For decades, the “reuse, reduce, recycle” mantra has taught us that the best way to dispose of plastic bottles is to toss them into a recycling bin — but French environmentalists Pavel and Ian think there’s a better way to do things. Instead of sending plastic bottles off to a recycling plant, why not figure out a way to ‘upcycle’ them and make something useful?
In an effort to encourage upcycling, the duo have created a brilliant pocket-sized bottle cutter that can turn any plastic bottle into a very strong, versatile rope. Aptly-called the “plastic bottle cutter,” this simple device, made out of a wooden handle, razor blade, and a cutting guide, can turn any type of plastic bottle into a long, thin strand of plastic, which turns out to be flexible enough to be used as a rope. To use the device, the bottom portion of the bottle must be cut off. Users will then insert the bottle into the slot and the tool will slice the rest of the bottle into the thin strand.
The long, thin strand of plastic can be used for just about anything — car towing, DIY arts and crafts, securing a torn hammock, and possibly surviving the end of the world. How sturdy is the rope? “For its thickness, it is very strong, only one bottle can be used to pull a car out of the ditch! It all depends on the bottle, but the tape of the ordinary Coca-Cola with a width of 4 mm can withstand a load of seven kg,” says the contraption’s website. For one of the tests, the plastic rope was left under the sun for about 2 years and it is still able to carry the load of soda.
The handy product already has $97,000 in pledges on its Kickstarter campaign, surpassing its $9,445 goal. With only $22, you can reserve one. The plastic bottle cutter will begin shipping this June.
Few things ruin a quiet evening faster than a robot vacuum roaring through the living room. Most of us end up pausing the cleaning run, which defeats the whole purpose of owning one. Matic thinks it has the answer with its new Serene robot vacuum, and the big selling point is how little noise it makes.
The Matic Serene runs at 52 decibels even when cleaning at full power. To put that in perspective, Matic compares it to the hum of your refrigerator. It is available now for $1,695, which is $200 more than the original Matic’s current price.
Outdoor security cameras are not always practical if you live in an apartment or rental. Drilling into an exterior wall may be off-limits, while pointing a regular indoor camera through a window can create another problem once reflections start showing up after dark.
Baseus is trying to solve both issues with the new PrimeSentinel W1, a $69.99 security camera designed specifically to monitor the outdoors through glass. It mounts directly to a window without drilling and uses a 4K Starlight sensor with an F1.0 aperture for full-color monitoring during the day and at night.
This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Best Buy.
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