Smooshed Glass Bottles Recycled as Chic Food Trays

So the morning news in Japan has very little to do with actual news. Depending on the day’s schedule, sometime between 6:00 and 7:00 each morning I catch a few minutes of NHK, the national broadcasting channel in Japan, as I prepare for the day. Most of the broadcast seems to be dedicated to overkilling the weather forecast. Then 5 minutes of news headlines comes on before jumping to something called Machikado Jyoho Shitsu. This is an “Information Corner” that has clever, off-beat, or convenient tools, toys, and tips for making life easier or interesting, mostly aimed for housewives.

The other day’s program, however, introduced a few clever ways that certain materials were being reused, so I took note. One was Funew or “fun & new eco glass tableware” by Kimoto Glassware. Discarded wine bottles are not sent to be crushed and recycled but rather cleaned and treated under high pressure and flattened. The old wine bottles thus come back as trendy glass serving trays or plates on which restaurants place appetizers, with the wine bottle’s neck serving as a handle. More pictures of this clever reusing of materials can be seen on the somewhat strangely written English page for Funew.

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