Composed entirely from damaged PET bottles and an eclectic assortment of found bottle caps, CAPtivate is an innovative lamp designed by London based studio and gallery Lula Dot. A gorgeous re-use of recycled materials, the design took center stage at 100% Design as part of [re]design‘s “Lighten Up” exhibition (the follow up to 2007′s Sit Up exhibition).
Founded earlier this year by Lucy Norman, Lula Dot explains that “only 5.5% of plastic bottles sold in the UK are recycled, which leaves 40 thousand tons left that go into landfills every year.” CAPtivate makes use of the unused bottle caps and has a unique ability to be continually re-created by changing the caps.
CAPtivate is made from damaged plastic PET bottles supplied by Artenius Packaging, and features an assortment of bottle caps collected from the West Ham football stadium! The lights are currently available for £115 (including postage and packaging), and each light comes with approximately 40 bottle tops, although to cover the light completely you will have to collect your own caps!
+ Lula Dot
+ [re]design
+ 100% Design
Images courtesy of [re]design.
That’s cool and weird looking all at the same time. Nifty though!
That’s nifty and weird all at the same time. I wonder if a similar lamp could be made from the plastic tubes that are made into disposable pens… might make for a fun light!
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It a good looking lamp. I like the idea with recycling and repeating the same everyday element over and over again so that it takes a new form and function. But it raises one question. I see that only a little part of the bottles are used. What happens with the rest of it? Is this beneficial to the environment or is a well working recycling circle broken, when the bottles is used for this? (I’m from Denmark and there almost all bottles is reused, but of cause it can be different elsewhere).
The rest of the plastic bottles are recycled. By removing the tops, the plastic ring seal is also removed. This part is made from a different plastic so there is now less contamination when recycled.
It is also about encouraging active involvement in reusing what is perceived as waste to create something beautiful. The light is an attempt to make the user part of the reuse process, which will hopefully raise awareness and encourage further projects.
In the UK plastic bottle caps are not generally recycled and almost all councils will tell you to dispose of them as they are a different plastic to the rest of the bottle. The bottle caps and the collection of them is the focus of this light and this is where the main reuse element comes in. The bottle caps are collected from West Ham United Football Club after every home game, saving them from landfill.