February 23, 2012

Reusing an Airplaine

Until now I've focused on how people are recycling small every day items in to wonderful things. Today I've found something much larger for you, a Boeing 747 "Jumbo Airplane" that once flew for Singapore Airlines, Pan Am and Transjet. Oscar Diös has turned it into Jumbo Hostel in Stockholm, Sweden. It doesn't fly anymore, so it no longer has that huge carbon footprint it used to have. It still has the original lounge, first class seating and spiral staircase. Other parts of the plane have been converted into rooms where you can sleep, including the cockpit. You can even walk out onto the observation deck built on one of the wings to watch other planes take of and land at the airport. I've read that it's engine rooms are also being converted into bedrooms and the old turbines are going to be remade into the blinds for those rooms. It looks really cool.

Made from Recycled Yarn

I've recently discovered the blog Look What I Found by Le Chat in Amsterdam, Netherlands. This girl really gets it. She does a lot of creating with recycled objects, especially yarn reclaimed from sweaters. Here's a sampling of what she makes from the yarn. The orange one is my favorite. She sells her creations at shows and on her Etsy shop, also called Le Chat. Click on the photo's below to read more about what each was recycled from.

Plastic Bags and Audio/Video Tape

Picture borrowed from
My Recycled Bags

I just stumbled across the My Recycled Bags blog. It's a great site that includes instructions for making your own plastic bag yarn (called plarn) and creating lots of useful items like water bottle totes, reusable lunch bags, purses, etc. There's even Barbie doll clothes crocheted from cassette tape!
The author of the blog is too modest to tell us who she is, but kudos to her for giving us such a great resource! Here's a pick of her latest Barbie fashion.