Turning Plastic Bottles Into Light Bulbs

In the suburbs of the Philippines the houses are built very close to each other. Even during daytime it is very dark inside the homes. In some areas just outside Manila, the capital of the Philippines, people cannot even access electricity. Students of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology came up with something very simple but yet very effective.

They have enlightened thousands of households with used plastic soda bottles filled with water and some bleach, called Isang Litrong Liwanag: a Liter of Light. Turning bottles into a more useful product is another great example of upcycling. The houses are now more livable without using any energy source but sunlight and without making large openings in ceilings and walls.

“The Solar Bottle Bulb is based on the principles of Appropriate Technologies — a concept that provides simple and easily replicable technologies that address basic needs in developing communities.”

With this project, the non-profit organization MyShelter Foundation aims to light up houses of one million households by the end of 2012. Click here to watch a video of the project on the Reuters website.