Huntington resident recycles bottles, containers into art

Huntington County Tab:

Most people see plastic bottles and containers as trash. Others recycle.

Huntington resident Jerry Pelz sees them not as trash or recyclables, but as raw materials to create interesting pieces of art.

Over the last few years, Pelz has been creating various animals from recyclable bottles. The idea was spawned while he was employed at MJV Group, a commercial cleaning company here in Huntington.

"Jerry saw all the empty bottles in the trash and thought that he could make something out of them," says Brenda Emley, company manager. "That's where it all started."

Pelz says his love for animals was what inspired him to choose them as his muse. His first creation was an elephant.

"After I made my first one, I would ask Brenda what she wanted me to make next," states Peltz. "Then I would go home and try to create it."