Bicycle made from plastic bottles wins Google-sponsored award

When Mr. McQuire offered Ben Braddock one word of advice — “plastics” — in The Graduate, I'm sure he wasn't talking about bicycles.

But a team of students from Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, created a bicycle made from recycled plastic bottles to win the Juicy Ideas contest supported in part by Google.

The four industrial design students from ASU competed against 268 teams from 28 colleges to create something of value in 10 days from a “throwaway” item and post a YouTube video (above) that explained their product.

The winners — Ryan Klinger, of Huntersville, NC; Andrew Drake of Gaithersburg, Md.; Spencer Price of Louisville, Ky.; and Justin Henry of San Diego — will get a trip to Google headquarters in Mountain View.

The team explained that they were looking for some way of turning plastic drink bottles into something that met the need to be green. On the four-minute video:

“We found our answer in a bike, which not only reduces the usage of cars and therefore carbon dioxide emissions, but is an economic and eco-mode of transportation.”

The Juicy Ideas project was organized by AdvantageWest Economic Development Group and supported by Google, Inc., and DigitalChalk.

Judges evaluated the entries on originality, creativity, entrepreneurship, innovation and environmental responsibility, as well as scalability.

The plastic bottle bicycle barely beat the wind generator made from plastic bottles created at Western Carolina University.

Other college teams made innovations from baling twine, glass pharmaceutical bottles, and plastic bags. College teams from North Carolina, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Iowa and Oregon participated in the event.