Let’s, maybe, start a fashion trend
by Michael Smith
In the old poor student days of the 1960s and 1970s this was the way things were done. Glass jars of this kind, and smaller ones even, were got out and used for serving drinks, as many of them did not have the money to buy glasses and such. Then there were the old Hippies did this too and it was trendy in those circles for sure. They did it because they were making a statement; the same statement, in a way that we should be making today.
Why buy when you can reuse. After all, you paid for that glass jar when you bought those sausages. When we talk about recycling, recycled goods, etc., why do we never, it would seem, in the main, think about the simple act of reusing?
Students, the poor, and the Hippies used to do this many a times in years gone by. For the latter, as I said, it was a statement, for the former two groups it was done for reasons of necessity. Maybe it needs to be made a fashion and I am rather serious here. Why not just directly reuse such items? This could be the start of a fashion and a trend and why not.
The same could be done with the smaller jars whence mustard, for instance, comes in. They make great “green” Whisky tumblers. Just add Malt and soda or ice, or just have it neat without anything added – the way I like it – and cheers. Frankfurter jars are great for beers and ales, as well as the alcoholic and non-alcoholic “long drinks”, as well as for the likes of Coke (Yuck! But some like the stuff), while the smaller ones are great for, well, other drinks.
With the use of a “frosting kit” or such designs too could be etched into the jars and voila, even more fashionable still.
By by re-using the right kind of jars in lieu of glasses all the costs and impact of making new glasses, even from those jars by reworking and recycling, or by factory recycling, could be avoided.
Some jars, obviously, lend themselves to such a re-purpose operation much more easily than others. For beer the best are the slim Frankfurter jars and for use as Whisky tumbler the ones mentioned before, those from mustards, are best, I am sure even shot glasses can be found and others.
By re-purposing such jars we might just, as said, start a trend and a fashion and I am sure it would not be the worst of trends now, would it.
My view always is on this: why should we send those jars to the recycling center for no reward. At least this is the way it goes in Britain. In America, I know, things are different in most places, and you actually get money for bringing them in. The fact is that you and I, when we bought the product, we also paid for the glass container. Hence my view is that we should, ourselves, think of ways of re-purposing the items, as in the case of such jars for drinking vessels, before we even think of sending them to the recycling centers. Such is my view, at least, anyhow.
Maybe this could be called, the way Tom Szaky does at Terracycle, upcycling rather than recycling and hopefully, by doing so, we could lead for others to follow.
If others indeed follow this could become a fashion, one that is good for the Planet as it would keep a great deal of stuff out of the waste stream and this has to be good.
This kind of upcycling principle here can also be employed for other items of waste as well, such as tin cans by way of an example. While those would not, necessarily, become drinking vessels they can, however, became most interesting and useful pencil bins and such like for desks and elsewhere. And that is just the standard tin cans. More on that, however, in another article.
© M Smith (Veshengro), 2009
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Need a beer glass? Pull out a Frankfurter jar.
