Every year millions of glass bottles are produced for packaging wine. A major part of these glasses are recycled to produce glass bottle further. You may not know but glass bottles we use today might have produced from 10 to 20 years old glass material. However, a part of glass bottles still remain out of recycling. They are mainly sent to land filling sites in dump yards. This is sad considering the amount of energy and raw material used in producing those bottles.
However, you may make a change. Here is a DIY project on how to reuse wine bottle to build a temporary pathway. You can build such temporary paths anywhere you want, within your compound or any place within your complex. As the path would be temporary in nature you wonât need to bother about formal permission from authority. Anytime this pathway can be done away with if required. This pathway would not only allow you to reuse empty wine bottles but also give your landscape an interesting look. So letâs start learning.
Difficulty level
Moderate
Time required
Time requirement here depends on the length of the pathway and how many helping hands you are getting. Prefer taking help of others as a bit of digging needs to be done. Outside help for digging would save yours time and physical pain. Except digging other things you can do yourself easily.
Resource Requires
You would require material as such
1) Bricks or stone for building steps
2) Sand
3) Pebbles or grit stone
4) Landscaping fabric
5) Instruments for stripping grass and weeds
6) Wine bottles
Estimated cost
Empty wine bottles you donât need to buy. If you donât buy them for your consumption better try to source them from local sources, like restaurants. They should be available in plenty. Instruments also you should try to manage from your friendsâ place if you donât have them. However, buying such instruments also makes sense as stripping grass and weed is a common activity if you are into landscaping and gardening. Only sands, stepping stones and grits you have to buy.
Instructions
Step 1
First, you have to estimate how many stepping stones or bricks you would require to cover the whole pathway you are planning to build. Accordingly you would order from your local shop. Also please be careful regarding shape of the stones as they are available in plenty of varieties.
Step 2
Here comes the most tedious part of the project â removing grass and weeds and digging 1 inch dip path way. You have to maintain proper width for the path also. You can definitely do the job yourself. However, considering pain on your back, better prefer some external help.
After digging the pathway, donât forget to dig up 3 inches trenches on the both the sides of the path area.
Step 3
To keep the pathway clean you have to control weeds from growing. And for that you should take help of any weed controlling landscaping fabric. Check your local shop and buy any decent branded landscaping fabric. Now you have to lay the fabric all over the area you have dug up for pathway, except the trenches. This fabric would restrict both of weeds and worms from growing in the path.
Step 4
After completing the cover of fabric, start laying stepping stones or bricks. Once you have done with the stones, fill whole path area with grit or pebbles. Try to maintain a level on the path. And also be careful so that pebbles or grit stones, whatever you use, do not go into the trenches.
Step 5
Now you have laid the steps and filled the remaining path area with grit. So your path area is only semi complete. Start filling the trenches with sand and make 2 inches deep layer within the trench.
Once the layer is complete, you have to start arranging the wine bottles upside down in the sand layer. You have to be very careful when arranging them in side by side. And after an arrangement of small row, fill that area of the trench with soil to make it stable. Sand along with soil would hold the bottles tight. After completion of a short row, start over again arranging another row of bottles similarly.
Frequently asked questions?
Can sand be used for filling the pathway?
Yes, you can do so. But that would come with certain problems. During rain sand layer would shrink. With even a mild storm, you would find sands flying around your garden and other spaces, which is not at all healthy. Besides, sands are more prone to weeds.
What to do if I donât have enough supply of empty wine bottles?
You can use stone also to fill the trenches. Better you maintain a short row of stones after a row of wine bottles. Then your pathway would look a bit rustic also.
Do I need to take any permission?
Not in general, as we have earlier said this construction is purely temporary in nature.
How would be regular maintenance?
You wonât require much for maintenance other than normal sweeping.
Quick tips
Try to remove levels on the bottles. This is tedious job not doubt. However, if you succeed, they would look really good and no one would blame you for unwanted endorsement of wine makers.
You can use the soil on the trenches for growing vegetables. They would give more interesting and useful look to your path. However, in that case you have to be careful regarding the choice of soil. Prefer soil variety which is free from toxic ingredients.
Things to watch out for
Always maintain safety when handling wine bottles. Sudden fall from your hand could break them. And glass pieces from breakage could be harmful.
