1. Drink up: It takes three months for a recycled aluminum can to make its way back onto the shelf in reincarnated form.
2. Or build a bridge: In 2002 researchers from Rutgers University built a 42-foot-long bridge over a river using plastic beams made from polystyrene cups and polyethylene milk jugs.
3. Or construct a boat: During World War I, enough metal was salvaged from corset stays to build two warships.
