Plastic bottles can be reused in many ways, but a project in the Philippines has come up with the most inventive solution – turning plastic bottles into lights using just science and water.

Isang Litrong Liwanag (or Litre of Light) is an initiative which sees one-litre plastic bottles filled with bleached water sealed into the roofs of Filipino slums – creating solar lights as strong as 60-watt lightbulbs, which last for up to five years.

Drawing on MIT developed technology, the reused plastic bottle lights refract natural sunlight through the water (which, thanks to the bleach, stays bacteria-free) casting a bright 360 degree light around each room.

Saving poor families from the costs of electric lighting, the reused plastic bottle lights are innovative eco-thinking at its finest. This has to be seen to be believed: watch the film here.

Litre of Light aims to light a million homes by 2012. Support the project by sponsoring your own plastic bottle light and turning plastic to light fantastic.

September 20, 2011 | Filed under English, Environment, We've been inspired by.