An Island Made From Trash

On our first day in Isla Mujeres, we stumbled across a man-made island, complete with a little home, that was about 50 yards from the shore. It turns out that this island is built from discarded plastic bottles, fruit bags, and wood pallets and that more than 70% of the materials used in the construction of the island and house were made from trash. As we approached the shore to get a better view, we saw Rishi, the owner and builder of the island, who waved hello to us and offered us a tour of the island and his home (for a small fee, of course ;)).
Since I am an environmental science instructor, this was right up my alley. I jumped at the chance to tour the island and talk to Rishi more about his home. This is the deal: he takes discarded plastic bottles and puts them in trashed mesh fruit bags. He then ties wood pallets together to form a raft, and stuffs the bags full of plastic bottles underneath the pallets to make them float. Since the plastic bottles are covered and out of the sun, they won't breakdown and in fact, they become a great home for barnacles and other sea life. After the floating platform is built, he plants mangrove trees on top of the pallets. As the trees get bigger (which takes many years, mind you), the roots dig down through the plastic bottles and grow around them. Eventually, the wood pallets will rot out, but the mangroves floating on plastic bottles will remain. The areas of his island that had the biggest mangroves were by far the sturdiest... you could really feel the difference in how hard the ground was.
This island was amazing. Rishi is living very sustainably, making very little impact on the earth, and is actually finding a viable use for all of this plastic that seems to surround us. He was given a set of solar panels so that he will eventually be able to have refrigeration and use a computer. The inside of his house was comfortable, and even quite charming. I think the island was previously a little more decked out, but after the last hurricane, there was quite a bit of damage that is still being repaired. Here, take a look:

 Here is a view of the island from shore. You can see the solar panels (not yet hooked up) to the left of the boat dock. 

 Here is a view of a bare pallet with the bags of plastic bottles underneath.

 A view of the island from shore.

 Rishi coming to get us to bring us on a tour.

 His solar oven, complete with a cooking cake (or at least he called it a cake... it looks way to healthy to be a real cake in my book!)

 

 View of the backside of the house. 

 His work out bench- the weights are also made from discarded bottles. The weight can be changed by how much they are filled up. Cool and cheap!

 

 The front room of the house. It was pretty cool inside considering how hot it was outside and the decor is definitely cozy!

 

 The shower. Water collects on the roof and comes out through a conch shell. The downside is, if it hasn't rained for awhile, there is no water the shower with.

 

 The composting toilet. It was a wee bit stinky, but only because it hadn't rained in a while (or so he says..)

 

 This will eventually become a clothes washer. It will be hooked up to a windmill, which will cause it to spin and wash clothes. The water will be heated by the sun, of course!

 

The porch swing on the top (3rd) story. Immediately in front of it is a small spa! Sweet!

 

Once we got home, I read more about this trash island. If you are interested, check out this video.


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A Natural Dye Experiment: Hands on Chemistry

Some hand-me-downs and other clothes that were too stained to wear

Recently, I was given a pile of hand-me-downs for Phoebe (I LOVE hand-me downs!) and several of the items were pretty badly stained. I figured they may be OK for outside play, but a couple of them were really sweet sweaters, and I wanted Phoebe to get more use out of them. I also had a few items of the kids clothing that had gotten wrecked in the wash.... somehow, a few things that were white now had these big yellow burn-looking spots on them. No clue where they came from, but my normal stain-removal techniques did not get them out. So, I figured all of these things were destined for fabric scraps.. unless I could maybe dye them and cover the stains?? Sounded like a plan!
I was wavering between using natural dyes (which I have not had good luck with in the past) or just getting a package of RIT. RIT dye is terrible for the environment, and I hated the thought of using it. But, I also had quite a few garments to be dyed, so I thought I could probably justify it.... in the name of salvaging all of that clothing. But then I went out for a drink with a friend who was excited about natural dyes, and she inspired me to try to dye the clothes with turmeric.
I had used turmeric before to dye eggs, and I have inadvertently dyed my own clothes with it while eating. So, I knew the color would stick, but wasn't sure how easy it would be.
Turns out that it was super easy. Pre-soak the clothes to be dyed in cool water with a little bit of vinegar (to help the turmeric stick), boil turmeric in a pot of water for about 20 minutes, add the clothes and simmer for about 20-30 minutes depending on how dark you want them. Rinse, dry, and you are done.

Clothes simmering on the stove..... or a really terrible dinner.

The clothes came out great... I did one sweater a bit lighter, and it ended up a lovely shade of yellow, and I left everything else in until it was a vibrant orange. Then I washed them in the washing machine... and they all turned a beet-red color! After some internet research, I found out that anything basic, like basking soda, or laundry powders, reacts with the turmeric and turns it red. Crap. Now I had a bunch of red-ish clothes that I wasn't in love with. Then I started wondering if vinegar, which is an acid would turn the clothes back to the yellow/oranges colors. I tested a spot and low and behold, it did! It was like magic! Laundry detergent made red spots, vinegar removed them. Cool, right?

Turmeric dyed shirt with spots from the laundry soap.

Well, not really cool.... because apparently I have a lot of bases around my house. Between soaps and baking soda for cleaning and cooking, every time Phoebe wears one of these dyes pieces, she ends up with red splotches on them. I have looked online for something to set the dye, but to no avail... and why don't more people have problems with this? I have to keep squirting my cleaning solution (white vinegar mixed with water) on the red splotches to get them to disappear. Cool chemistry experiment, but not so great for daily wear (at least not at my house!).  I'm bummed because they look great and I love that I didn't harm the environment dying them... they just aren't very practical. Does anybody have a solution to this? Maybe embrace it as a science-on-the-go tutorial? Ha ha. I would love to explore more natural fabric dying, so if anyone has any experiences that they would like to share, I would love to learn more!!

The finished garments, hanging to dry

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Waste Land: A Review

I recently watched the film Waste Land, about a Brazilian artist named Vik Muniz, and was deeply moved. Muniz is an artist who moved to Brooklyn, NY, and made a name for himself. Inspired to help others less fortunate than himself, he moved back to Brazil for 2 years, creating a series of works about "pickers". The "pickers" are the ones who work at the local landfill in Rio, pulling anything recyclable out of the landfill and selling it to the recycling companies to earn a living. It is hard, dirty, and dangerous work.
This movie was shocking to me in so many ways. First, that Rio, a huge metropolis, would have no recycling program. People just throw their recyclables into the trash, because there isn't anywhere else to put them, and then the entire recycling system relies on people who pick through the trash to reclaim those recyclables. We know there is a better way, because we have one here. It blows my mind that in the 21st century that is where the state of recycling is in Brazil.
The "pickers", whose lives were profiled throughout the film, were nothing short of amazing. These folks resorted to picking usually as a last resort, a way to salvage their lives and support their families. Some were embarrassed and ashamed of their jobs, others were proud to be saving the environment with their work.
Muniz spent time with these pickers, learning about their lives, and then he photographed several pickers in meaningful poses. Then, by enlisting the help of the pickers themselves in his artwork, he projected the photograph onto the floor of a warehouse, and used recyclables that the pickers collected from the landfill to "draw" the photograph. It is hard to explain, but the artwork turned out amazing. Each piece was auctioned off, and all of the proceeds went to the picker who was the subject of the piece.
So, this amazing artist was helping to lift these pickers out of poverty while creating art from trash and bringing awareness to the entire situation. What a fabulous story and an inspiring film. Please watch it! Pin It Now!

Upcycled Skirt

I made this skirt a few weeks back when I was feeling a creative surge. I was looking through my upcycle bin My upcycle bin is a bin (well actually it is 2 bins, but don't tell my husband) full of old clothes that are not worn in their current form... and I sometimes use them to create new clothes for me or the kiddos.

This skirt was once a shirt that I wore while I was pregnant with Finn. While it wasn't a maternity shirt, it's not something I would have ever picked if I wasn't pregnant and I knew I would never wear it again. So, I whipped up a quick skirt. It is a bit shorter than what I would usually wear, so it needs to be paired with leggings, but it is super comfy and I think it came out well.

I love having those little windows of time to myself where I can create.. especially when I can create something that is not on my to-make list. Those times are few and far between these days, so I have come to truly appreciate them.

Do you ever upcycle?

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