The Bottle Project

On a recent trip to California- my first, and on which I met the redoutable writer Tom Bentley in person- I was astonished when my wife said, "Hey Rick, look at this bottle!"

It wasn't plastic!

It was made from plant material, not petroleum.  This will change the whole game.  Plastics in our garbage stream are especially problematic since they never really go away, they just degrade into smaller and smaller pieces.

For more, have a look at my previous post:
http://rickwilsondmd.typepad.com/rick_wilson_dmds_blog/2011/05/plastic-versus-plant-based-beverage-bottles.html

After admiring this simple consumer product for a few weeks- come on, you would too- I decided to start The Bottle Project.  I've placed two bottles into my garden, a conventional plastic one and this new plant-based bottle.  I'm going to take a picture once a week until one biodegrades completely.  Exposed to whatever elements Pennsylvania throws at them, we shall see in a most Visceral way what happens to each material, and at what rate.  Half of each bottle is in the dirt, exposed to soil microorganisms.  Half is exposed to sunlight.

Don't worry, I won't post each and every picture here.  But from time to time I will update you all on this important change in our consumer culture.

May the best bottle win!

 

*Updated photo, from 7/22/2012:

Not much degrading yet, ya know? But let's give it time. I've taken 1 pic a week since I started, so the record is thorough.

Comments

[Glenn Koehm]

I don't know, doc. This is like "Will It Float?", LOL. Well, I expect the green bottle to decompose nicely. On the other hand, the plastic bottle will not, of course. I want to see this green bottle in stores. It will make me feel happy that my bottle is all-natural.