Join our May Repurposing Challenge!
How it works: Every Friday in May, we’ll announce a new commonly found item to our Instagram and Facebook for you to repurpose in a creative way!
You’ll have until the following Wednesday at 3pm to share your photos on social media by tagging @pugetsoundkeeper and using the hashtag #MayRepurposingChallenge. Not on socials? No problem! Email your photos to gillian@pugetsoundkeeper.org.
On Thursdays, we’ll announce the winner! Winners will receive a FREE Soundkeeper Octopus T-Shirt generously created for us by the Seattle Illustrator & Tattoo Artist, Kyler Martz. Submissions will be judged by their creativity, originality in repurposing of the item, and overall impression of the finished piece.
Here we go! May 1st – 6th: Aluminum Can
Our first item for our May Repurposing Challenge is an aluminum can! Some examples of these are cans from beans, soups, beer or sparkling water.
Aluminum Can Facts:
? Aluminum cans take 200 – 500 years to decompose.
♻️ 69% of Aluminum cans are recycled globally.
? Aluminum is very energy-intensive to produce. Every ton of cans is responsible for 11.09 metric tons of CO2 emissions.
Submissions:
Week 1 Winner: The awesome father and daughter team of Ty Ouellette and 6 year-old Jayden Ouellette. They used a Sprite can to make a solar powered car! What an innovative and awesome way to repurpose an aluminum can and give it another life!
May 6th – 13th: Glass Bottle or Jar
Our second item for our May Repurposing Challenge is a glass bottle or jar!
Glass Facts:
? The oldest examples of glass are Egyptian beads dating from 12,000 BC.
? A modern glass bottle would take 4000 years or more to decompose — and even longer if it’s in the landfill.
♻️ In the US today, about 80% of glass containers are recycled, compared with less than 25% of plastic containers.
? Recycling a single bottle will power a 100-watt light bulb for nearly an hour.
Submissions:
Week 2 Winner: The winner is 9 year old Kiana D with a sparkly nightlight✨What a beautiful way to reuse a jar!
Thank you to everyone who participated with these awesome items:
Flower vase – Liz Gignilliat
Glass for drink – Emmy Rioux
Planter – Kristin Holschbach
Food storage & desk organizer – Gillian Flippo
May 13th – 20th: Egg Cartons
Our third item for our May Repurposing Challenge is an egg carton!
Egg Carton Facts:
– Prior to the invention of the egg carton, eggs were delivered in a basket.
– In 1911, British Columbian newspaper editor Joseph Coyle invented the egg box out of paper. This invention was the result of a debate between a farmer and hotel owner over broken eggs and both parties were blaming the other.
– Egg cartons are usually the end of the line for recycled paper.
– Wood fibers can only be recycled five to seven times before they become too short and brittle to be made into new paper products.
Submissions:
Week 3 Winner: The winner is 9 year old Sebastian with a bird feeder. The pineapples are a great touch!
We also had a Seed starter for wildflowers for the bees – @wanderfulmair, Succulent inoculation station – Nandita Kumar, Egg carton flowers in vase – Delaney and Alexia, Flower on top of egg carton – Faith Adams, iPad holder – Kiana, and Seed starter for tomatoes – Gillian Flippo. Thank you all!
May 20th – 27th: Your Choice!
Our fourth and final item for our May Repurposing Challenge is an item of your choice! We want to see how creative you can get with the items that you already have.
We can’t wait to see what you create! #MayRepurposingChallenge