A smart alternative to dumping glass into landfills

BottleHood co-founder Steve Cherry describes the company he started with Leslie Tiano as “tree-hugger meets high-tech entrepreneur.” The San Diego start-up employs local labor to turn blue, green, brown and clear glass bottles into tumblers, vases and other items. About 80% of all wine bottles end up in landfills, Cherry says, because they don’t have a California redemption value (CRV). “When you realize that glass takes 4,000 years to decompose, burying it is not a sustainable solution,” he says. BottleHood operates only in San Diego, but Cherry believes the concept holds potential to spread. The recycled wares are available at BottleHood.com and locally at Lemmon Hill in San Marino, lemmonhill.com, and Rolling Greens in Hollywood and Culver City, rollinggreensnursery.com. Prices start at $5 per piece, and nothing costs more than $25.

-- Susan Carpenter