Recycling Plastic Bottles into UPB Vertical Gardens and UPB Tree Nursery Pots

Green greetings,
My name is Ngalim Franklin but i am popularly known as Mr. Green. I am the Founder/Executive Director of @thegreens, a youth environmental organization that strives to educate, inspire and engage young people to take action to combat climate change and be at the forefront of biodiversity conservation and waste management.
Plastic bottles pollution is a major problem around the globe and in Bamenda, Cameroon - Africa, it's a very big issue since we don't have any recycling facilities.

@mr-greens at the banks of River Mezam during a plastic bottles drive

I have lived my life advocating and acting to end plastic pollution and promote environmental sustainability.

One way i have promoted the fight against plastic pollution is via plastic creativity wherein i have been able to develop two innovations and today, i will give you a step by step process on how to make a UPB Vertical Garden using local materials.

First, i had to make the tools to use for my plastic bottles recycling.

UPB-VG Perforator means Upcycled Plastic Bottle to Vertical Garden Perforator.

How I made the UPB-VG Perforator to produce the Vertical Gardens?

I visited the metal man’s workshop and searched for scrap metal tubes that were almost the same size like the bottle throats (orifice) of the plastic bottles I wanted to upcycle. Then I asked the metal man to cut it, and add a piece of metal handle to it to create the tool!

Scrap metal tube is same size with the bottle throat

UPB-VG Perforators without handles
Then I took it home and added a Bamboo handle to the metal handle and voila, the UPB-VG Perforator was made. The Bambo on the handle is to serve as an insulator to the perforator

UPB-VG Perforator

How I use the UPB-VG Perforator?

I heat the UPB-VG Perforator in fire and then use it to perforate the bottom of the plastic bottles. This process is faster and easier compared to using the Solder iron to perforate the plastic bottles.

UPB-VG Perforator in action

Once I perforate, I remove this little plastic that I keep for further recycling
Once perforated, I insert the bottle throat of another bottle into the perforated hole to start producing our Vertical Gardens.

This process is a rapid process and done immediately after the perforator is removed from the bottle so that as the bottle cools, it holds the neck of the inserted bottle very tight.

Prior to the perforations, below are some very simple things that need to be done

1. Peel the plastic wrapping around the plastic bottle and put it in another bottle to make an ecobrick. If the wrapping around the plastic bottle is biodegradable, you can compost it.
   

2. Mark and cut open the plastic bottle from one side as illustrated in the video at the end of this post. Remember to fold the cut plastic piece and put in another plastic bottle to form an ecobrick.
   
   3.Perforate the corks of the plastic bottles using a hand drilling machine or locally made perforator.
   
   

3. Perforate the base of the plastic bottle using the heated UPB-VG Perforator. Once perforated, you will have a small circular plastic offcut which you can add into your ecobrick.

4. Insert the bottle neck of another bottle into the perforated base. This process should be done immediately after the perforator is removed from the base of the plastic bottle so that as it cools, it holds the bottle neck very tight.
   
   

5. Repeat the process until you have a chain of plastic bottles linked together.

6. Cork the plastic bottles to further hold them tight to each other.
   

7. Perforate two small holes at the base of the last plastic bottle and then attach a rope to it.
   
   

8. When complete, take it to your hanging space for your vertical garden.
   

Below is a video i made of the step by step process on how to make a UPB Vertical Garden.

That's how i am recycling Plastic Bottles into Vertical Farms in Bamenda, Cameroon.

You can enjoy these Fresh organic vegetables updates from my UPB Vertical Garden.

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Mr. Green is Founder/Executive Director of;