BUTTE — The Mining City doesn’t currently have a glass recycling program, so if you’ve ever felt a little bit guilty about tossing your glass bottles and containers in the trash, a plant shop in Uptown Butte might have the perfect solution for you.
Plantosaurus Rex is taking your used glass products, making art projects and homes for house plants.
"I would say that the story of Plantosaurus Rex started thirty years ago with my mother. My family was gifted with a golden pathos for my great-grandmother’s funeral," says Myles Stricker, a co-owner of Plantosaurus Rex, which specializes in tropical plants.
Stricker says after a decade, the plant that his grandmother wound around a coffee table was unfurled and stretched about 70 feet. Cuttings were made and passed out to everyone in the family and today, generations of the plant appear in the shop located on Main Street.
Perhaps this organic method of recycling — taking cuttings from the mother plant and making new plants — is what inspired Stricker to begin to collect glass from the community. But a more likely inspiration is cost savings, he says.
"It helps us keep our kids' class tickets very cheap and affordable for everyone," says Stricker.
Part of the plant shop's goal is to help people gain confidence in caring for plants; Stricker hosts monthly workshops, including classes for the littlest members of the community. Buying new glass explains Stricker, cuts into the budget of those classes.
Another inspiration for collecting used glass comes from local artists who are featured in the shop. Stricker says used glass can be used in the local art co-op for glass blowing or use in sculptures.
One artist featured at Plantosaurus Rex makes a product called Montana See Glass from glass the creators pick up off of the trails around Butte.
Tiny bags of glass pebbles that look like they just came from a beach rest at the register, ready to be plopped into a pot with a newly purchased house plant.
"It helps keep a lot of glass out of the landfill as there is no nearby location to recycle glass," says Stricker, which solves a problem for anyone who doesn’t want to throw their glass in the trash.
"It makes it that much more accessible for those folks who want to recycle glass but also helps my business as well as the local artists here in town."
Stricker says people making glass donations get 10% off plant purchases, including the plant that started it all—the golden pathos.
For more information on classes available at Plantosaurus Rex, you can visit their websiteor pop into the shop located at 129 N. Main St. in Uptown Butte.
