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By Trend

Inspired by the massive success of last year’s video showing the United States Embassy in Azerbaijan constructing a 3 meter high tree out of 500 plastic bottles, the U.S. Embassy and its partners International Rotary Club Baku, Khazar Rotary Club, Eco Baku, Sarita's Eco Creations, AmCham, Avritel, Holiday Inn and IDEA constructed an “upcycled” holiday tree out of used plastic drink bottles today, December 5, at the Park Bulvar Shopping Mall.

The tree will raise awareness about recycling and plastic consumption. “Upcycling” is the reuse of discarded objects or material in such a way as to create a product of a higher quality or value than the original. The tree will be on display leading up to and during the Rotary Clubs’ Winter Bazaar on December 10th.

Vassilios Sitaras, the President of Rotary Club Baku International, said: "We are delighted to join the US embassy and other partners in this event of setting up a holiday tree using recycled plastic bottle. Considering this is a means of raising awareness which coincides with our theme for this year’s Winter Bazaar, we hope that this action will encourage more people towards engaging in activities that help our planet.”

In 2015, the world consumed over 322 million metric tons of plastic, a number that has been increasing with every year. This represents a major threat to the environment. Doing your small part to reduce, reuse, and recycle can make a huge impact.

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