For most people, an empty bottle is waste. For Whanganui artist Carmen Simmonds, it's the beginning of something new.

Through her project Re-storyz, Carmen has spent the past year exploring how discarded bottles can be transformed into materials for art, education and practical use.

Carmen, a cast glass and multimedia artist lives with her husband Glen on a lifestyle property in rural Brunswick, where sustainability is part of everyday life. Together they grow food, keep chickens, compost, and care for the native forest on their land.

"Re-storyz is a natural extension of how we think," Carmen says. "We're always asking how something can be used again instead of thrown away."

With support from the Whanganui District Council Waste Minimisation Fund, Carmen purchased an Expleco GL Sand glass crusher. Using bottles collected from the Whanganui Resource Recovery Centre, the machine transforms waste glass into crushed glass, which is then carefully graded by hand for use in a range of creative and practical applications.

The recycled glass has already been tested in cast glass, ceramics, jewellery, sculptural work and educational projects. Carmen has also created a collection of plant-inspired earrings from the recycled glass, with a distinctive look that is quite different from conventional glass jewellery.  "This project started with curiosity about what could happen if we looked at waste glass differently," she says. "There's huge creative potential in materials that would otherwise end up in landfill."

A major focus of the research has been understanding how recycled bottle glass behaves inside the kiln. Through ongoing testing, Carmen has explored how different bottle colours, glass types and firing temperatures affect compatibility, strength and stability in finished work. This is helping build practical knowledge for artists, educators and makers interested in working with recycled glass.

"Kiwis have always had that No. 8 wire mindset. Glass artists are no different," Carmen says. "We've been experimenting with recycled glass for years, especially students and artists who enjoy pushing materials in new directions. I'd love to see pre-crushed recycled glass become more accessible for creative and educational use."

While the first year has centred on creative applications, Carmen believes the possibilities extend well beyond the arts. Crushed recycled glass is already used overseas in landscaping and horticulture, and future testing will explore what might be possible here, including applications in concrete, gardening and architecture. 

The Waste Minimisation Fund supports local projects that reduce waste, extend the life of resources and contribute to a more circular, low-waste future for Whanganui. The project is a practical example of how that can happen at a local level.

As the research continues, Re-storyz is nearing completion of a purpose-built Whanganui studio that will host workshops and classes focused on recycled glass, creative reuse and sustainable making. Early workshops have already been well received, bringing people into the process and creating opportunities to explore the material for themselves.

For Carmen, the project is still evolving. Each new application brings another question, another test and another possibility for a material that would otherwise be discarded.

"Every bottle has already had one life," she says. "I'm interested in discovering what its next life could be."

More information is available at www.restoryz.com.