this year’s Bath Marathon and Bristol 5k. The firm them constructed a huge model of two whales emerging from an ocean of water bottles. The creators used biodegradable willow to build the massive whales and the discarded water bottles to construct the ocean waves. Bottle caps were used to make droplets of water falling from the animals’ tails.
According to the United Nations Environment Program, plastic waste causes approximately $13 billion in harm to marine life habitats and beaches. If you would like to lower your plastic water bottle footprint, consider investing in a home water filtration system, like Waterboy Whole House System.
See the The Bristol Whales art installation, currently in Bristol’s city center.
