J is for Jumbo Jet!

Source: David Hertz Architects

Yeah that's right, flying in the air, please put your chairs in their upright and locked positions: Jumbo Jets. For better or for worse, since Boeing first invented the jumbo jet back in 1971, we have been using these epic machines to propell ourselves all over the globe. But what exactly happens to them when the wear and tear of travelling at more than 700 miles an hour starts to take its toll? Chances are at one point they'll end up in one of the many aircraft boneyards dotted around America or be dismantled by companies like Air Salvage International in the UK. If carried out with enthusiasm up to 97% of these mostly metal machines can be recycled for future use. At military facilities like 309th AMARC, the most common use for an old jet is making a new jet, but looking around the web, we've found some terribly clever upcycled commercial jets.

The Wing House

Source: David Hertz Architects

Source: David Hertz Architects

Wing house is the brain child of the team at California's David Hertz Architects. The Malibu home is super green, constructed of an entire Boeing 747 and additional materials made from 100% post-consumer waste. Add to that the building uses solar power, radiant heating, natural ventilation and high performance heat mirror glazing, and you've got yourself one high flying home.

Fuselage Furniture

Source Moto  Art

Ok, so what do you put in your recycled airplane house? Upcycled airplane furniture of course! Where do you get it? Well, team over at Moto Art have been bending, shaping and cutting parts of passenger planes almost anything you can think of: sofas, beds, bars, desks, lamps, mirrors - the list goes on. They are particularly good at getting that mirror finish that  is so evocative of the early days of passenger planes.

High Flying Hostel

Sweden's Jumbo Stay hotel is located near the airport in the town of Arlanda. The hostel is made from a converted Boeing 747-212B with 27 rooms and 76 beds. Not surprisingly, the hostel has become somewhat of a land mark in the town and special destination for visitors from around the world.

Source: Jumbo Stay

Source: JumboStay

I is for Ink Pen

Ink Pens - ok, maybe it's a bit of a stretch - but we use tons of Bics and Biro pens each year, literally tons, and we have yet figure out where to recycle ink pens successfully because they contain so many tiny bits of plastic, metal and ink. So what do you do when there isn't an easy solution? Get creative.

The Pen Guy

Costas Shuler is the owner and operator of the aptly named, Mercedes Pens, auto mobile. Way back in 2005 Shuler, also known as 'The Pen Guy', had an ingenious idea of how to recycle some 10,000 ink pens and marker pens -simply glue them on to his 1981 Mercedes! His pen car is now world famous and he has become an advocate for recycling and reclaiming. He's even set up his own Pen Recycling facility, and by that I mean that he's got a PO Box where you can send your empty pens to him for use on the road or in his special Pen Guy appearances. He's also raising money this year to put together a collection of 'Pentings' from the 60,000+ pens that he's collected from around the world.

You can put your pens to good use at : The Pen Guy - P.O.Box 994 - Forestville, CA 95436 

Give to the 60,000 Pen Project 

Need more inspriration?

This ink pen chandelier made of a few hundred Bic pens by enPiezaàwould make a beautiful compliment to some of the recycled hanger chandeliers we've seen.

Or make a fashion statement with this pen cap coat by Maison Martin Margiela.

Source: Ecouterre

A is for Apple iMac Aquarium

The Apple iMac Macquarium is the brain child of American Macman, tinkerer, pet lover and all round eco hero, Jake Harms. He's taken the classic iMac design and literally breathed new life into it, aquatic life that is. And his Macquarium kits mean that even if you've upgrade to something more sleek there's no need to throw out that iMac that got you through college. Ah memory, I mean memories. Get a look at the full gallery on Inhabitat.