J. D. Russo is a 14 year old student who believes that it is time to stop making people aware of the environment, and time to make them care instead. In this short, powerful video, Russo outlines why he believes that change needs to start with consumers, not legislation.
Do you agree with Russo? Why not share your opinion on the Friends of Glass Facebook page.
Let’s make that change all together!
Jeff Scanlan is a magician by trade. But after reading about the great Harry Eng’ Impossible Bottles in 1996, Scanlan became fascinated. Eng was renown for his ability to insert large and unusual objects into ordinary glass bottles. Scanlan spent three years studying Eng’s methods and, in his words: “Breaking bottles and ruining many decks of cards.” 
All the effort paid off and Scanlan is now creating his own range of Impossible Bottles. To date he has inserted trainers, tennis balls, and even an upside-down corkscrew in a bottle. The bottles are not heated, cooled, cut or formed around the object or manipulated in any way.
The results are quite astonishing and Scanlan’s creations are now commanding high prices. We’re not quite sure we’d have the patience to do this ourselves, but a Scanlan original would certainly be a conversation-piece in the Friends of Glass offices!
Gordon Ramsay is the latest chef to embrace recycled glass. Ramsay’s new Bread Street Kitchen in London will feature glass work surfaces made from recycled beer bottles. Known as decoran®, the product has been developed by German company, Indupart. decoran® is available in a range of contemporary colours including green, purple, and Ramsay’s beer-bottle black. It has good anti-staining properties and excellent durability.
The raw material for the product typically comes from the waste cullet of float glass manufacturers. The glass is melted and formed into standard 20 mm thick sheets which are then cooled in a controlled environment. Cooling moves the stresses in the glass to the edge of each panel, giving it stability.
While not a safety glass, the 20 mm thickness is enough to withstand even one of Gordon Ramsay’s colourful tirades! Indupart has also developed structuran® for external applications, mainly building cladding. It can also be used in street furniture and lighting devices as well as water features and exterior furniture.
Milo Cress is a ten-year old school boy from Vermont who is on a US-wide tour to encourage people to stop using disposable plastic drinking straws. The BeStrawFree campaign started after Milo learnt that 500 million disposable straws are used each day in the US. That’s enough to fill more than 127 school buses every day. 
Many of the straws are placed in drinks automatically and it is this practice Milo is targeting first.
He is encouraging bars and restaurants to ask their customers
if they want a straw before serving the drink. The campaign has taken Milo across the United Stateswhere he has addressed government panels and city councils.
The BeStrawFree website lists a number of alternatives to plastic straws including glass and disposable straws. Our favourite comes from GlassDharma who make a reusable straw from borosilicate glass. Borosilicate is the same glass that is used to make Pyrex coffee pots and dishes. GlassDharma is so convinced that their drinking straw is unbreakable in normal use that they offer a lifetime guarantee against breakage!
We simply admire the passion of this boy to really make a change, a difference.
An inspiration to many of us…
So, let’s make the change by starting to use glass straws instead! Or why not pass and recycle a bottle! 
We always thought that a shrub was a small bush or tree. But it turns out that it is also a Persian word for a syrup that contains citrus juice and fruit. Camper English, a cocktail and spirits blogger at Alcademics, recently took a class in creating shrubs. It turns out they are very simple and easy to make!
You just need some sealable glass jars and a selection of berries, fruit, herbs and spices to fill them. (Check out our post on herb-infused vodkas for some flavour combination ideas.). Cover the contents of the jar with warm fruit- or wine-vinegar. Leave for a week, shaking now and again to disturb the fruit and allow the liquid to circulate.
After a week you strain the mixture and discard the fruit. Return the syrup to the jar, add sugar, seal and place it in the fridge for a week. The exact amount of sugar you will need depends on the fruits you have used so remember to taste! Don’t add too much – the mix will become a little sweeter as it matures in the fridge.
After a week you have the perfect syrup base for a cordial, or you can use your shrub as a mixer in cocktails. Strawberry shrub and champagne sounds like the perfect summer treat to us! As always, we’d love to see your flavour combinations and the results, so why not share them on the Friends of Glass Facebook page?
Over the summer we hope many of you have been gathering sea glass as you stroll along the beach. But how to display your collection? While we might not all have the patience and skills of Alison Goyette (see our story on Boston Sea Glass) to turn them into jewellery, it is easy to create a sea-glass mobile as you can see in this video from Martha Stewart.
You just need sea glass, pieces of driftwood, cement glue and some fishing line. You can also include other objects such as stones or beads.
Wrap the string around the sea glass and tie into a double knot. Secure with a dab of cement glue. Continue until you have a string of the desired length and then attach to a piece of driftwood. You can add pieces of driftwood to create branches for the mobile or just runall the lengths of sea glass off one branch.
Hang your creation in front of a window to illuminate the glass and it will also tinkle beautifully in a breeze. Don’t forget to share your creations on the Friends of Glass Facebook page!
Vessy Ashley, one of our glass ambassadors, wanted to share two of her favourite summer recipes with us. Just read and let it make your mouth water 
Spiced up plums
First Vesse makes a lovely compote of plums she found down the path where she lives. She simply stones and halves the plums. Then she adds sugar and spices such as Cinnamon, Cloves, Star Anise, Orange Peel and Cardamon. She fills the pot with water and let everything boil for about 10 minutes. Next it’s all about cooling down and straining the mixture through a muslin cloth. Finish up with some ice cubes and returning some of the spices into the glass for that special, pretty finishing touch. Cheers!
Breakfast time!
Vesse’s favourite breakfast at the moment is her home made muesli mixed with blackberries and redcurrants from her garden. Just soak three tablespoons rolled oats with 250 ml natural yoghurt and a teaspoon of linseed and leave overnight in the fridge. In the morning, simply add a half teaspoon of honey and fruit of your choice. Stir and enjoy!
Want to know more?
Check out our True To Taste section stuffed with other delicious recipes in glass! Or do you have a great recipe in glass yourself? Just share it on our Facebook Page!
Beth at Unskinny Boppy Dreams has come up with this incredibly simple lantern for your outdoor seating area – perfect for summer entertaining. All you need is a frame (in Beth’s case an old ladder that she found at a market) and some old jars.
Hang the ladder in position, then attach the jars with wire. Add lengths of chain to the ladder so you can hang the jar lamps at different heights. Simply fill each jar with a little sand to keep the tealight candles stable, add your candle and light. Use citronella candles in some of the jars to keep the bugs at bay and you will be able to sit out under the stars all night!
Water towers are a common feature of our built environments. But many have reached the end of their lives and new uses have to be found for the buildings. Take this example on the outskirts of Antwerp, Belgium. Using glass, the owners have transformed this six-storey derelict tower into a fabulous home with stunning views over the Braaschaat forest. Opaque glass is used to provide privacy on the public sides of the building, while clear glass provides amazing views over the forest on the other two sides. There are more photos of the building at Inhabitat.
Do you have a glass building in your neighbourhood? Why not share it on our Facebook page?
How would you feel if someone started poking around in your rubbish to see what you have thrown out? Well that’s effectively what BinCam does, but it’s not just one person going through your garbage – it’s the whole world!
Developed by computer scientists at the University of Newcastle (UK), BinCam takes a photo of your rubbish every time you close the lid. The image is uploaded to BinCam’s Facebook page where anyone can point out items that you could have recycled.
BinCam targets people aged between 18 and 34 who typically recycle less than other age groups. An initial two week trial was run in five student households. Overall, the amount of rubbish thrown away decreased significantly. “The students said they felt like the bin was watching them and that it definitely made them think twice about what they were throwing away,” said Anja Thieme, a postgraduate computer science student who is leading the project.
Let ‘s put your recycling knowlegde to the test! Do you know what you may throw in the bottle bank? Find out with the Bottle Bank Test!
