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With all this heat, we've started jumping in the Hudson River (about a block from our house) to cool off. Which is quite lovely. But since it's more a splash-around kind of swimming than a do-laps kind of swimming, I've been fantasizing about a float situation, where we can cool off and then just lie there. Doesn't that sound nice?
I could only find one pool float for sale that claims to be eco-friendly: The EcoRaft, from Green Bottle USA. This is a raft-shaped polyester bag, with specially designed pockets for you to insert 26 2-liter soda bottles (empty, of course). Which is awesome because you don't need to waste time and breath inflating it — the bottles make it float. Questionable on the green front since it is polyester (a type of plastic) after all, and I don't want to hear about anyone buying up lots of extra soda just to have their 26 bottles... though since we only go through about two a week at my house, summer would be way over before I had enough to go for a float.
But that did get me thinking about other things I could upcycle into a pool float. Here's the list I came up with:
1. Cork. It floats, it's sustainable. What's not to love? If you're one of those wine cork hoarders, you could probably fashion together a bath mat that could double as a kicking pad. Or repurpose an old bulletin board.
2. Old Milk Jugs. Not so pretty, but definitely sea worthy. And since 70 percent of them end up in landfills, a great green option. You can tie them on your kids for eco water wings, or duct tape together a whole bunch to build a raft. (Soda bottles or water bottles would work for this purpose as well.)
3. Styrofoam Cooler Lids. Probably you're so green, you don't even buy these cheapo coolers at the grocery store anymore. But if you've got a few knocking around your basement, or guests bring them to a BBQ, good news: They float! And hold a lot of weight.
Read more:
Nice Jugs and How to Milk Them For All They're Worth
Milk Jugs Recycled into Green Toys
Natural Swimming Pools after the TeichMeister System
