Tourism is the heartbeat of the Island of the Gods, Bali. Directly, tourism activities are synonymous with alcoholic beverages. It can be said that alcoholic beverages are the spirit of tourism in Bali. Beer bottles and other glass beverage bottles will generally be disposed of when their contents are exhausted, if not managed properly, they will become waste that is harmful to the environment and human health. Did you know, that these glass bottles can be turned into a collection of drinking glasses that not only function well but also look unique and beautiful? 

Glass bottle waste facts

Glass bottle waste is waste made from glass that comes from daily use, both industrial and other, which has a decomposition time of up to 1 million years. Where this glass bottle waste is made through a process of melting to cooling. Glass bottle waste is broadly divided into three colors: 

  1. Brown, generally used for soft drink bottles 
  2. Green, generally used for soy sauce, wine, and sauce containers 
  3. Clear, which is most commonly found where it is usually used for containers of household materials, jars, drinks, and others.

High public consumption causes high production of bottled waste, so there is no doubt that the amount is accumulated in Final Disposal Sites (TPA). Often bottle waste is not reused, even though the recycled bottle waste has economic value.

Let’s Make It Change

The simple thing we can do with this waste is to turn it into drinking glasses. This method is energy efficient and environmentally friendly because we do not need electrical energy to make the glasses. We simply use warm water and a glass cutter. Are you curious how? You can even do it in your own home. 

What you need is a glass cutter. This tool is meant to make a cut line on the bottle where you want it. You just need to adjust the glass cutter holder to the desired length for cutting and place the bottle on it, then adjust the depth of the machine so that the cutting wheel is in the desired location on the bottle. Once the cutting wheel is in the correct location, start slowly turning the bottle over. Rotate for 3-5 times with moderate pressure and patience. The best method that produces the most consistent results is to alternately pour hot and cold water over the cutting line This hot and cold water cycle will cause the bottle to break along the scoreline. Thicker glass may require additional cycles.