Brighton restaurant to turn wine bottles into crockery

Zero-waste restaurant Silo is seeking to crowdfund £10,000 in order to acquire equipment used to repurpose wine bottles into crockery for the restaurant.

In collaboration with potter Mark Caivol of Potters Thumb, the Brighton-based restaurant is looking to purchase a bottle crusher and a jewellery polisher in order to create “fine crockery” for the restaurant.

Using the site Crowd2Fund, Silo is looking to repurpose rather than recycle its glass waste, due to the fact that it is a more environmentally friendly way of disposal.

Silo owner and head chef Doug McMaster commented: “The definition of up-cycling is to give material a greater value. Turning our waste wine bottles into fine crockery would be a remarkable increase of value.

“Comparatively, this idea is the same as turning food waste into compost. If we can raise the money to buy the equipment, this will take zero-waste to a whole new level”.

Three different investment levels exist, each with a separate ‘investor reward’. Those who donate between £1 and £49 will receive a 50% off Silo voucher of the value given along with a free Potters Thumb ceramic cup or porcelain glass.

Those who put forward between £50 and £99 will receive the previous reward as well as a +30% discount card for visits to Silo along with and a 20% reduction on commissions and items at the pottery shop.

Finally those who invest over £100 will receive the previous two rewards together with a free one hour session to make their own cup at the pottery.

The money will be used to buy a glass bottle crusher (£4,000), jewellery polisher (£2,000) and wine barrels (£2,000) as well as to fund the product development (£2,000).

The restaurant has 38 days to raise the funds and has to-date raised £4,000 from 21 investors.