Awesome Recycled

Burls Art knows a thing or two about making guitars. He created this one by melting 1000 aluminum cans, and casting the metal to form the neck and body of the instrument. First, he had to build a furnace and equipment to work with the molten metal. We love how he could melt it down and start again when it didn’t work right.

Artist Deniz Sağdıç creates amazing works of art out of recycled junk. She has used everything from wire to bottle caps to integrated circuit chips to buttons to create her works. Every single one of her portraits is incredible, but the one of Steve Jobs is our favorite. The images in the video were on exhibit at the Istanbul Airport.

The Flairdrum is an unusual percussive instrument that uses PET water bottles filled with varying amounts of compressed air. The air pressure changes the surface tension of each bottle, resulting in different notes when struck. Daniel Bornmann performed this ear-soothing rendition of his track Am Anfang ist Klang.

This substantial wood speaker looks like something from a high-end audio line, but it’s actually the result of a DIY build. King Minhvuong walks us through their process of recycling pallet wood into this beautiful portable audio system. If you’re feeling inspired, there’s a full parts list in the video’s description on YouTube.

The makers of the Aleman pocket knife are back with another beautiful knife design. In the interest of sustainability, these knives have blades made from reclaimed antique sawmill blades and handles crafted from whiskey barrel oak and abundant Manitoba maple. Choose from a 13cm long Utility or 18cm Santoku knife.

Etsy seller PlanePieces makes all kinds of home accessories and decor from used airplane parts. These aluminum tea light candle holders got their start as pistons from a Continental Motors engine from a Piper J-3 Cub, a single-engine airplane that dates back to the 1940s. Makes a great gift for an aviation enthusiast.

Boston’s Bridge and Harbor handcrafts accessories from leather and wool. Among their wares are these motel-style key fobs sewn from leather reclaimed from vintage footballs, baseball gloves, boxing speed bags, and hockey goalie gloves. They also make unique wallets from the same kinds of materials.

Computer speakers aren’t the most elegant things. Matthew of DIY Perks wanted something different, and decided to build a sound system from pieces of bamboo flooring. He built a pair of angled dual-driver speakers and connected them with a monitor stand that houses a subwoofer, amplifier, USB hub, and led lighting.

We’ve seen some pretty sweet items made from recycled wine and whiskey barrels. In this video from Ryan Hawkins of West Coast Boards, he shows how he broke down two oak barrels and rebuilt their staves into a beautiful, end-grain butcher block that weighs nearly 50 lbs.

Go big with the super-sized EDC Heist bag. It’s massive yet lightweight and easy to tote with hand straps or the adjustable shoulder/crossbody strap. Big enough to hold your daily or weekend supplies, with huge zippered exterior pockets and interior pockets for smaller stuff. Made with REPREVE Our Ocean recycled plastics.

ChopValue recycles bamboo chopsticks into decor and furniture. Their collection includes coasters, serving boards, shelving, standing desks, and even a block-stacking game, with pattern created by stacking and laminating the wood utensils. The company also empowers community-level recycling with microfactories.

Ben from Woby Designs in an expert at making things by recycling skateboard decks. Watch how he made this awesome looking dining table by stacking thin slices from more than 30 skateboards on edge, nailing them together, and then sealing them with clear epoxy. The metal table legs came from Semi Exact.(Thanks Zico!)

Bulgarian accessory maker Crupon creates journals, laptop sleeves, wallets, and other items using a washable paper fabric made from recycled plastic bottles. Our favorite item is this tri-fold organizer, which can hold business cards, a pen, a phone on its left side, and a notepad on its right. Available in brown, black, or grey.

UK outfit VeloCulture makes personal accessories from recycled bicycle innertubes. Among their wares is this billfold that provides four card slots along with a zippered pocket for holding coins or spare keys. Available in all black or with a contrast color zipper pull.

Vollebak makes its Garbage Sweater using fabric produced from old firefighter suits and bulletproof vests. Rather than send these to the dump when they’ve run their useful lives, Vollebak recycles them into a handsome and cozy sweater that’s also fire-resistant.

Bag maker Incase has added the everyday carry Hipsack to its products made from Bionic – plastic pollution recovered from the ocean. Designed to be worn at the waist or as a shoulder sling, the Hipsack has secure mesh, Velcro and zippered storage pockets, and a detachable keyring to keep valuables organized.

These vibrant and beachy sports watches feature a design inspired by the creatures that dwell deep in our seas. Both their cases and woven yarn straps are made from plastic waste that normally would have ended up clogging oceans. They have an Argonite 715 quartz movement and are water-resistant to 10 ATM.

Created in collaboration with Bureo, this very special version of Jenga is made 100% from recycled fishing nets. The bricks feature embossed images of marine animals threatened by plastic pollution, and each set keeps 25 square feet of the stuff from going back into the ocean.

Builder Steve Jones got his hands on the jet engine nacelle from an old Royal Air Force VC10 airplane, and has since transformed the circular housing into a truly unique camper. It can sleep four in its cozy living space, which can transform into a dining room. Check out the full build history on the project’s Facebook page.

GRID Studio turns electronic junk into art. To make their unique wall art, they carefully disassemble old smartphones, then meticulously place and glue their components into a shadowbox frame. They currently make versions based on the iPhone 3GS, 4S, and 5, as well as the Nokia E71, and BlackBerry Bold 9000.

“Surf your skate” is Bureo and Carver Skateboards’ motto for The Ahi, a performance board made from recycled fishing nets. Combining Carver’s tech with Bureo’s NetPlus materials, it’s a 27”x 9” concave-deck, double-kicktail cruiser. Made in Cali with a reverse king-pinned truck system and roundhouse wheels.

Designer Tom Ford’s distinctive black and white watch not only looks great, but it also makes a statement. Its case and hand-braided strap are made entirely from plastics pulled from oceans. It features a Swiss quartz movement, Super Luminova hands and numbers, an anti-reflective sapphire crystal, and stainless steel back.

Maker Laura Kampf has crafted some pretty impressive items over the years. In between larger projects, she decided to do something a little less daunting, and built herself a unique lighting fixture out of found objects and scrap wood. The finished lamp looks like something you’d find in a high-end lighting store.

Working in collaboration with Wallpaper* Re-Made project, men’s apparel brand Vollebak comments on electronic waste with a unique timepiece. The colorful Garbage Watch is made from recycled components taken from old circuit boards. Vollebak is accepting waiting list requests for its 2021 release now.

Artist Daniel Shankalonian takes old circuit boards and other electronics, and recycles them into desktop sculptures. Among his many creations are spaceships from Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, and Star Trek, as well as a model of NASA’s Space Shuttle. He also made an awesome sculpture of BioShock’s Big Daddy bouncer.

“If they look weird, that’s because they’re made of trash.” Nike’s funky and sustainable Space Hippie line is made from 50% recycled materials by weight, including reground rubber, foam scraps, and Flyknit yarns made from recycled plastic bottles, t-shirts, and yarn scraps. We love how the design embraces the irregularities.