Ealing Council’s sustainable Christmas tree shows a lotta bottle


While many people will be cracking open a bottle or two this Christmas, Ealing Council has reused hundreds of plastic bottles to decorate their borough Christmas tree.

The tree is lit with 50 metres of Applelec’s green LED Neon Flex which is waterproof and provides the only source of illumination on the tree

Designed and created by LED Light Sheet client, Glartique Ltd, using exactly 900 reused plastic bottles, the six metre tall Christmas tree is designed to highlight, support and inspire people to reuse and recycle plastic. The tree is lit with 50 metres of Applelec’s green LED Neon Flex which is waterproof and provides the only source of illumination on the tree.

Ashley Phillips, creative director of Glartique Ltd, said: ‘The tree was built on 1st December in front of Ealing Town Hall and will be on display for four weeks throughout the festive celebrations. The beauty of the design means that, like a giant Meccano set, it can be dismantled and reused again.’

The ingenious structure of the tree features a steel sub-frame that was laser cut and fabricated by master welders Tom Cecil ltd. 23 steel rings create a giant spiral that makes efficient use of height and width and allows the 900 plastic water bottles to be securely attached to the tree structure.

Transforming functional surfaces into art, Glartique regularly use Applelec’s LED Light Sheet to backlight beautiful laser engraved antique mirrors which are created to bespoke specification for splashbacks or other decorative surfaces.

Alongside with his work at Glaritique Ltd, Ashley Philips teaches art and design at Harrow High School and is an associate lecturer on the MA course at Chelsea College of Art, where he brings sustainability to the forefront. www.glartique.com